South America, Day 12: Parque Nacional Iguazu, Argentina

The following morning, I returned to Iguazu to finish off the last couple trails that I hadn't yet seen. I was joined by Becca, who was interested in hiking the Sendero Macuco, a nature trail far away from the falls that is apparently visited by only 1% of the people who come to the park. It was advertised as a place to see monkeys and exotic birds, so off we went.

The trail is located about a mile's walk from the central station, past the Sheraton hotel located inside the park, and down a stretch of road that doesn't appear to lead particularly anywhere except back to the highway, so we were pretty excited when we finally found it:

A sign at the start of the trail warned that that latter part was steep, slippery, and difficult, so I grabbed myself a walking stick:

You shall not pass!

 On the trail, we never saw any exotic birds, but we did see a few monkeys jumping from tree to tree. Unfortunately, at no point did they make for a particularly good picture. After a very nice nature walk, the trail terminates in a set of stairs leading down to a natural pool and small (compared to the rest of the park!) waterfall:

 After the pool, we doubled back to the main park, and as we were passing the Sheraton, actually saw a monkey run clear across the lawn. So, I guess if you want to see monkeys, just stay near the hotel... Final verdict on the Sendero Macuco: it's a very nice hike and nature path, but don't expect a toucan to perch on your shoulder or monkeys to run across the path. The waterfall and pool are not worth going in and of themselves, but if you make it to the end of the path, you might as well check them out; they're nice and peaceful.

Best shot I got of a monkey, and it's all of 10 meters from paved road.

 After lunch, Becca and  I parted ways and I headed off to finish the last major path in the park, the Circuito Superior that takes you over the top of the San Martin Falls and companions. Although the weather today was overcast, the view from the top near the end of the path was equally impressive. The river's path forms a number of natural isolated islands that are bathed in constant rain from the falls' spray, sustaining a number of plant species found nowhere else:

One last thing from the park that any chemists reading this will find amusing:

Yup, plastic bottles in the inorganics bin.

That night, I went to dinner at Terra (more easily identifiable from the street as Wok/Grill), an Asian fusion restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet near my hostel. The decor is low-key, with chalk graffiti from previous customers all over the walls:

My yakisoba was the first spicy food I've had all trip (finally!). Tasty, but a little bit smaller than I'd hoped. The sauce went very well with the bread they served, though.