February 8th Iguazu Falls and Jungle Lizzards, Racoons and Spiders OH MY!

one of at least 12 staircases we had to go down

IGUAZU FALLS!  This is pronounced E WAZ ZOO Falls!
Okay no one told me  I was going to the Jungle.  I have been to Niagra Falls and they are beautiful but no jungle.  We arrived last night and got up early this am had breakfast and met our guide Gabriela at 8am per our instructions.  I hired someone to push me in the wheelchair that was the best advice I was given.  We had to wait for a wheelchair.  It is now almost 8:45 finally my chariot arrives!  Well if you saw this wheelchair you would be hysterical.  It is made out of IRON no cushion nothing.  So off we go to catch the train.  Not bad down hill for my driver and we are talking the guide is explaining the flora and fauna and we are all happy.  We get to the train they tell us you can't bring the wheelchair but there will be one there once you get off.  Okay we get on the train.  They pack us in like sardines.  Now Bill and I are not small and this other women from England is as big as me thank God our guide is a tiny tiny because 8 of us in there was a lot.  We get to the stop and there is a wheelchair Yes,  we started to go now it is not concrete but iron grating with supports every two feet.  the wheelchair is going bing bing bing.  My back keeps hitting the iron on the back of the chair.  it is like a bad ride in an amusement park.  I am hoping that this is only a short time.  Wrong Again Celeste it is like this the whole way.   I can't even have a conversation because my words are coming out garbled.   WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY  NOOOOOOOOOOOO
anyway on we go.  We see beautiful birds and then racoons run out right in front of us.  One stole a bag of chips and they were all running after him back and forth across the path.  We run into a couple we met on the ship and have a conversation.  Thank God my driver stopped pushing me or they would have thought I was drunk.  We come to the first large fall.  There are 275 falls in all.  We get wet from the spray.  No problem we have our picture taken by our guide it was good to get out of the chair.  It was starting to feel like the Electic Chair but I was so happy because I could never have walked this.  So clanking along me bobbing up down back and forth we go.  Happy happy campers.  We go to the lower falls or it could have heen the upper who can remember which order we saw it all.  Now we have time to have a sandwich and rest for our Great Adventure.  Now let me tell you.  NO ONE TOLD ME THAT THIS IS DEFINETELY NOT HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE.  YOU  go in a 4 x4 truck.  That was the easy part.  You climb a flight of stairs get on the truck and drive for 1/2 hour into the JUNGLE.  We saw spiders that were as big as me!  NO Monkeys although our guide saw one but it moved to fast.  After our drive through this HOT HUMID JUNGLE/RAIN FOREST WHERE IT IS RAINING.  It is time to get on the boat.  Now I Thought okay we go down that flight of steps WRONG.  I am putting a picture of one of the flights of steps there must have been 10 of them.  There were over 250 steps I was told.  I go slow and usually let other people go but these Europeans and Asians were starting to piss me off as there was no where for us to pull over and they were trying to get around me.  Halfway down there are bathrooms so I figure yay we are here.  Wrong.  By now I can hardly breath the hip is beyond hope and Bill is getting freaked out.  A nurse comes over and tells me she is going to help me he rest of the way.  Makes you feel good she is walking with the stethescope, blood pressure machine and first aid kit Down we go.  Let me tell you if when I die and I go to hell it won't be as far down as this was.  So we are almost at the bottom and all those people who pushed past me and almost knocked me down are waiting no boat!  The nurse gets a bench from the little lean too and makes me sit.  Finally the boat comes and there are only 25 more steps plus the one's on the boat!  Yes, I am on the boat and they are explaining we will be going through rapids must wear a life preserver.  I ask if we have to go up all those steps to get back and told yes I tell them no life preserver I rather die than walk up those steps in fact if I have to walk up those steps I will die.  Don't worry they tell me they radioed ahead and my driver  and guide will meet me.  So I relax thinking they will meet me with the wheelchair WRONG AGAIN!  so w go through the rapids it is fun and they tell us to put our cameras in the waterproof bags we will get wet.
Now there is wet and there is soaking wet!  We went right into the falls turning around to make sure each of us got soaking wet.  It was fun and my first thought was Betty would love this my second thought was crap wish she was here so I could smack her for telling me about this!  All too soon and I do mean too soon since I have to go back up it is over.  As promised they are waiting for me.  No chair whats going on.  They tell me they can't get it down but not to worry we are going up a shorter way.  Well the steps are steeper and instead of 250 there are 225! so up we go with my driver (I can't remember his name) holding me and helping me.  Now I am soaking wet and my shoes are starting to slip and I said something but as usual no one is paying any attention to me all of a sudden my shoe goes flying in one direction and me in another.  Yes its true I FELL AGAIN.  ONLY PROBLEM NOW IS I AM ON THE GROUND ON THIS SMALL PATH AND PEOPLE ARE STILL TRYING TO GET AROUND ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I rest for a couple of minutes because my hip and my back where I hit he stone slippery steps is hurting.  They stand me up and now we only have another 200 steps to go.  God take me now!  We finally get tot he top and they sit me in that uncomfortable wheelchair which now feels like a Rolls Royce!  I am exhausted, embarrassed, sore and worrying that we are going to miss our flight to BA.  so we walk a little way and there is a HUGE HILL.  There is no way he can push me up this hill.  Now I forgot to tell you that Bill is carrying my shoes as my feet are so wet and the shoes are so wet they keep slipping off.  So here I am barefoot and they come with a golf cart.  I get on no one else does this isn't good he doesn't speak English.  Oh crap here we go again.  we drive a little way and he goes into the grass and tells me to get out.  I get out barefooted and there in the grass are all these bugs.  so I am trying not to step on any and walk as quickly as I can onto the cement now I am barefooted no cane and hurting you tell me how fast did I walk! finally my chair arrives and he pushes me the rest of the way to the Sheraton Hotel.  Now we look like two drown rats.  Soaking wet and they take us into the spa where they sent our luggage.  I  am getting ready to shower and change and realize I didn't pack an extra bra.  Had underwear an extra pair of pants and tops no bra.  So there is our guide Gabriela in the ladies locker room wth the hair dryer drying my bra while I shower~

UNDER THE FALLS

GOING INTO THE FALLS

GETTING CLOSER

Yes I am nice and clean mostly dry didn't bother with the hair let it curl it is going to anyway with this humidity~  We go to the airport where our driver and Bill go up to the counter they sit me down since I am walking like a cripple at this point and no help whatsoever.  We get our luggage checked and our boarding passes our guide leaves and we go up.  Look in a couple of shops well Bill looks I sit and cry!  we head to the gate..  Plane is late.  No worry a lot of people from Crystal are on this plane and we chat! The one women couldn't beleive i went down those steps.  She is a runner and said it was hard for her.  Bill announces I having nothing to worry about this surgery if this didnt give me  heart attack nothing will.  So we are finally ready to board.  The women at the counter asks me if I need a wheelchair in BA I said yes.  The good thing she changed my seats to the bulkhead lots of leg room.  We fly and land in BA.  No wheelchair I have to walk down the flight of steps.  Dear God what where you thinking when you invented steps.  Is this my hell?  I slowly go down the steps and get on the bus no wheelchair I figure when we get tot he terminal there will be a wheelchair.  WRONG AGAIN.  I AM 4 FOR 4 TONIGHT! Get into the terminal no chair wait for luggage as there is no where at all to sit and get our luggage and our great guide Dario is out there waiting to help us.  Wants to know if we want to go eat or to the hotel.  We both said hotel.  We checked in and this place is gorgeous.  We are still getting our luggage and our butler Alexander comes in with two adaptors and sets up my computer and my cpap machine.  Then the bell rings and in comes someone else with the most beautiful roses and fruit basket.  Now All I want to do is shower again because my feet are completely black from the dye of my sandals! so they all leave we order room service and I go into the bathroom for the first time.  There is a walk in shower a whirlpool tub how I wish I could get into that.  I would feel so good!  but I take a quick shower to clean the dye off my feeet and here is room service.  I got soup and a caesar salad Bill got a club sandwich he aslo showed me what I thought was onion rings and something else i couldnt make out.  So I am enjoying my soup and tell Bill to take the onion rings out of the heater and he takes the two dishes out I start to take bite out of the onion ring and it smells fishy so I spit it out before it really gets into the mouth and low and behold it is calamaria. just what I need now an alergic reaction!.  So we call for room service to come and take it away they call and ask is everything ok bill says of course.  When the waiter came I said w e didn't order his and it is fish and I am deathy allergic he got so upset made me call them hey came to the door and apolgized we were not charged for it in the first place.  So as you can see it has been a most interesting day.  I think I'll go to Australia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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VIEW FROM VERANDA AT HOTEL

THEIR RACOONS

BABY FALLS

US IN FRONT OF THE FALLS

LIZZARD YUCK

ANOTHER ONE OF THE 275 FALLS

DIFFERENT ANGLE

AREN'T THESE BEAUTIFUL

ME AFTER I FEEL AND SOAKING WET

But i must say that the falls were definetely worth it and I would recommend them to everyone.  The women who couldn't beleive I walked down went to the falls in Victoria and said these are so much better.  Now I have been to falls before but nothing can compare to these.  SPECTACULAR IS NOT EVEN A STRONG ENOUGH WORD.
SO IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN YOU KNOW THERE WAS LAUGHS, TEARS AND DRAMA AND THATS ALL FOLKS FOR TONIGHT I AM EXHAUSTED.  Thank God Dario changed our tour till the afternoon we can sleep late!
GOOD NIGHT I'VE FALLEN AND CAN'T GET UP AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!