Argentina – Page 2

Iguazu Falls vs. Victoria Falls (with Photos)

This updates an article I posted in 2010, with photos showing different views of mighty Iguazu Falls and Victoria Falls. Click here to read the original article.

I’ve had the rare opportunity to visit two of the world’s great waterfalls, Iguazu (Iguaçu) Falls on the Argentina-Brazil border in South America and Victoria Falls (Mosi-Oa-Tunya) on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border in Africa. Each was just a few hours’ drive from my former homes in Asunción, Paraguay and Lusaka, Zambia, respectively, and I visited them often. As measured by water volume, both are the two largest and arguably most spectacular waterfalls in the world.

It’s easy to conclude when you visit one that it’s more impressive than the other. Some claim that Iguazu Falls is better while others prefer Victoria Falls. Iguazu Falls is one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature and is the wider of the two with cascades that look like bridal veils. Victoria Falls, a World Heritage Site, is higher with a massive curtain of water during the rainy season that disappears in the dry season. Iguazu has the “Devil’s Throat,” a narrow falls where the water crashes into a torrential pool, and Victoria the “Devil’s Pool,” a whirlpool at the edge of the falls where visitors can swim during the dry season. One is in Africa and the other in South America, lending geographical biases in favor of one or the other.

What do you think? Here are photos of each waterfall at different times of the year. Decide for yourself.

Iguazu Falls / Iguaçu Falls – Argentina-Brazil

Victoria Falls / Mosi-Oa-Tunya – Zambia-Zimbabwe

Which waterfall do I think is more impressive? Click here to find out.

Victoria Falls and Iguaçu Falls

Click here to read a follow-on article about Victoria Falls and Iguaçu Falls with photos.

I’ve had the rare opportunity over the past year to visit two of the world’s largest waterfalls. I visited Iguaçu Falls on the Argentine-Brazilian border in February 2009 prior to leaving South America, where I had lived for two years. I just returned from a short weekend trip to Victoria Falls on the Zambian-Zimbabwean border, which is a six-hour trip from Lusaka, Zambia by car. As measured by water volume, these two waterfalls are two of the largest and arguably most spectacular waterfalls in the world.

It’s easy to make comparisons between the two. In truth, both waterfalls are equally impressive. They’re different, so it’s difficult to say whether one is “better” than the other. Iguaçu Falls is larger by volume and longer. It comprises numerous waterfalls that give it a layered effect, and it stretches over a longer distance than Victoria Falls. The Parana River above Iguaçu Falls collects at the top of the falls and cascades down over what must be a stretch of five miles or longer. At the same time, Iguaçu features a boardwalk on the Brazil side that puts you near the heart of the waterfall, the “Devil’s Throat” (La Garganta del Diablo).

Victoria Falls appears visually larger than its Latino counterpart. The sheer “in your face” effect it offers you while the Zambezi River spills over is incredible. The pathway on the Zambian side puts you very close to a massive wall of water that drops at least a couple hundred feet in front of you. Although I wore rain gear, I was soaking wet when I passed close to the falls – wetter than I was at Iguaçu.

Although I left Iguaçu Falls convinced that it is unsurpassed in its grandeur, Victoria Falls rivals it in intensely. Of course, visitors to either locale would undoubtedly insist that each waterfall is more impressive than the other. As an objective outsider, I believe that these two falls collectively rank as two of the more beautiful and awe inspiring natural wonders of the world. If you ever have a chance to visit either one, don’t miss out. You won’t be sorry spending the money and time to behold two of God’s greatest creations. In this respect, I feel blessed to have experienced both.

Ethnic Cuisine in Buenos Aires, Argentina

We returned yesterday from a five-day trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We had a good time visiting what some call the “Paris of South America.” We were most impressed by the architecture and generally affordable and excellent quality of life we saw. Perhaps our perspectives have been influenced by living 11 months in nearby Paraguay, but it still struck me as a good place to live. I can see why Porteños (residents of Buenos Aires) are proud of their city.

Buenos Aires is a no doubt world-class city. However, I was struck by its lack of diversity. This city with approximately 12 million residents seemed overwhelmingly of European descent with a dearth of other races, including immigrants from Africa, Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Our difficulty finding ethnic cuisine confirmed this. There are no Greek, Indian, or Thai restaurants in Paraguay, and we searched from throughout Buenos Aires to find these cuisines. I finally found restaurants for each cuisine, but it was a bit of an undertaking. Each offered excellent food at moderately expensive prices (by Argentine standards). Here they are:

Mykonos Greek Restaurant, Olleros 1752, Buenos Aires. For reservations, call (54-11) 4779-9000 or visit http://www.mykonostaso.com.ar/

Kathmandu Indian Restaurant, Av. Cordoba 3547, Buenos Aires. For reservations, call (54-11) 4963-1122.

Empire Thai Restaurant, Tres Sargeantos 427, Retiro, Buenos Aires. For reservations, call (54-11) 4312-5706 or visit http://www.empirethai.net/

If we had had more time, we also would have liked to have eaten Japanese and American food. The good news is that as a large city, Buenos Aires has a wide variety of restaurants. In fact, Empire Thai restaurant owner Kevin Rodriguez — an American from New Jersey — told us that Empire Thai is one of the only Thai restaurants in Latin America. Amidst all of the “Parrilla (grill), pasta, and pizza” — as he put it — you can find a great selection of cuisine in Buenos Aires.

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