A Year in Uruguay

Since we didn't have a visa for Brazil, we had a free day in Iguazu so we went to the tourist office and said we'd like to see more of the selva. We were in luck, they told us, since a 4x4 tour was leaving in an hour. We grabbed some sandwiches and climbed into a rugged truck and headed out of town. Minutes after turning onto the red dirt road we were at the edge of the jungle and we passed little farms cut from the surrounding forest. As we drove, the guide explained the afternoon's events and my wife expressed her surprise. We thought we'd be taking a drive through the woods looking for toucans, coatis, or monkeys but the plan was somewhat more adventuresome.

We started by strapping on climbing harnesses, followed by a short walk through the jungle to a cliff. There, we hooked onto a climbing rope and rappelled down the cliff.

This was a new experience for all of us, and the prospect was a little scary. The actual rappel was pretty easy & we all enjoyed it afterwards. Next was a walk through the woods, crossing above a small waterfall, and eventually reaching a panoramic view across the Rió Paraná to Paraguay.

Then we climbed several storeys into a huge old tree using a rustic staircase. There we clipped our harnesses to a zip-line, grabbed its handles and took off through the canopy. We accelerated over the treetops, using the brakes only when we reached the landing-- halfway down another forest giant. Then up more stairs to another cable, another "flight" and then a third. Very cool!



See a short video:

Labels: Argentina, nature, sports, video