The Big Fall

Last week was a little different as we took a few days and traveled to Iguazu Falls.  But first, I thought I’d let you in on what else we did.  A week ago Saturday we were in the mall getting some stuff for our trip and ran into the Zone Leaders.  They were going to buy Subway Sandwiches for the Zone Conference on Monday but couldn’t as, May 1st is Labor Day in Uruguay and everyone was going to be closed.  So Renee helped them purchase the stuff for BBQ beef sandwiches and they were all set.  On Monday we attended the Conference and were able to hear some real missionary stuff from President Eddy.  It was real good.  I think the missionaries liked the BBQ beef sandwiches as most of them ate three.  They also liked the peanut butter bars she made for dessert.  In the evening we attended FHE with the Temple couples where we led a discussion about the early leaders of the Church.   That got us ready for our trip.

We left Tuesday morning and took a flight to Buenos Aires and then to Iguazu.   The airline, Aerolinas Argentina, had a reputation for long lines and late flights when I was in Argentina forty-two years ago.  This has not changed; in fact it is probably worse.  In spite of that we had a good time.  The Iguazu River is the border for Brazil and Argentina.  On Tuesday afternoon we took a tour of the Brazilian side.  This is a pretty short trip and was really interesting.  From the Brazil side you basically can look across to all of the falls.  Our tour guide was named Roberson and we were the only two on the tour.   As a picture is worth as thousand words I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Tuesday night we ate Argentine food at the restaurant “El Quincho del Tio Querido”, or the roof of the beloved uncle.  I thought it was real Argentine.  It was excellent.  We took a taxi home and our taxi driver had been an investigator of the church some years ago.  We are going to send him as a reference and hope they make contact again.

Wednesday was the big day.  We took off early again with Roberson and four others.  Again a small group.   It is a long walk but we handled it pretty well.  On the Argentina side you walk up to the side of the falls and also on the top.  It was incredible.  The main fall is called the “Garganta del Diablo” or the Throat of the Devil.  My favorite part was when we were right up next to the Garganta with all the water.  It was really impressive.  To put it in perspective, in the ‘80s there was a flood in Delta and 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) were coming down the river.  There is about 20,000 cfs going over Shoshone Falls in Idaho right now with the high water.  The average at Iguazu is 61,000 cfs with a high of 100,000 cfs.  It is quite a bit of water.

I had to include the coatia in honor of Bart Gardner.  This has got to be a cousin of Raccoons in the USA so you already know how much I liked them.

Included in the tour was a boat ride up under some of the falls.  It is like the shower from hell.  A good thing to do once but I don’t need to do it again.  They also took us on a ride down the river and then on a jungle tour.  It was a real neat day.  For dinner we ate at the smorgasbord at the hotel.  On Thursday we headed home.  The flights were mixed up again but we still managed to get home.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

We were afraid that we would be behind on taking care of apartments when we got back but it really wasn’t too bad.  We spent Friday and Saturday taking heaters to some of the missionaries and mainly had time to catch up.

One important note, two of the Temple couples leave this week.  The Atkinsons and Wibergs are completing their missions.  We had lunch with them today to send them off.  We are going to miss them.  So this week we are back in the saddle.  We have several things planned and hope we have time to get them done.

The mini vacation was a real blessing as we were able to appreciate some of the wonders the Lord has created and also get a little rest.  We are so grateful for the Gospel and the chance to serve.   We appreciate all the support we get from home.  We love you all.

Gordon and Renee