Saturday, March 9: We slept in and had to rush to get to breakfast before they stopped serving at 10:00. Afterwards we arranged to take the Great Safari Adventure at noon. This consisted of a ride into the falls in a rubber boat, then a ride through the jungle on an open truck. We walked down the Paseo Inferior (lower walk) to the river where we would board the boat. There were many great views of individual falls and finally of the double falls around San Martin Island. 

Bridge on Paseo Inferiore

Darrell on Paseo Inferiore

Jane at S. Martin Falls

View of river above falls (upper left), Devil's Throat (left center), & S. Martin Island (lower left)

 

As we waited for the boat, we could see why the tour to the island had been canceled. Although the stairway leading from the river up the steep slope of the island was clear, the flat shore where a boat normally would land was under water. By the time we boarded the boat at noon, the sun was scorching. Obviously we should have planned this excursion for later in the day. 

The boat, fully loaded, headed directly into the heavy spray of the lower San Martin Falls. We were all pretty wet already. After a brief run away from the falls so we could get a good view, it was back into the spray. Then we headed around San Martin Island and toward the Devil's Throat. Fortunately, the boat couldn't go all the way into that. Instead, we sped right into the Three Musketeers. We really got close to the falls here because the water just poured down on top of us. 

Our boat approaches the falls

Getting close

Too close !

The boat then backed off so we could see the falls from up close. (When we were too close, it was impossible to see the falls through the spay even if you managed to keep your eyes open.) Finally the boat headed away from the falls, stopping a couple of times so we could take pictures.

All aboard! Jane climbs into truck

We landed about a mile downstream from the falls and climbed up the steep river bank to the waiting truck. We drove nearly half an hour up a narrow jungle road, deep with mud and swarming with thousands of butterflies of all colors and sizes. We were dropped off near the entrance to the National Park. As we passed one of the eating places there, we saw a TV playing a video of our boat trip. We had seen a man with a camera in the boat but didn't realize he was making videos to sell. The video included not only our adventure, but also a documentary on the falls and many of the other tourist attractions in the area. We bought one adapted for U.S. VCRs.

We had a light lunch there (empanadas), then went to the hotel to change into dry clothes. I also had to empty my wallet and hang the paper money to dry. Everything was soaked through. About four, we walked the Paseo Superior again, this time with a better perspective of where we were and what we were seeing. We also were more alert for wildlife. We heard many loud birds and finally saw some parakeets high in the trees. We got back to our room at 5:30 and rested, watching a Tom Selleck movie (Innocent Man) on TV. By this time, my knees were a bright red from sunburn because I had been wearing shorts in the boat.

A little after nine p.m., we checked out the main dining room and found that no one wore a coat or tie there. They had a great fixed menu ($30) consisting of bread, eggplant caviar with poached egg, lots of smoked salmon, beef tenderloin strips in wine sauce, and pureed carrots. Mineral water and a 750 ml. bottle of an excellent red wine (Lopez 1993) were included, as well as a delicious chocolate torte with "English" sauce, and coffee. The dining room was very crowded, and the service was mediocre, but the food was fantastic. Feeling stuffed and very mellow, we retired around eleven.

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