Mocona

When we were originally planning a route for my Mom’s 10-day visit, we had ruled out Mocona Falls. It was a bit out of the way, it is not visible if the river is high, and no one from the tourist board had gotten back to an email inquiring about the river-level (this lack of communication continues to be a problem with arranging anything in Argentina ahead of time).

But, someone told us not to miss it, and Mom said she liked waterfalls, so we made a last minute decision and drove the 8 hour detour (4 hours each way).  After a long search for a place to stay close by, we found a cabin in El Soberbio that would do. Good enough was about all we could say about it. Mom is not getting the deluxe tour. Jason and I slept in the bus.

It rained all night, but had stopped by the next morning. We drove another 75 km to the falls, crossing our fingers that the overcast day would not turn into a rainy one.

While the height of  Iguazu Falls is what makes it so impressive, Macona Falls is only about 20 meters high. It is located on the rivers that meet separating Argentina and Brazil. What makes it unique is that it flows laterally across the river, not across as most other waterfalls do. In fact, we were told it is the only waterfall that does so, but someone with a faster internet connection can check on that fact. Also, it flows for nearly 3 km, making it one of the longest in the world.

The best way to see these falls is by boat. So we hoped on a zodiac and made the ride up the river. It was really impressive.  Our hope for no rain turned into a waste of time, as the captain got us closer and closer to the falls, soaking each of us to the bone.  We had a great time.

Back on the road, we decided to put a few more miles behind us before calling it a day. We made it south to the Jesuit mission town on San Ignacio before just before sunset.