February 20, 2025

Iguaza Falls, Argentine side Day 3

One of the perks of staying at the Gran Melina Hotel is that you can walk right into the Falls from the Hotel Property. Scott & Gary joined us early and we headed to the lower tier path, to get on the Jungle Adventure and Boat Ride of the Falls. It was already hot, so getting wet on the boat ride was welcome! In reality, you get soaked, but you dry out fairly quickly. They give you a life vest and a dry pack to keep your belongs protected. The Jungle Adventure is an open jeep ride thru the rainforest to get down and up to the river entry, about 30 minutes each way. We saw some more toucans along the way. The Boat ride was exhilarating, we went right into the falls spray at least four times!  They give you a warning to put your cameras away and you then get deluged!

After our boat ride, shown below as red/rust path, we headed to the top tier of the 3 Argentina walkways or the orange path where there is a train to ride a major portion of trail to cut down the estimated 2 hours of the walking path. It is hot and crowded so the train helps!

Along the pathways we continued to see wildlife - turtles, big fish, pretty birds, lizards and we saw this Capybara family coming ashore.

Afterwards we relaxed back at the hotel and had drinks again at sunset, up on the roof terrace. One of our monkey friends swiped in and helped himself to our cocktail peanuts! Oh my! We loved it - the staff not so much.

The next day a monkey got into a room through the balcony, he got a beer and Ferrero Rocher chocolates from the mini fridge and the guest wallet, staff says this happens pretty regularly, so I guess it can get less entertaining from their perspective.

By Pat Patrick • October 12, 2026
Just the other day a friend asked me if I got enough down time while living this lifestyle. My answer was "you have to make it !" In the beginning, it was go, go, go, every port. We had lots of FOMO ( fear of missing out ) and we tried to cram in as much as possible at every port. Sea days, were our only down time and there were never enough. It was a tad exhausting. Now two years into this life, I can say there are some ports that just don't call me and I opt to get other things done. Kuantan, Malaysia was one of the Ports. I never got off the ship, either day we were here. I intended to this morning, but we had storms with loud thunder late into the night and then was awoken by a crew alarm around 6:45am. My energy was low, there were shuttle issues, town was an hour ride away and there is alot of air pollution, ( due to neighboring Indonesia burning organic materials, in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season ). So I bagged my plans and continued working on my never ending TO DO LIST!
By Pat Patrick • October 11, 2026
During our two years of sailing we have had several Shipmates come and go for a variety of reasons. Their health, has sadly been the reason for many departures. Cindy Harvey , would have loved to have lived out her days here on the Odyssey and even bought a second cabin and had an adjoining door added, to have a care provider, stay with her full time. However, Cindy's limited mobility, pain and confinement got to be too much - so she left us a few months ago. She went to an assisted living facility, on the coast of Oregon, to be near her family. Tragically she fell, was trying to recover, slipped into a coma and sadly passed away this week.
By Pat Patrick • October 8, 2026
The Sanctuary of Truth Museum is the world's largest hand carved wooden castle, located on the coast of Pattaya, Chonburi Province, Thailand . Conceived in 1981 by Thai visionary Khun Lek Viriyaphun the structure is built entirely from 4 types of wood - Teak, Mai Daeng, Mai Takien & Mai Panchaat and put together using Thai nailless wood joinery - mainly dovetails, carrying poles and tongue & groove. We started the tour in the workshop where the artisan, mainly woman, were hard at work. Since conception, the Museum has been an active construction site, thus we all wore hardhats! The artisans continue handcarving sculptures and columns, daily and will most likely continue for years to come.