A Perfect Day Has to Include Chocolate!

By Sandra Scott

Did you ever have one of those wonderful “everything” days? Well, I did! It started at the Grand Hotel in Iguazu, Argentina, with an early morning swim in their multilevel pool. No one else was around so it felt like my private pool. Breakfast included a new taste treat—dulce de leche, a yummy, smooth caramelized milk spread that can be addicting.

Then it was off to see Iquazu Falls, and what a falls it is! The falls forms the border between Argentina and Brazil. Legend has it that an angry god sliced the river, creating the waterfalls, after a beautiful girl chose another over him and fled in a canoe with her lover.

From the Iguazu Falls Visitor’s Center, I took the Jungle Train to the end of the line and walked about a mile to the Devil’s Throat. Of the more than two hundred falls, the Devil’s throat is the most impressive. The sound, the mist, the rainbows, and the beauty combine for a powerful experience. And the wonder increased as I viewed the falls from all the vantage points of the Upper Circuit

With my spirit refreshed, I retraced my steps to the Grand Hotel, vowing to return to the falls the next day to walk the Lower Circuit. It was time to revitalize my body. If a god created the falls in a fit of anger, then god was in a better frame of mind when he created “God’s Food,” better known as chocolate. To my way of thinking, a perfect day has to include chocolate. Chocolate is a wonderful thing for the body, inside and out.

The Grand Hotel Spa understands that. They have chocolate therapies that include baths, wraps, massage, masks and aromatic therapy. I started with a soak in the spa’s whirlpool and then opted for the full chocolate treatment that included body polishing, a complete chocolate mask, a relaxing chocolate immersion bath, and finally a smooth massage with hydrant oils. Ah, the joys of chocolate.

And, the day wasn’t over.  Early in the evening it was off to the port to board a boat for a sunset trip to the point where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet. The boat stopped near a Guaraní Village. The Guarani gathered on the shore and danced for us. On the return to port the sunset was breathtaking. I returned to the Grand Hotel in time to dine in El Jardin on the famed Argentine steak with chocolate torte for dessert. To end the perfect day I was entranced by the tango show in El Bistro, the hotel’s cabaret theater. The perfect end to the perfect everything day.

Grand Hotel: www.iguazugrandhotel.com
Iguazu information: www.iguazuargentina.com
Tour arrangements: www.cuencadelplata.com

Sandra Scott is a frequent contributor to travel publications and to Creators Syndicate
and has co-authored two books on local history. She lives in Mexico, NY.

Photos by Sandra and J. J. Scott.

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