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Posted by Amanda
We checked out of the hotel this morning. The student who was so great at dinner last night took it upon herself to make sure everyone was up at breakfast so no one would be late. I love that she took this initiative to help her community. Especially since no one did it yesterday and she earned dock time.
Our first stop was Itaipu Dam. Currently it is the largest dam in the world, but will be replaced by the Three Gorges Dam in China whenever that is finished. Itaipu provides 90% of Paraguay's energy and something like 20-30% of Brazil's. We started with a film about the dam, but I pretty much fell asleep for that. You know, when you are in the sleep marines, you never know when you'll be deployed. Noah tells me it had some very nice views in it. After the video we basically drove around the dam in our bus looking at it from various angles with one stop for photos. When all was said and done, it is just a dam.
The students enjoyed making dam jokes--the old ones like this is your "dam" tour and your "dam" guide. Both Noah and I realized that they were missing a gold mine since Itaipu basically sounds like Eat A Poo.
Before heading to the airport, we got to see the falls one last time with a view from the Brazilian side. This is where you get the bigger panoramic views rather then the up close views. It was still impossible to see all of them at once because there are just so many. Again, it was stunning.
The coatis were a bit more agressive on this walk and actually jumped onto a woman's plastic bag, hanging from it while she screamed, until the bag ripped open and the coati ran off with the food.
We ended with a ride up an elevator to get a higher view of it all. It was actually very close to where we started yesterday at the Devil's Throat, just across the river.
It was off to the airport with a late night return to Salvador. I hope to someday return to Iguacu just to stay in a hotel with a view of the falls. They are so amazing that I cannot understand why Victoria and Niagra are more famous. Everyone should see Iguacu.
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