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Ok so this is about 2 weeks ago now... got to try and update this more often!
We arrived in Foz (the city on the Brazilian side of the falls) and got the local bus into town. Another strange bus station that is fenced off, apart from the roads in and out, so you should walk through a gate and pay to get in. Means you can transfer onto another bus for free anyway!
Foz exploded in size when the nearby Itaipu Dam was being built. The dam is extremely big... they say it produces more power than any other dam including the new Yangtze river one. First impressions of the city itself weren´t great... seemed a bit grubby and not very welcoming, but thankfully that was mainly the bus station and it did get better.
After standing around in the bus station trying to figure out how to get out (remember it´s all gated off) I finally decided to open and walk straight through the gate next to the ticket booth. Seems obvious now... must have looked like a right pair of numpties standing around trying to look like we knew what we were doing. Anyway, our hotel was only 2 blocks from the bus station and easy to find. Not much of a evening scene in Foz, not that we found anyway... lots of deserted streets and a restaurant or bar every now and again. Quite a commercial city which was a massive difference from Puerto Iguazu on the Argentina side (as we were to find out later).
Anyway, we had 2 days here...
Day 1 - Iguacu Falls
Fantastic.
Felt a bit like the Grand Canyon in that no photo can do them justice (although we took so many photos of waterfalls on this and the Argentinian side that I´ll never remember which is which).
The Brazilian side offers around 4 or 5 different activities (kayaking, abseiling, rafting etc) so we booked on the Macuco safari... short vehicle ride through jungle, short walk, then on a boat to go up and under the falls. Jo didn´t quite realise we would get so wet...
However, we were far more prepared than some others on our boat. We wore our swim gear and left some dry items at the boathouse to wear afterwards. This was very sensible and we felt quite smug looking at the other people walking like John Wayne after they got back from the soaking. The boat ride was a real rush as we were dunked under the falls and we have a short video to remind ourselves in the future of how wet we actually got.
Day 2 - Itaipu Dam
Absolutely huge. Very difficult to comprehend the full size as it´s split into different sections and very, very wide. They say that the dam will be paid off by 2026 and then make a profit. It was built, and is now shared, by Brazil and Paraguay. Brazil use all the power they produce and some of what Paraguay produce. Paraguay meanwhile only take something like 20% of theirs as they don't need anything more.
We had quite a private tour (only us, 2 other European backpackers and one family) inside the dam itself. We would also see the backpackers the following day over the border on the Argentinian side of the Iguacu falls.
I have a great video for all you engineers that shows one of the generators spinning... I'll try to upload it!
Well, I'm boring myself writing this so I'll move on... after visiting the dam we hot footed back to Foz, then picked up our bags and caught a little bus to Puerto Iguacu in Argentina. Bearing in mind this is an international journey, albeit of only about 10km, the bus was rather small like a minibus! The international bus stop was outside of the main station on a side street and consisted of a bench with a battered sign saying "Argentina" on it... not really an international departure lounge!
After helping us on with our bags, the bus driver asked me something about a Brazilian stamp in passport. Assuming he was asking if we needed to stop at the Brazilian control, I replied "Si, si". He wasn't asking that and we sailed on past without clearing Brazilian customs! We are hoping to hit the Brazilian consulate in Buenos Aires to see if they want our customs forms...
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