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Hello again!!!!
I've spent the last 2 days visiting Iguassu Falls (my spelling of this may vary!)... they are stupendous! I took about 150 pictures of the waterfalls but have tried to edit them a bit for the blog.. if anyone is interested there will be a full slide show on my return!
14th and 15th Jan
These 2 days were spent mainly in the rain in Bonito. I woke up to ridiculous thunder storms that pretty much didn't move all day. This meant that I pretty much didn't move as well and spent most of the day in a hammock…… boring!
16th Jan
We got up really early, which was welcome after a couple of days of boredom and went along to Rio Plata. This is a very clear river outside of Bonito full of fish. The tours there are restricted to try and preserve the wildlife, so it was touch and go as to whether we'd get to visit the river or not.. Our guide, Neil, pulled out the stops though and got us an early trip.
We got all dressed up in wetsuits and snorkels and after a 30min walk got to the water. The Rio is really shallow and clear fresh water. It is fed by underwater springs…. Crystal clear water! They bubble up in several places along the snorkel trip and you can dive down to touch them… amazing, like mini volcanoes. You are not allowed to kick your feet so that the sediment doesn't get disturbed. This pretty much means that you let the current take you all the way past about a million little fish and some absolutely massive Dorado. The Dorado are gold and look like they are wearing gold sequin dresses! And the little fish are bitey bitey…. Annoying but not too painful.
We hired an underwater camera…. Check out the pics
That night was spent traveling to Foz de Igaussu on an awful night bus. The journey took FOREVER…. Tonight is meant to be our last night bus….. I never want to travel by night bus ever ever again… must be my age!
17th Jan
We arrived in Foz at about 10am. The city seems pretty wealthy and is close to Iguassu Falls… the widest set of falls in the world. It is in Brazil but only 20 minutes away from borders with Paraguay and Argentina.
After a really tasty breakfast at the hotel we got in a bus to Paraguay. Although it is just 20 minutes away it is noticeably poorer. Brazilians regularly cross the border to shop as it is so much cheaper, and the town we visited seemed almost entirely set up for that purpose. To get across to Paraguay you need to cross Friendship Bridge. I think a lot of smuggling happens here… there are loads of holes ripped in the wire fences along the bridge to drop smuggled goods across the border. Brazil has 100% import tax, where as Paraguay has none so it's a profitable business!
Paraguay is extremely poor. Our guide said that about 40% of cars there are stolen from Brazil. Once the cars are over the border it is easy to make them legal… even the president has a stolen Brazilian car (not sure I believe that, but I think the point is that corruption is extreme).
The place felt a bit like Bangkok. Really hot and hectic and a bit unsafe. All the shops had security guards with stupidly massive guns. The shop assistants were mainly wearing the shortest skirts I'd ever seen (can you imagine what the boys were like!!!!). It's meant to be good for cheap shopping, but because the USD is so strong v the pound at the moment it was all a bit pricey. Also it was the kind of place where everything could very easily be fake. I just bought some headphones as mine are definitely on the way out from misuses (dropping in cups of tea……).
That night we went out for dinner (again London prices) back in Foz. Another Gap group was staying in our hotel and should be with us all the way to Rio, so we ate with them. It was good to have some other people to talk to for a change.
The hotel in Foz is pretty luxurious. It has a pool, I've got my own room with a double bed, and the breakfast has everything you could dream of….mmmmm (diet not doing too well!).
18th Jan
Time for the 3rd country in 2 days…… this was yesterday, when we headed off to see the Falls from the Argentinean side.On the way we crossed a bridge where it is possible to see Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina all from the same spot. It basically all looked the same in each direction, but it sounds good!
Rio Iguassu runs along the border between Argentina and Brazil and the Falls are shared and there are great views from each side. The 18th was spent in Argentina, and then today (19th) in Brazil.
In Argentina the Falls are in a massive nature reserve with loads of trails. First off we took a walk down to Devils Throat for the 1st glimpse. It was just fantastic and vast. The shear quantity of water going over the edge just of the bit we could see was incredible. Devils Throat is a semi circle of waterfall where the force of the water is so great that the whole area is filled with dense mist. The first walkway goes right over the top of a big drop and it is windy with the speed of the falls. When the wind changes direction you get completely soaked. The power and noise at the Falls was so overwhelming… I'd really recommend this.
In the morning it was so hot that I was soaked in sweat, especially after the 30 min slow rowing boat ride across the top of the falls. Then the rain started and we got completely drenched again in thunder storms, no where near any shelter.
After lunch we got changed into swim gear… completely pointless as I had just changed from wet clothes to a dry swimsuit in order to get wet again. Then the speedboat ride…… it was sooooo cool. In the speedboat there was time for some pics of the falls before heading into the wet zone! We were supplied with wet bags to stow cameras and clothes. Then our boat went up to just one of the small falls and we got completely drenched. Afterwards we drove near to the base of one of the bigger falls… it was like having a full shower. All you could do was hold on and scream with excitement…. Soooo much fun!
19th Jan
Today we visited the Brazilian side. It is great because you get to see how vast the waterfalls actually are. On the Argentina side you can't get a view of the whole lot. We spent the morning walking up the side of the river marveling at the waterfalls and taking about a million pictures. There are some great walkways that go out onto some of the water where again you get soaked, but how many pictures of falling water does one person need??.......
Anyway, it was fantastic and yet another thing that I'll not forget!
Next up is a 19 hour night bus to Paraty, where I think there is currently storms and flooding. After the last night bus experience I'll be taking some sleeping tablets and hope to be unconscious for the duration! Wish me luck!
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