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Published: June 11th 2006
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Iguassu Falls
Got lots more better pics to show! From the Pantanal we took on another long and arduous bus journey south to Foz do Iguazu. Heavily delayed and getting hotter, we were understandably tired after the three buses and taxi to our hotel in Foz.
We woke the next morning and headed over to the Argentinian side of the falls - cheaper and nicer than Foz which is basically an average town. After stopping at the border and changing a few buses, we headed out to Hostel Inn, an amazing hostel/resort towards the falls. This was full (note to self: be more organised) so we got ourselves a small little bungalow next door for a couple of nights; we hung out in the Hostel Inn for its table tennis table anyway...
After a well deserved good nights sleep, we headed out to visit the world famous Iguazu Falls - the most impressive waterfalls to be found anywhere on the globe. We spend the day walking around in the sun, admiring the vast natural beauty of the falls. There is alot to see and do on the Argentine side, numerous treks and different parts of the falls to see.
We return the next day to complete the
rest of the sights, including the enormous Devil´s Throat. This is by far the most impressive part. You walk out to the edge of the land, which suddenly ends, giving way to thousands of tons of water hurltling down into a seemingly bottomless pit below. The roar of the water is amazing.
The next day was spent relaxing before heading to the airport to sleep as we had a flight at 6am to Manaus, bang in the middle of the north Brazilian rainforest....
The flight was fine and we were soon stepping off the place into the sticky, humid air of the Amazon...
We found our way to a hostel, trooping through the busy sweaty streets of Manaus. As expected, we were immediately accosted by a tour guide who wanted us to go to his office but we insisted on some cold beers first. Sticking close to us, he paid for a load of beers, selling his tour to us as we drank. It may have been the beers or maybe his smooth talking, but we were soon in his office handing over a wedge of cash. Trust me, they are good at their job...
So,
the next day we ate breakfast then jumped on a boat into the deep amazon jungle, swinging on hammocks and watching the city disappear off the horizon...
After lunch on our floating lodge we headed out on a tiny canoe to try and catch some piranhas. We float through tree canopies to find a good spot to fish. It´s high season so the water has risen to cover all but the tops of the huge trees. It´s not long before the dark clouds move in and then the rain. The heaviest rain I´ve ever found myself in; standing there in just rolled up trousers, pathetically trying to catch fish. We all get drenched but it´s great fun and Matt manages to catch a few for our dinner back at the lodge.
Shortly after our fish supper we head out again. It´s now dark and we shoot off into the blackness on a canoe to find alligators. We move slowly, our guide is searching with a flashlight. Suddenly his hands splash into the water: he turns round to show us the baby alligator he´s just caught. It´s about two feet long and we all get to hold it and
examine its deadly sharp teeth and smooth scaly body. Great stuff.
We wake the next morning after sleeping in hammocks on a boat attached to the lodge. There´s no messing around and before I realise where I am, we´re trekking in deep jungle on some highland. It is boiling hot as we creep through the jungle terrain and its not long before our guide darts ahead and catches a small but very poisonous green snake. If it bites you, you are dead in 24 hours. Simple as that. Easily the closest I have ever been to something so deadly. We continue the walk, discovering medical uses for seemingly every plant and tree. By a huge ant´s nest, our guide tells us of how young boys living in the Amazon must pass a test to show their manlyhood. They must make a glove and fill it with 50 of these huge ants, on each hand, and last the pain for six minutes. It´s very hard to imagine how anyone could do that, even the girls have to do it...
We explore further for several hours, until coming across my worst fear... a huge, huge spider. It was coaxed out
of its hole by Rubens, until it stood infront of us; bigger than my face. Grey and hairy, it can also kill within a day and can jump a fair distance too. I stayed well back! Far too much to write about here and don´t to bore people more than necessary.
In the afternoon
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Rob
non-member comment
'Twisted Snout Thing'
Hello Mate, Looks like you're having a wicked time, that dolphin's nothing compared to some of the birds I've been near recently, I beg to differ on the dangerous snake issue, I'd imagine you've been closer to Shaun O'Dwyer's left boot, which, some say is extremely deadly from 2 yards. p.s. Is that a wig you're wearing?