Foz de Iguacu and Itaipu

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At 17:00 on the 16th of January, we leave Iguazu Provincial Park in Argentina and go for a short drive to Brasil. We drive thru the town of Foz de Iguaçu and arrive at Paudimar, an international hostel/camp site. The place is already full. Our tents are squeezed in. The two bathrooms and showers seem fine, well supplied with paper and giving forth reasonably warm water. For dinner a buffet cooked by Paudimar staff is available. Since we are kilometres from town it seems the only choice … no cooking on the truck being agreed upon by all … it is doubtful that there was anything beyond tuna on offer.


After the short drive from Argentina across the border to Brasil, the view of the Foz de Iguaçu becomes dramatically different. The truck takes us within steps of the entrance to the National Park that encompasses the falls. We walk the short distance so that parking fees do not have to be paid. Another over landing truck follows the same example after it drops its passengers at the entrance.
Once inside the turnstile a free air-conditioned bus takes the visitors down the road into the park to the falls. Very few people took the bus all the way to the end of the road … actually only six people. From here the walk back to the big pink hotel began.

We head for the observation tower where an elevator goes down to a platform close to the turbulent waters of a very large Falls not visible from Argentina. Now that the Falls have been seen close up, we walk further down a ramp and out on a catwalk that goes far enough to once again places the viewer under the tumultuous rising and falling spray of the Falls.

As the path twists along the edge of the river, small cascades are visible on the other side … silver tongues spreading down ragged black basalt cliffs. We are met by those people who descended the bus at the first stop. Someone point out and I finally spot, my first real live toucan.

The truck has to be met at a certain time so at the pink bubble gum hotel the four of us wait for the returning free bus ride. The sun has become so hot we try to find any small spot of shade.

The entrance to the park is an expressive display of reflective colour. The walk to the truck is short but dangerous crossing four lanes of traffic all busy with visitors rushing to find a parking space before visiting the falls.

Because of the early start, which was good considering we were almost the first people at the elevator and on the path, most of the group opted for an early buffet brunch.

People need to go to the bank so the truck stops in the main street of the town.
Hills and I find a taxi and head for Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant.

This is the largest dam in the world. It was built by Paraguay and Brasil and harnesses the waters of the Parana River.

“Itaipu Binacional is a company that runs the largest operational hydroelectric power plant in the world. It is a Binacional undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the Paraná River on the border section between the two countries, 15 km north of the Friendship Bridge. The project ranges from Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, in the south to Guaíra and Salto del Guaíra in the north. The installed generation capacity of the plant is 14 GW, with 20 generating units of 700 MW each. In the year 2000, it achieved its generating record of 93.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), which supplied 93% of the energy consumed by Paraguay and 20% of that consumed byBrazil as of 2005.” from Wikipedia on line.

Paraguay is paying its share of the costs by giving back energy to Brasil. The work force is half and half from each country. Everything at the plant is shared down the middle … literally.

I have been to La Grande in Northern Quebec. I have watched Frontiers of Construction on Television. Once again… I was in my very own movie … with a camera inside my head.


To get back to the city Hills and I took the local bus. After waiting out a downpour we walked thru the town stopping only for ice cream, a fried snack, and a Portuguese dictionary. We walked all the way to the MacDonald’s where the stop was for the bus out to the camp grounds. We had decided not to go to the dinner/show.

While walking in to the camp from the main road the dinner group met us. Now we could not refuse to go since apparently the tickets had to be paid for. I don’t know how often I have heard this one while on this trip but since it was a different person who had organized the outing I was inclined to give the benefit of the doubt.

And we were off …. And what fun it was. I am very glad I went; sweaty, dirty, tired, and hot and wilted. The show was a collection of traditional dances with live music. The buffet was an unbelievable spread of tasty varied and some unknown food.

In the morning the drive to Paraguay begins. We will visit Asunción for three sleeps. It is the beginning of the end of food intake as I have known it …

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Photos

My First Toucan
Only saw one other one in the Pantanal. Never did see an armadillo or an ant eater.

Three Wise Men
As in all gift shops there were suitable and outrages things to buy.

Bicycle Power Over Turbine Hatches
Under each terra cotta coloured circular metal cover is housed a turbine as large as a small house.

Folklorica and Buffet Night
The tango and the samba were featured performances and surely salsa was in there somewhere.

Ugly Phone Booths
... have not used a telephone for over nine months.