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Published: October 13th 2007
The last stop in Brazil was the Iguazu Falls, which form part of the border between Brazil and Argentina. Iguazu is a system of about 250 waterfalls along a 2.7km stretch of the Igauzu river. Although the majority of the falls lie in Argentinian territory we decided to see them from both sides, spending one last day in Brazil before crossing into Argentina - our last stop of the entire trip. How time flies ...
As waterfalls go, Igauzu doesn´t break any records. Its not the biggest, longest, highest or wettest, but hey awards aren´t everything. The falls are extremely impressive and on the Argentinian side especially there are so many viewpoints to check out, it takes a full day to see them all. After Victoria Falls it was great to be able to get so close without getting wet. I say that, but we were obviously missing a soaking, so decided to get in a boat and go under the falls. This ranks as possibly the silliest tourist attraction we have paid for, but great fun none the less. And yes we got drenched, a lot of water fell very hard on our heads!
Our last Brazilian activity
Close Encounters With a Tucan
Now that we have this shot the trip is complete. We are ready to come homewas a visit to a fantastic tropical bird park, displaying hundred of South American birds in huge avories. Although some had been bred there, many were rescued form the hands of poachers trying to export them as valuable pets. This place was AMAZING. Not only did I get to meet a Spanish talking parrot, several species of Toucan and the awesome
hyacinth macaw (this is the biggest parrot of them all), but I got to play a pirate with a bird on my shoulder. Brilliant!
Then it was on to Argentina. Goodbye crazy Brazilian electric showers that look like they could kill, goodbye expense, and goodbye fresh milk! Hello empanadas, hello dulche de leche and hello steak, big juicy chargrilled steak. Before heading off to Buenos Aires we decided to blow the budget and fly to Mendoza. This is the heart of the Argentinian wine region, and where there is good wine there is also fantastic food. The main purpose of the trip was to complete our mission of wine tasting in every continent. This time we decided to do it by bike, push bike. We took out of town to the heart of the bodegas and peddled between them
getting the low down on Argentinian wine. It really is all about red wine here, Malbec being the most famous. We both thought that it was amongst the best wine we have tasted and an absolute bargain to boot. A decent bottle in a restaurant only costs three quid! Wine tasting by bike isn´t nearly as hazordous as it sounds. We both survived without as much as a wobble, with happy faces and with the urge for another steak.
Spanish Word of the Week: Chopp - Beer specifically served from draft. A vital addition to anyones vocabulary. Interestingly over here most beer is served in bottles and draft is really seen as a premium you pay more for. For some reason in the UK it is quite the opposite.
This Week Likes: * The Itaipu dam. Close to the falls is the site of the worlds largest hydroelectric power plant. It generates enough to provide 70%!o(MISSING)f all Paraguay´s electricity and 30%!o(MISSING)f Brazil's. That is a hell of a lot of power from only water!
* The beautiful Mendoza sunshine, which turned out to be our last for some time
* There we were lamenting about
Heading Straight for the Falls
We're about to get very wet... the high cost of eating in Brazil, when we stumbled across an absolute bargain in Foz do Iguaçu. We initially walked past as it looked way to posh for us with its linen napkins and tablecloths. Then we saw we could get a three course meal for 3 pounds each and a really good one too!
This Weeks Dislikes:
- Roadworks at the Bodegas. The first stretch of wine country was somewhat ruined by trucks and pneumatic drills, slightly taking the edge of the beauty of the place.
- The pasta that never arrived. One Mendoza restaurant completely forgot Marissa´s dinner order. It was lucky we were sharing, well lucky for her 😉
- Missing out on Paraguay. The idea was to pop over the border for a cup of tea, but the urge to lie by the pool overcame us both. One we regretted the next day!
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Joools
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So happy ...
I'm honestly so happy you got your Toucan shot ... it would be petty of me to start quibbling that it was in a bird park! You both look like you've got some real colour - even you Marissa! I think everyone in the UK is very excited to have you coming back - can't see it myself to be honest, mainly cos I assume it will mean an end to the travel blogs - unless you're going to continue them in Kilburn!!! But anyway, we will definitely have to catch up at Christmas - I'll be bringing my notebook and will be ready to take copious notes!