Brazil - Iguazu Falls & Foz Tropicana Bird Park

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I eventually arrived in the town of Foz de Iguazu at midday on Monday 22 June after a 23 hour bus journey. I found a hotel about 5 minutes walk from the bus terminal and was overjoyed when I saw my huge room. It came with a choice of three single beds, cable TV and bathroom. It got even better when I turned the TV on and saw the final round of the US Open golf was on. After the long bus journey and with the torrential rain outside, this was a perfect way to spend my day in bed. I popped out to a local restaurant for dinner and then returned to the room to watch more TV. On Tuesday, I took the local bus into the small town and walked around for a few hours before having dinner in Pizza Hut. Then I walked around in the rain trying to find a stop for a bus that would take me back to my hotel. After close to an hour of walking in the heavy rain, I eventually got on the correct bus. Once again, I spent the evening in my room watching TV as there was not much else to do. On Wednesday, I took a local bus into town and then caught the bus to Iguazu National Park. After paying the entrance fee (about GBP13) I boarded a Park bus that took us closer to the Falls. I jumped off at Hotel Das Cataratas where a walking trail began towards the Falls. The walk gave some great panoramic views of the Falls and I could not stop myself from taking lots of photos. The trail ended at Devils Throat, the largest waterfall where 14 falls drop 350 feet. While waiting for the Park bus back to the entrance, I walked around the photo exhibition showing the history of the Falls. A few hundred yards from the exit to the National Park was Foz Tropicana Bird Park. I spent a couple of hours wandering around this Park that had lots of rare and various coloured birds. There were a few huge aviaries that you could pass through where the birds were free to be themselves. This allowed for some close up encounters. The Park also had alligators, anacondas, pythons, marmosets and butterflies. I caught the local bus back to town where I got some dinner and then returned to the hotel for the evening. On Thursday morning, I checked out and caught the bus to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina.

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