Blogs from Iguaçu National Park, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil, South America

Another overnight bus (saves on hostels) and we were in Foz do Iguaçu. This had taken 16.5 hours instead of the schedueled 15 for seemingly no reason other than the poor drivers. As we swung into the bus terminal he scraped the front badly but seemed to be claiming it wasn't fault. Safe to say Pluma wasn't our favourite bus company so far - the least luxurious we have experienced for the longest amount of time, but it did a job. I had remembered my jumper and was very grateful for it. Trying to figure out the directions to the Manga Rosa hostel from the international bus terminal proved to be laborious ('head to the North East corner of the bus terminal', I'm neither Ray Mears nor American) so we got a R$20 taxi. There had ... read more

Tuesday 24th December (Odyssey Day 46) Getting dropped into town this morning, our first stop was a bank. We found an HSBC and managed to get some money from the ATM. Unfortunately some cards trigger a maximum withdrawal from the local bank and you can only get out 300 real per day. I believe it is a security thing and while that’s good, it’s also really frustrating. A few of us then caught a local bus to Iguazu falls. The bus was interesting, when we boarded we didn’t pay the bus driver – instead there was a turnstile just behind him with an operator who took the money and let you through. I’ve never seen a setup like this before, but it did make each stop much quicker as the driver didn’t have to worry about ... read more

From Angra we took a bus to Paraty. After one hour the tire exploded, so in the middle of nowhere, we waited for another bus. After four hours we arrived in Paraty (normally 3hours), a pittoresque charming colonial location at the seaside, having around 50 little islands. It is one of the most cinematic destinations in Brazil. Cobblestones are so oneven that it makes it painful to walk on the streets. We enjoyed a horse trip through waterfalls and rainforest with two americans from NY. After a few days relaxing in the sun on small islands and little boats we took a 24 hours bus ride to Iguazu. It is advised to take place in front of the bus, as in the back of the bus a toilet might annoy your trip. Iguazu is located at ... read more

We´ve been travelling pretty quickly since Floripa, no time to upload pictures and do blogs until now. Finally have some time to relax and a decent internet connection here in Mendoza so I´ll try and catch up. Getting the car returned in Floripa was a bit of an adventure. Traffic is pretty laid back on most of the island but it is hectic in centro, where the car rental and bus station are. Lots of 1 way streets and intersections without stoplights or stop signs, drivers are crazy too. Luckily we made it to the gas station to refuel and then to the car rental place without any new scratches on the car. Success! We took an overnight bus from Floripa to Foz do Iguacu, on the border of Brazil and Argentina. Foz´s main draw is ... read more

The word iguacu means "Big Waters" in the Guarani and Tupi language, and one's first look at the magnificent Iguacu Fallsreveals why these waterfalls retained the name given to them by the natives of the area. Straddling the border between Argentina and Brazil, the Rio Iguacu roars over the edge of the Parana Plateau in 275 breathtaking waterfalls that stretch like a curtain over nearly 3 kilometers of river. It was one of the most stunning sights I have ever seen, rivalled only by the Grand Canyon in sheer natural splendor. I will let the photos tell most of the story for this post, since words cannot possibly do the falls justice. We flew into Foz do Iguacu, a city of about 350,000 people on the Brazilian side of the border, and met our friend Eric ... read more