Blogs from Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil, South America - page 5

There is no guinea pig on offer on the dinner table in Brazil however the meals are still a little different from those served in the UK. The South American theme of eating a ridiculous amount of rice continues here although it isn’t always accompanied by potatoes so that is a step in the right direction when it comes to the carbs balance! Instead of potatoes, we usually find beans or feijão as they are called here. They are generally served in a creamy and tasty sauce and they are a key ingredient in one of their national dishes, Feijoada. Feijoada is quite a strong tasting dish and some I have tasted have been very salty, I am reliably informed that this is due to the meat being preserved in salt. It is a stew consisting ... read more

Now as many of you know, I am not really a night owl. Once the sun has set I prefer to be settled on the sofa or in bed already, old before my time maybe but happy with it all definitely. However, there are a few things in life that are best done after dark and seeing stars is one of them. So last night, I set off for Itaipu Dam once more where they offer an astronomical experience. Now before I go into details of the evening, I have to apologise for the photographs or lack thereof! It goes without saying that when it is very dark there is little that can be seen by the naked eye, let alone my little camera so I have very few photographs to offer you and those that ... read more

We were sad to be departing Paraty, our adopted home for the previous four nights and a place we will remember for a long time to come. I suppose it is better to leave a place and feel a sense of sadness at the departure than linger too long and leave feeling fed up, but Paraty felt like one of those places where our stay would never reach such a limit. Beaches, beauty and atmosphere, the town had it all in abundance. But, on we continue ever deeper into the heart of South America. In many ways, we are on the home stretch of our journey but the end feels nowhere near, a point on some future horizon which has yet to come into focus. Amy and I spoke a few days ago about the fact ... read more

Today I visited an Ecomuseum, this one is based near the border of Paraguay next to the enormous Itaipu Dam. I will tell you more of the actual construction, workings and experience of the Dam next time but for today and the for the Ecomuseum I will concentrate on the planning that went into the Dam. So if you are going to build a Dam, particulary one of this impressive size it turns out that there are an awful lot of things to think about. Not only do you need the right location and resources to begin such an operation but you also need to think about the social and environmental impacts of your work and this is what the Ecomuseum tells us about. The Itaipu Dam stands on the Paraná river, the natural border between ... read more

... mehr gibts morgen... Alles Liebe aus Foz do Iguazu! So, hat nun etwas laenger gedauert... Wir haben in Iguazu unsere neuen Liebelingstiere entdeckt: Coatis! (Frage des Tages: Wie heissen die Tiere mit dem gestreiften Schwanz?) Ich glaube, sie wuerden ein 1A Accessoire abgeben, aber leider bekommen wir sie wohl beim Zoll nicht durch.@Andi: passende Kinder haben wir auch schon entdeckt. Wir hoffen, dass dein Gehalt reicht, um 10 davon durchzufuettern! Jetzt aber zu den Wasserfaellen: schoen, gross, nass, beeindruckend ... aber Bilder sagen ja mehr als 1000 Worte! Ein paar grundsaetzliche Reise-Erkenntnisse am Rande: 1.) Wenn man in dem Dreilaendereck Brasilien, Argentinien, Paraguay die Grenzen passiert, kann es vorkommen, dass im Bus unter den Fahrgaesten gesammelt wird, um den Grenzposten zu bestechen bzgl. genauerer resp. nicht genauerer Kontrollen. 2.) W... read more