Blogs from Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil, South America - page 8

30th April. When Isabelle told us that she was intending to travel in Central and South America for 6 months I had the idea that Pam, Phil and I would travel out to see her. My experience of long distance travel over the last few years has been the ferry to Guernsey, so Central or South America seemed a long way to go! We first of all thought we might go to Trinidad but that didn’t fit with Isabelle’s timetable so in the end we decided on Rio de Janeiro. Mark and Christopher had also told us about Iguacu Falls and both said that if we ever got the chance to go and see them then we must do it. Rio seemed near enough to Iguacu (well at least the falls are in the same country) ... read more

We had a morning flight taking us from Rio to Iguacu and everything was pretty straightforward. We got a taxi to the airport and we had landed by lunchtime. We hopped in a taxi to get us to the hotel, which was situated into the national park. That meant we had to buy our entrance tickets before getting to the hotel. We only realised this when the driver told us so and dropped us off at the ticket office. He explained we had to get off, buy the ticket, cross to the other side and that he would pick us back up at the other end. We all looked at each other dubiously... It meant leaving him with all our bags while we went through the pedestrian entrance and I think we all wondered whether or ... read more

We left Asuncion in Paraguay early in the morning on a bus bound for Iguazu in Brazil. It was a rather long trip, but also a little stressful. This was not a tourist bus - just the normal daily bus run. So there was no guide to help us out here. We knew we had to get off the bus for a passport check to get out of Paraguay, then get back on, then get off again with our passports to enter Brazil. There were people jumping on and off at various stops, and we had no idea where to get off. My Spanish didn't help, as we were into Portuguese territory now. But, like everything else, we sorted it out and made it through the borders safely. The Iguazu Falls are another one of those ... read more

We then headed across the boarder into Brazil to see the more panoramic view of the falls. Absolutely amazing. Just check out the pictures. In addition to the falls, Foz Do Iguassu in Brazil also has the worlds largest hydroelectric power plant. Actually, China has a larger dam, but because the Rio Parana has such steady flow all year, the one here produces more power. It's construction (which began in 1973) has been controversial because it drowned out tons of rainforest and amazing waterfalls, though it has created mucho commerce. It belongs equally to Paraguay and Brazil, lying on the natural boarder (the river) between the countries. There's a huge reservoir of water up top which drains into the gianormous white turbines, which then exits the dam several meters below the water's surface downstream. The waterslide ... read more

We had to checkout by 10am so that seemed as good a time as any to jump onto a bus to Brazil. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the border, at the first stop we quickly jumped off the bus and had our passports stamped as we exited Argentina for the last time. Then it was back onto the bus for another 2 minutes before getting off and going through Brazilian customs. A straightforward process, but one for which our bus did not wait around for. So after getting our stamps we went to the bus stop and waited for around 45 minutes for the next bus. From there it was another 15 minutes to the city. What a difference a day makes. In the morning were we staying in what is best described ... read more