Blogs from Paraná, Brazil, South America - page 7

Episode 5: Giant anteaters, river snorkelling and Iguazu Falls September 1, 2013 Hello to all. This is the last blog of our Brazil trip, featuring more critters and excellent scenery and friendly Brazilians. We flew from the Pantanal south to the city of Campo Grande in the state of Matto Grosso do Sul, then got a bus 4 hours southwest to the tourist town of Bonito. Our aim was to look for giant anteaters and do river snorkelling. We arrived in Bonito just as a vicious cold front came up from the South. I was aware that this could sometimes occur in July and August and we had packed some warm clothes just in case. The place where we were staying failed to provide sufficient bedding for the weather event, and we froze all night long. ... read more

Left Paraty at 5.30 am for a 4 hour drive to Sao Paulo. Flew out at 1.30. Arrived in The Brazilian side of the falls and it was rainig quite heavily. The falls were flooded and part of the trail was closed. It ws raining and getting dark. We then made the border crossing into Argentina.... 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

14th March ’13 Iguacu Falls After sleeping in and missing breakfast (it finishes at 9am) we visited the supermarket, got some bananas and sandwiches and caught the local bus down to the Iguacu Falls National Park. It was the usual fight with the turnstile and a full bus. The sign said the bus seated 27 and had room for 65 standing!!!!!!!!!!!!! The buses we have been on in Brazil all have seating which disabled, elderly and pregnant people get ‘prefencial’ the buses here have an additional category – obesio complete with a picture of a big fat person, strange but true. I have never seen a big fat person use these seats and I very much doubt they could get through the turnstile to reach one anyway! I make sure I stand well away from them ... read more

15-02 to 17-02: Foz do Iguacu Based on recommendation we visited the Dam: Itaipu - created in 1974 and finsihed in 2004. On the border of Brazil and Paraguay, this colossal beast of contemporary engineering ranked among the seven wonders of the modern world. It is One river, Two nations and One dream. Generating clean renewable energy and promoting self-sustainable development, but also conserving the environment, researching new technologies and improving peolple's lives. Today, Itaipu's installed capacity is 14 thousand Megawatts. It is 20 turbine units turning out 700 MW each - half for Paraguay half for Brazil. Paraguay does sell 50% back to Brazil. Only one of them supply electricity to a 2.5 million household city. Around Itaipu, Universities for social responsibility, renewable energy and eco-system, corporate governance, environmental issues are still being... read more