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Published: October 15th 2011
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Foz do Iguaçu, or Iguazu Falls, was supposed to be one of the most impressive sights in the world. We had already decided that to do Brazil justice would require far more time than the week we had, so we had decided to leave the country for another day. There was time, however, to see Iguazu.
The bus was pretty straight forward from Campo Grande and we arrived in Foz do Iguaçu to find a place to stay. The place we had booked was weird. It had once been a large hotel, fallen into disrepair, and was now being restored as a more budget place. The room we got could be generously described as modern institutional in character, but was comfortable enough.
To see the falls you really have to look at both sides – the Argentinian side and the Brazilian side. The Brazilian side was simple enough – we walked a couple of blocks from the hotel and jumped on a bus.
From this side the falls were impressive. A long walk along a path gets you right underneath, or in front of, a part of the falls that flow into the Garganta del Diablo, or Devil's
Throat. A raincoat is essential if you walk out onto the walkway – and that's the best part.
The falls are stunning – while not the biggest in the world, they're in the top three, and the access to them is better than any other.
To get to the Argentinian side required a little more planning, but not much. It was possible to do it yourself via public transport, but cost only a little more to hire a private tour in a small bus which would get you there more easily, and take the hassle out of the border crossing formalities.
The Argentinan side was possibly the more impressive of the two. While you don't get as up close and wet as in Brazil, the walks are more extensive, and you get an incredible overview of the whole system of waterfalls. Iguazu is not a single waterfall – it's a complex of many falls coming over an extensive escarpment. The photos truly did not do it justice – really had to be there.
Our time on the continent was coming to an end. 7 months of Latin flavoured travel. But we had to get to Sao
Paulo first. Massive, exciting, dangerous – it sounded a lot like Central America, only bigger. We had organised a relatively cheap flight from Iguazu to get there – a couple of hours versus almost an entire day on a bus. It wasn't even a choice. To get the cheap flight, of course, it was early. Very early, the night before, really. And it was cold in Foz Do Iguaçu at stupid o'clock, too cold. We needed some actual tropical weather.
The approach into São Paulo just on dawn was very impressive – the cloud had settled into the valleys, the newly breaking dawn lighting the blanket of cloud and smog, only the taller buildings poking through. Even the favelas – those parts of the machine which provide the fuel for Brazil's economic growth – looked good. Tumbling down the hillsides to spread chaotically over the flatlands. They were glowing warmly in the day's first light
The airport at São Paulo is actually at the nearby town of Guarulhos, and to get to the city is quite a drive. We had booked an apartment in the city for a few days a while back, and the owner had organised
for a car to pick us up. Again we experienced the excitement of our name on a sign – we were almost proper flash tourists.
The traffic was interesting, to say the least. The traffic jam – everyday, regular as clockwork – in São Paulo is known as El Infierno. And for good reason. What should be a half hour drive took over two. It gave me plenty of time to not speak much to José – the driver. He spoke zero English, and my Spanish just confused him. That didn't stop him pointing out various things in cheerful rapid fire Portuguese. I nodded happily, and made the appropriate noises. Some of it I even understood.
The apartment itself was in a reasonable area, but we were still warned not to wander about after dark. A nice place, it was quite extensive – two big bedrooms, good size bathroom, laundry – and for less than the cheapest hotels we could find.
São Paulo is a giant city, and we really didn't have time to see much of it. Fortunately, our place was quite close to Liberdade – one of the more interesting parts of São Paulo.
Also called Little Japan, it was good for a day out – especially since our plans to travel there had been amended. Chock full of takoyaki shops, places to buy uncomfortably shaped bathtubs and strange toilets, and with many Barzilian-Japanese around it was a little surreal, but in a good way.
The smog over the city was something else pretty impressive. Looking out from the 7th floor you could only see so far. Not far at all actually. It made for some excellent sunsets. The day in São Paulo was accompanied by a constant soundtrack of helicopters. Due to the traffic a lot of companies operate helicopter taxis to get from office block to office block, and the amount of choppers in the air was something else. And the night was punctuated by the random gunshots from the nearby favelas. Normally a single shot, on the first night there was either a celebration or a serious shootout, but it was short lived.
And this was it.
The end of stage 1, really. We said our farewells to the older travellers as they headed up to the top half of the Americas, and we headed to Heathrow.
I found myself wondering why Aussie young folk do the Europe thing. The year in London has become a cliché – now it's the year in Paris. Latin America offered so much more. We had spent almost 8 months here – and were already keen to come back.
A continent which is both modern and sophisticated, while retaining, in many parts, a rich and proud indigenous heritage, together with incredible landscapes, mountains many times higher than any but the Himalayas, deserts, plains, glaciers. Looking back we realised that we had seen so many things, even though it felt like we had barely skipped over the surface of the places we'd been.
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