Paraty

Day 41 - Travel from Sao Paulo to Paraty

No sooner had we got off the night bus than we were on a private van that would finally land us in the coastal town of Paraty some 5-1/2 hrs later. At least it was the last of the long bus rides, but it was a doozy!

Under the Falls

They took us for a spin up close & then under the falls. They put us under a couple of times before heading around to where we boarded the boat then down river to the pick up point.
We had to get a wriggle on after that. We had to get on a bus that evening and we had to get back across the border, shower & change, and get to the bus port. We had enough time to say our tearful good-byes to Em & Gem for the second time in a couple of weeks.

For more photos from the Iguazu Falls, click here. It's the one place in Brazil that's a must see!

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly & before we knew it we were at the bus port. We had enough time there for Suellen to make some enquiries & send me off in a cab to a depot where my jumper was waiting for me. I'd left it on the bus from Bonito & they'd stashed it in the lost & found. That's both of us that had left a jumper on a bus & been able to recover it (and the camera). Maybe South America isn't such a scary place after all. Those things would be long gone in Oz.
The night bus sucked! We boarded around 5ish in the afternoon & didn't get into Sao Paulo until 11am. The less said about it the better.

Jet Boat

Time for some fun. We all climbed aboard a jet boat with some other randoms for some fun & games. We had to put anything we didn't want wet in a big water proof bag and don whatever water resistant clothing we could find. It wouldn't be enough.

From the Bottom

We wound our way down the cliffs to the river bank below the falls. We were about to board a jet boat for an extremely close look at the falls. Since the time in Canada I've been of the opinion that waterfalls are far more impressive from the bottom.

Up Close & Personal

These falls were some of the most impressive of the lot. Some crazies (including Kerri) couldn't help but go out onto the platform to get closer to the falls (why?) only to come back soaked again! I'll let the photo talk now.

Twin Falls

After lunch we set of down the last unexplored path in the park. It runs along the mezzanine level & let us have to first decent look at the falls from below. This pair of falls weren't as tall as the Twin Falls we hiked to in Yoho National Park in B.C., but the volume of water easily made up for it.

More Falls

The falls in picture are the same ones that are in the first photo I posted. They are at least as impressive up close and with the clearing weather the scene was improving by the minute.
After walking across the top of these falls for a while we headed back to the entrance of the park for lunch. On the way, we bumped into our old friends, Emma & Gemma who'd left us in La Paz. By a freak of co-incidence they were at the falls on the same day & crossed paths with us in such a large place. It was their photos I was talking about from the main falls.
They had lunch with us & it was so good to catch up & hear about what each other had been up to. They tagged along with us for the rest of our time at the falls.

Butterfly

We survived the rafting trip OK. We headed to a part of the falls we had seen from Brazil two days previous.
The butterflies weren't as prolific as they were in Brazil but they were certainly about. This one was by far the most colourful one we saw on the trip.

Monkeys!

At last! Monkeys! I was starting to believe that monkeys were a myth in South America & had started telling people so. I was thankfully proven wrong.
It was very difficult to take a photo of these fast moving animals from a moving boat. It was like trying to take a photo from a jumping castle.

Alligator

After the main falls we came back to the mainland & boarded rubber rafts. You've got to be a bit concerned about what happens if you go to far or take a wrong turn, but we were in the hands of our paddler/guide. We were in a bit of an isolated part of the park were people can't walk/overrun so there was way more wildlife. This Alligator was chilling out taking in a few rays (the sun was coming out at last).

We saw some of its reptillian cousins as well.

Main Falls

It was quite a long walk out over the huge expanse of water at the top of the falls to the overlook point. This cloud maker is where the most water comes crashing down into the ravine. We're right next to the border with Brazil. Unfortunately the weather was still overcast, but I've seen photos taken later that day when the sun came out & the scene is spectacular! The ones I saw had rainbows & the whole bit. The weather is the one thing that you can't control on a holiday.

Park Train

It was a rush to get though the gates when they opened. Everyone wants to get on the first train so that they have time to see the park. I was hoping we would see some wildlife along the way, but I guess the train scared everything off. The train took us to the end of the park where there was a walkway out to the main part of the falls.

Welcome to Argentina

Day 40 - Iguazu Falls Argentina Side

I should make a comment about breakfast in Brazil. It's not your run of the mill cereal & toast type of set up. Normally you can get those, but there is also a big spread of tropical fruits & cakes. Yes cake for breakfast . It's what they do over there. It's a bit of a sugar rush early in the morning & a shock to the system until you get used to it.
After breakfast we were back in the van & off to Argentina to see the other side of the falls. The border crossing into Argentina was a bit of a drag & we had to let our passports go with the driver. It was all fine, but it was just boring sitting in the bus.
We were eventually on our way again & quickly reached the national park that surrounds the falls.

Paraguay

South Americia - Day 39

Paraguay Shopping

We slept in late this morning. There wasn't much point in getting too exited because it was a Sunday and the city was shut. Not to mention the rain was still hammering down. We were supposed to go to the Argentina side of the falls today but our local guide decided we would be better to delay it until tomorrow. Considering the torrential rain it looked to be a good call. It would mean that we wouldn't have as much time there the next day, but it would at least be fine weather.
The alternate option was a trip into Paraguay. Iguazu is at the corner borders of Brazil, Argentina & Paraguay. We weren't going to go when we saw it on the itinerary as it was pretty much just a shopping trip, but with a whole day to kill we figured why not? Nothing better to do. Turned out to be a waste of time anyway. The shopping wasn't any cheaper than the US & there would be no warranties on the gear. To make things worse, on the way back we were told to fork out money for the use of the bus! I was already getting frustrated with Suellen's ways & this was a classic example. One or four of us were very angry at her after that.
The afternoon dragged on with nothing to do. Kerri, Nic & a few others went to the mall near by. The rain had backed off by that point.

Iguassu Falls - Brazil side

South America Day 38

Iguassu Falls - Brazil Side

We woke up at day break still on the bus. We stopped at a place called Cascavel to transfer to another bus only to continue for another 3 hrs or so. Finally after having been traveling for 20 hrs we arrived at the hotel at Iguassu. Our rooms weren't ready at that point and I don't think anyone in our tour was amused. All we wanted to do was have a shower and a nap for a bit.

Instead we were hustled back onto the van that bought us from the bus station to the hotel and taken to the Brazil side of the Iguassu falls.

It was a good option in the end because the weather was predicted to turn nasty later in the afternoon (and it did too!). The map above gives an idea of the general area.

The photo above was our first sight of the Iguassu falls. It was a shame the weather was a bit crap because it took the edge off it a bit. Most of the view you can see here is in Argentina. The river running through the middle is also the border between the two countries.

The Coatis around the falls are incredibly brazen. They just don't even register that people are even a threat. We'd heard stories about how many were around the area, but this was the only one we saw on today.

Bugs

Not long after we started walking along the trail we were mobbed by butterflies! They were everywhere and had no qualms about landing on us. I took photos of about 10 different varieties that day. The falls create a lot of water spray and make for some excellent conditions for flowering plants. Where there are flowers there are butterflies.

It wasn't just butterflies either. This colourful grass hopper was quite happy to have its photo taken as well.

These stripy centipedes were all over the place. They must be a crucial part of breaking down the litter on the forest floor.

The further we walked along the path & closer to the main water falls, the wetter it became. The spray off the incredible amount of water cascading over the falls was quite amazing (and wet!).

The Iguassu Falls are made up of 170 odd individual water falls. The massive flood plain the water surrounds the drop zone and drops into the river below at multiple places. I guess Victoria and Niagara falls are similar.

I think this is an experiment to see what people will do given the opportunity despite the discomfort. Needless to say, most of us walked out on this platform to get a close look at the main falls. Unfortunately we didn't see much because of the spray, & got a drenching.

And this would be the result of walking out on the wet walkway. (Drowned rats from left to right :- Sandra, Kerri and Corina). They knew it was going to happen, but went anyway. Somehow I managed to go out there and not get anywhere near as wet. Not sure why...

We had to leave the falls at that point. We're supposed be visiting the Argentina side tomorrow or the next (weather depending).

By the time we'd reached the hotel the weather was turning down right nasty. A storm front belted the area for rest of the evening and into the night with a spectacular lightning show and heavy rain. I can't say I was upset because I like the rain and hadn't seen much since our awful time on the Lares trek a couple of weeks back..
A band of us went to dinner at the restaurant nearly next door to the hotel. We still got drenched walking 30m, but it was worth it. The food was excellent! We even had Nic (a sworn vegetarian aside from the odd bit of chicken) eating lamb and beef (and enjoying it!). Kerri's sister Julie came back to the dark side (red meat eaters) while she was on the same tour a few years back.
After the bus journey last night it's early to bed. Hopefully we'll get to see the Argentina side of the falls tomorrow.