Cataratas do Iguaçu, Brazil side
We woke up early excited for our first really touristy day. There were more choices for breakfast than our last hotel but still a lot of pastries, bakery etc. We tried sticking to something more filling like eggs. Yoghurt here is a bit weird and extremely sweet, haven't found anyone that I can stand so far. Anyhows after breakfast straight to the main station. Either we missed the first bus by 2 minutes or it left early, only approx. 20 min to the next one though. We followed instructions we found on the internet but it was quite easy going anyways, easy to find signs etc. Better than we experienced in Madrid last year...
The bus however wasn't any luxurious vehicle, the few seats that existed were quickly occupied. Singular seats and a lot of room between them. This meant standing for the next hour although I managed to get a seat for the last 10 min (obviously sharing but my gentleman decided to keep standing). Our driver still drove the Brazilian way, speeding and slamming the breaks just in front of read lights, bus stops etc. Kept a pretty good speed also in curves. The bus also stopped at the airport so we dropped some tourists of during the way but most people worked at the park or nearby, only a few more tourists heading to the park. We've also noticed so far that most tourist seem to be South American or Brazilian.
Dropping of at the park we bought our tickets and started our journey to the falls. All this quick and smooth, no lines in particular, not even for the female restrooms.
There was no lack of people though. So many tourists (!) Sadly it ruins a bit of the experience but we are glad we were early at least - believe me it got worse. The road to the falls was mostly in the shadows from the trees and it was quite cold. Very cold in the open windows from the short bus ride inside the park. J asked me about dangerous species in the area and I shook my head and couldn't think of something dangerous in this touristy area, despite maybe caymans in the river. Before starting the trail we come across a sign with a jaguar. So apparently they live here and the sign state that you should be lucky if encountering one but keep distance and do not scare them. Huh...
We decided there were easier preys than us around here and kept walking. It was a very short trail, easy access both for children and elderly. And the view... It was magic! Mind blowing to say the least. I love being rewarded with a waterfall when taking trails out in the world but this was the mother of waterfalls. You'll see the pictures here but it's impossible to get you a fair idea of it. This has to be seen with your own two eyes. I so recommend it!!!
We shivered a bit both from astonishment and the cold (shadows + water from the falls) and just enjoyed our moment here. Took a thousand of pictures.
When we walked around and seen the falls from different angles we headed to the exit and it was around midday. A bit warmer but we tried staying in the sun mostly. We heard about a bird park from friends that they recommended so we asked around and found it to be close. We just had to cross the big road. On this occasion not so many clear signs and very non touristy to cross a big road without and cross over. But it worked out just fine.
Also here easy to get tickets and less tourists while inside. So many species of birds but most in cages. This hurt us at first since we didn't want to contribute to that but after a while we learned that they are reintroducing extinct species to the wild and work with endangered species as well as rehabilitation for hurt birds. That is releasing them back to the wild. Then everything felt so much better. We were probably most impressed with the Toucan and its beak, the colors seem painted on and surreal.
We returned with the same bus back to town but it went so much faster this way. We also got seats after maybe half the way. Dropped of at the main station and headed down to the road with the big restaurants while still sunlight. This time we found what they tried to describe our first evening here, it was so much further walking than we had expected though. As I told you earlier, not a walk we'd taken in the night time.
It was early for dinner but we were starving and once we were seated it quickly filled up. Most people enjoying drinks. We tried burrito and some meat which was good, nothing spectacular but good. Best of all was the cold beer. We also tried some different types of caprinhas but so far the regular one is the best.
It was still early and before 22 pm when returning to the hotel but your senior blogg writer was quite done for the day. Felt like an old lady but couldn't keep my eyes up.
So that's it for today. Ciao!
The bus however wasn't any luxurious vehicle, the few seats that existed were quickly occupied. Singular seats and a lot of room between them. This meant standing for the next hour although I managed to get a seat for the last 10 min (obviously sharing but my gentleman decided to keep standing). Our driver still drove the Brazilian way, speeding and slamming the breaks just in front of read lights, bus stops etc. Kept a pretty good speed also in curves. The bus also stopped at the airport so we dropped some tourists of during the way but most people worked at the park or nearby, only a few more tourists heading to the park. We've also noticed so far that most tourist seem to be South American or Brazilian.
Dropping of at the park we bought our tickets and started our journey to the falls. All this quick and smooth, no lines in particular, not even for the female restrooms.
There was no lack of people though. So many tourists (!) Sadly it ruins a bit of the experience but we are glad we were early at least - believe me it got worse. The road to the falls was mostly in the shadows from the trees and it was quite cold. Very cold in the open windows from the short bus ride inside the park. J asked me about dangerous species in the area and I shook my head and couldn't think of something dangerous in this touristy area, despite maybe caymans in the river. Before starting the trail we come across a sign with a jaguar. So apparently they live here and the sign state that you should be lucky if encountering one but keep distance and do not scare them. Huh...
 |
| Mariposa |
We decided there were easier preys than us around here and kept walking. It was a very short trail, easy access both for children and elderly. And the view... It was magic! Mind blowing to say the least. I love being rewarded with a waterfall when taking trails out in the world but this was the mother of waterfalls. You'll see the pictures here but it's impossible to get you a fair idea of it. This has to be seen with your own two eyes. I so recommend it!!!
When we walked around and seen the falls from different angles we headed to the exit and it was around midday. A bit warmer but we tried staying in the sun mostly. We heard about a bird park from friends that they recommended so we asked around and found it to be close. We just had to cross the big road. On this occasion not so many clear signs and very non touristy to cross a big road without and cross over. But it worked out just fine.
Also here easy to get tickets and less tourists while inside. So many species of birds but most in cages. This hurt us at first since we didn't want to contribute to that but after a while we learned that they are reintroducing extinct species to the wild and work with endangered species as well as rehabilitation for hurt birds. That is releasing them back to the wild. Then everything felt so much better. We were probably most impressed with the Toucan and its beak, the colors seem painted on and surreal.
We returned with the same bus back to town but it went so much faster this way. We also got seats after maybe half the way. Dropped of at the main station and headed down to the road with the big restaurants while still sunlight. This time we found what they tried to describe our first evening here, it was so much further walking than we had expected though. As I told you earlier, not a walk we'd taken in the night time.
 |
| Authentic view as always, dinner accompanied with pollution from the streets, splendid. |
It was early for dinner but we were starving and once we were seated it quickly filled up. Most people enjoying drinks. We tried burrito and some meat which was good, nothing spectacular but good. Best of all was the cold beer. We also tried some different types of caprinhas but so far the regular one is the best.
It was still early and before 22 pm when returning to the hotel but your senior blogg writer was quite done for the day. Felt like an old lady but couldn't keep my eyes up.
So that's it for today. Ciao!
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