{"id":389,"date":"2011-04-04T19:43:32","date_gmt":"2011-04-04T23:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Sarcastic-Travels.com\/?p=389"},"modified":"2011-04-04T19:43:32","modified_gmt":"2011-04-04T23:43:32","slug":"iguazu-falls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sarcastic-travels.com\/iguazu-falls\/","title":{"rendered":"Iguazu Falls Indulgence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I don’t know what it is about a waterfall that draws people, but it seems to be the case around the globe that wherever water falls over a cliff people will trek to see it happen. Perhaps it is the visual manifestation of the power of natural forces, maybe it is the roar, or it could just be that humans find waterfalls pretty. I won’t pretend to say with definition, but I can say that as a display of nature’s force, for physical beauty, as well as for the roar factor, Iguazu meets all expectations.
\n
\n[set_id=72157626179343779]<\/p>\n
The falls are shared by Argentina and Brazil, occurring in the corner where Paraguay comes in, although the falls themselves are not in Paraguay, being instead very unevenly split in Argentina’s favor. You have to transit somewhere else in either Argentina or Brazil to get there, and we chose to use Sao Paulo for this purpose, primarily because we could leave for the falls from the same airport we would arrive in from Atlanta, whereas in Buenos Aires we would have had to change from the international airport to the domestic in order to make the flight connections on both arrival and departure. Fares were reasonably equal as it was and since we had never been to Sao Paulo, unlike Rio de Janeiro, the only other choice of arrival\/departure city, we plunked for Sao Paulo. I confess I was surprised at the relative ease of using the airport in the largest city in the Americas, but we encountered no problems or complications with using the Sao Paulo airport and after a not unreasonable lay-over, which I slept through, we were on our way to the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu with TAM, a local carrier. By the way, if you should have occasion to fly TAM, and in spite of the disbelief of most all members of frequent flier forums on line, they WILL restrict you to one carry-on bag weighing no more than 5 kilos. Be prepared to check most everything you ever carry on with a US airline.<\/p>\n
The Brazilian city is considerably larger than the Argentine equivalent, Puerto Iguazu, but we didn’t find a hotel we fancied on the Brazilian side, so while we would fly in and out through Brazil, we actually stayed in Argentina. For the first two nights we stayed at the La Cantera Jungle lodge. Their site, http:\/\/www.hotellacantera.com\/ingles\/iguazu\/lodge.htm<\/a>, will give some excellent views of the property as well as insight into their philosophy. As the name implies, the lodge is indeed in the jungle itself, carved out to cause as little damage as possible to the forest surrounding you. I was especially enamored of the many Helliconia flowers in bloom. We found it to be a magical location which felt far more isolated than it actually was, perhaps enhanced by the use of the unpaved road to reach it. They also had a fine restaurant, which is helpful since there really is very little to eat or do in the town itself, and while you could retreat to the more populous Brazilian side for dinner, the border formalities, in both directions, could become tiresome. That is another thing to note in dispute of many postings on travel websites: Brazil WILL most certainly check for a valid visa on every crossing. Border formalities are quite alive and well, and on occasion depending on the time of day, can take quite a bit of your time, so budget for that in advance.<\/p>\n Our first day was entirely consumed in simply arriving at the location so we didn’t actually see the falls until the next day. We had decided to view the Brazilian side first since we would ultimately be staying inside the park on the Argentine side in another day. Our first stop on the Brazilian side before entering the park, was the Parque dos Aves, or Bird Park. I will go on record right now as saying that I don’t approve of zoos at all and honestly believe most of them to be places of great cruelty with animals imprisoned in ridiculously tiny cages and subjected to insane conditions for their species. Can you imagine the unique hell a polar bear suffers in, say, Dallas in July? I recognize that a very small number of institutions, usually specialty outfits that work with only a limited number of species, can be located in a reasonable climate and provide for the care of especially endangered animals, but I abhor the majority which seem to be little more than entertainment and theme parks for children instead of well-planned and maintained research and care facilities. That said, I recognized that this bird park was going to be a zoo and that didn’t thrill me at first, but I confess that I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the facility only housed birds that were native to the area, so the birds would have felt at least in the correct climate and circumstances and I was also pleased to see that the park was designed for the comfort of the birds in that enclosures were quite spacious, even by human standards, freedom of movement and even flight was preserved, and all residents appeared healthy and not in distress from being captive.<\/p>\n I was most taken with the toucans for several reasons. I never realized how enormous their beaks actually are, nor did I realize how many different species of toucan existed. I also didn’t realize how amazingly and almost unrealistically blue their eyes are. I also didn’t realize that they would “speak” with a series of clicks and chirps, nor did I expect them to be so interactive and unafraid of people. They would fly right up to you and even drink from my water bottle and they attempted to untie, or at least investigate for food worthiness, the shoes of both Tim and myself. The only creatures even close to rivaling them in sheer beauty would have been the scarlet ibis.<\/p>\n We moved on into the Brazilian national park and on to the falls themselves from the bird park. The first views of the falls are unforgettable and ultimately the falls are a place best experienced either in person or through photos as words will ultimately fail to describe the experience and the sight. Iguazu is a decidedly visual place. On the Brazilian side there is a well-defined and paved sight-seeing trail that I would imagine is easily negotiated by most anyone. The trail ends at a catwalk that will allow one to walk out into the very heavy mist and spray coming from the “Devil’s Throat” waterfall formation. Conveniently, you can purchase at least a dry t-shirt from the gift shop at the base of the elevator that will return you to the level of the street and the shuttle buses that will return you to the parking area. There is a hotel here in a grand converted colonial building, and if you have a spare $600 or so a night, you might consider staying.<\/p>\n We were due to change hotels the following day so in the morning we opted to visit Itaipu Dam, the largest dam in the world in terms of power generated. The dam is jointly operated by Paraguay and Brazil and spans the border between these two nations. The dam is sufficient to provide all of the power required by Paraguay (20% of the total output) with the balance of the power produced going to Brazil where it accounts for 20% of all Brazilian power needs. The 30% allotted to Paraguay that Paraguay doesn’t need, is sold to Brazil, which provides Paraguay with a much needed source of revenue. Brazil bankrolled the construction of the dam and receives repayment for the Paraguayan share through power production at reduced or free rates. Again, the dam is a very visual experience and since we happened to be there during a wet season we were treated to the unusual site of water coming over the spillway since the water level was practically at the top of the dam on the other side which became very obvious during a motor coach tour that drives along the top. This tour technically took us into Paraguay without having to hassle with the visa issues and also conveniently meant we didn’t have to brave the 3-4 hour wait to get across the border in a car, nor having to hope that we didn’t attract the attention of the armed youths who delight in robbing waiting cars often full of well cashed Brazilians looking to buy large quantities of tax-free electronics in the malls of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. I try to be objective and to find something nice to say about most any country, especially those I have been able to judge in person, but I struggle to find many recommendations for Paraguay aside from the most memorable one provided by an Argentine friend, which was ultimately so totally Argentinian, who dismissed Paraguay by noting, “well, the maids have to come from somewhere!”<\/p>\nBirds and the Brazilian Side<\/h2>\n
Itaipu Dam<\/h2>\n
Argentine Side<\/h2>\n