Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Foz do Iguacu, Brazil - 5-6 November 2008


The Iguazu Falls - situated on the borders of Brazil and Argentina - are the world's widest falls, spanning 275 separate falls along 2.7 kilometres of the Iguazu river. Although two-thirds of the Iguazu Falls are in Argentinian territory, the most popular falls is the U-shaped Gargantua del Diablo (Devil's Throat), which is shared by both Argentina and Brazil, and is best viewed from Brazil's side.

With the rainy season in place, the cascades at the Iguazu Falls were incredibly fast and powerful. I felt invigorated just being around the energizing falls and hearing the roaring thunder of the cascades. The sprays from the falls were good fun. I was happy even though I was soaked from head to toe. :)

Tuesday was spent on the road. The 16-hour (2:30 PM Tue - 6:00 AM Wed) bus ride on Pluma from Sao Paulo to Foz do Iguacu was a very unpleasant ordeal. The bus was old, it had a smelly toilet in the back and it was packed with locals with terrible BO (body odor). If I had a choice, I would not ride with them again.

On the bright side, and literally too, I saw for the first time the bright stars of the Southern Hemisphere!! The night was clear and the surrounds were pitch black, simply a perfect night for star gazing! I was reminded of a time when a friend told me that the stars in the Southern Hemisphere deferred from those in the North. The Southern constellations did look different from those I'd been accustomed to in the North.

Here are some photos of the Iguazu Falls from the side of Brazil:






Above right: Walkout to the Devil's Throat (aka Gargantua del Diablo) falls



Above: The Gargantua del Diablo

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