Iguassu Falls & Paraguay

The trip to Foz do Iguaçu (Iguassu Falls) was very quicly. However, I could see how enormous and beautiful it is. Besides the Falls, my girlfriend and I could visit Paraguay and Usina de Itaipu (a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay).

The trip started on Friday – April, 29^th – when we caught the flight. As I live in Sao Paulo and my girlfriend lives in Sao José dos Campos (1 hour away), we had to meet at the airport. She had taken a bus which was going to arrive very close to the time of the flight. For this reason I decided to try to check in at the machine for us. My one was ok, her was “under authorization”, though. So I asked the company support what was going on. They advised me to ask the attendant as there were more people than seats, as the last flight was canceled. Hopefully, I could reserve a seat for her. Nevertheless, we had to sit far from each other. Shame on it!

After an hour and 20 minutes, we landed in Foz do Iguaçu. There a taxi driver was waiting for us to take us to the Normandie Hostel. It was around 2 am, so we just got ready to sleep to be ready for shopping in Paraguay on the day after.

8 am – the alarm was set.

9 am – it rang again.  Wow.. so difficult to wake up!

After put the clothes on we went downstairs for breakfast (included at the hostel price). Then, let´s get the bus to Paraguay! As we didn’t know where the bus stop was, we asked at the pharmacy.

The bus every stop was getting more crowded. Saturday, is the busiest day in Paraguay. No problem!!!

There we could see a mix of shopping malls, peddlers and mini-outlets. There was anything who you couldn’t find there. Electronics, clothes, accessories, underwear, perfume, cosmetics, drinks, etc … Whatever you are looking for you can find. Although you can buy the products for a good price, usually cheaper than in Brazil and the border countries, you must test them (for electronics) or make sure it is really original.

I guess we spent around 5 or 6 hours walking around. We bought a few things, though. Spirits, perfumes, moisturizing and clothes.

Tired to walk, let´s get back to the Hostel to leave our new belongings. Still sunny, why not to have a beer?

Then, back to the Hostel, a rest to save energy for the night.

We had read on Internet there were clubs and bars close to the Hostel. But where? There was anything opened to ask. So we decided to walk and find something. At the gas station a guy oriented us the way to the bars. There we chose one and had drinks and beers with nachos.

Exhausted, we went to sleep.

Sunday, the last day! We woke up earlier, because we had to go to the Iguassu Falls and the Itaipu Dam.  We decided to go to the Falls first! Bad choice, you will understand why … The weather, different than Saturday was cloudy. Not so good for viewing the falls.

We took the bus and head to the National Park (Brazilian side). It was freezing there. Because of the weather we gave up to do the Macuco Safari tour (The boat travels up the river through the canyon facing the rapids at a speed that allows the appreciation of the scenery).

So we just went to the edge to see the Iguassu Falls. It is huge!! At the “Garganta do Diabo” you are rounded by waterfalls. A can feel a great sensation over there.

Follow some pics …

The bad thing of the tour was when we left. Just because once we had left the National Park, the sun came out. We were so disappointed! Well.. there was nothing else to do, so we departed on the way to Itapu Dam.

Just before, we stopped at the Mc Donalds, as we were starving!!

Already at the Itaipu Dam, we decided for the panoramic tour (1 hour), instead of the complete tour (2 hours). The “Usina de Itaipu” is enormous. It is responsible for the total energy in Paraguay and around 20% in Brazil.

After the tour, we went to the same bar as the day before, for dinner. Then, we went to the Hostel to sleep. Our flight back was at 6 am. It was so hard to wake up! But we made it and caught the flight back to Sao Paulo. Back to the reality and work!