Iguazu Falls

Traffic in São Paulo has an awful reputation, and one that I haven't seen enough of to really believe. I've been caught in Nairobi traffic so many times when it has literally taken hours to get home from work that what I've seen as traffic here has just made me smile. On Thursday afternoon though, apparently it was the worst ever recorded traffic jam in São Paulo. And this was what we were battling through to get from work to the bus station. We jumped ship from our taxi to get the metro.....though that was no easy feat as metro stations are few and far between in certain areas. Our friend had got there sooner from the other school campus and we were begging him to stall the bus.....we got there 25 minutes late and were so stressed and sweaty from sprinting around trying to organise our tickets and find the right stand...... I don't think we were the most liked people on the bus! We were so happy and grateful that we were going to the falls! 17 hours later, we arrived!



Seeing the falls was amazing. When I went to Niagara a few years ago it was beautiful. But to quote Eleanor Roosevelt, upon seeing Iguazu falls, 'Poor Niagara!' The sheer size and width of them is astounding. The sound and rising mist was incredible.



We went to the Brazilian side on our first day. It was so busy as it was a public holiday but we enjoyed wondering around and going to various viewing platforms. It was very hot though, about 35C, so we were very happy to get as close to the spray as possible to cool down!



As we were leaving Emma spotted something intriguing in a tree. This was so exciting, as its been a hope I held for my time in Brazil but not something I thought would happen.....we saw a toucan! It was so beautiful.





The next day Emma and I were very tempted to stay and watch Wales-Argentina, but as the chances of finding a place showing it was slim and the abuse from the boys that us girls wanted a rugby day, we all set off to cross the border and view the falls from Argentina. It was definitely more built up and geared for tourists but loads quieter which was good. We had been told that the views were better but at first we were unconvinced, they were just different. That was our feeling before we went on a final trail to walk at the top, above the falls. The volume of water falling was unbelievable. It was amazing. It was great to make the most of being there and as Wales won convincingly, it wasn't so depressing to have missed the game!











On our wander back we saw a crocodile lying on a stone in the river. Always very exciting to see a crocodile!



The wildlife at the falls was really cool. We saw a funny looking animal all over the place that we hadn't seen before. We giggled when we found out its English name was a crackoon, or a snookum bear (officially a coati).

It has been a very busy few days with so many hours spent travelling, but it has been worth it. I'm so glad we went to see the falls. It is really positive to see more of Brazil. Although we all find it challenging, we all enjoy the country itself and it is refreshing to have a change of scenery and get out of the city for a few days.

A rather wet me, Luke, Emma and Paul