Iguazu Falls

We left Paraty in the early hours of the morning, (with the power cut still cursing us may we add!). We were picked up by a private mini bus to São Paulo at 6am. The drive was around 5-6 hours but the roads before the city were bendy and made everyone feel a bit sick. We had a small stop to gather our stomachs together, and then got onto the main road to São Paulo. The flight to Iguazu  was only 1 hour and the airport on the other side was tiny. Here, we met Lourdes who would be our tour guide and chauffeur for the next couple of days. We stayed at hotel Del Rey which was a bit fancy, and had a rooftop pool and bar. That night we headed to the nearest restaurant on the corner, which was another all you can eat meat buffet.

rooftop pool

The next day, we were all so excited to finally be seeing the falls, a natural phenomenon that had made us lust over South America in the first place. We say we were all excited, but Susan and Melisa managed to sleep in so had 10 minutes to get ready for our 10am lift so needed their breakfast on the go! (The breakfast by the way is one of the best we've had! Crazy amounts of food choices and all really tasty and fresh!)

Today we would be seeing the falls from the Argentinian side, the side with the majority of the falls. The Iguazu  Falls are spread over a 2 mile area, and span over the boarders of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. There are 275 individual falls, and some are over 2642ft in height! They are wider than Victoria falls and higher than Niagra falls! Iguazu translates to "great waters", however the actual spelling and pronunciation changes from person to person! We're still unsure!

The falls were declared as a national heritage site in 1986, so we had pay entrance which was about £40 each. We entered the park and swiftly made our way through a woodland walk to the small railway station. As its a huge tourist attraction, we had to follow a large crowd to get there. Suddenly up ahead there was a massive commotion, and screams and grunts could be heard. We ran ahead to find a large family of Coatis attacking a Chinese tourist who had got out some snacks for her walk. Coatis of all shapes and sizes ran off with all sorts of delights in their mouths, looking smug, naughty and yet still cute all at the same time.

We got to the small railway where we were surrounded by Coatis and then got on a train to take us to the highest point of the falls, The Devils Throat. 

Our guide Giulia

When we got off the train, there were hundreds of butterflies surrounding us everywhere we walked, they must like the moisture in the air from the spray of the falls. We got onto to some walkways that went right over the river, and tried to stop turtles and fish in the water.

A family of turtles sunbathing

 After about 10 minutes of walking on the walk ways, we saw the spray in the air as we got closer to the Devils throat. We got to the triangular platform that gives panoramic views, and we looked over the edge to just see thousands of gallons of water falling. 

There was so much spray you couldn't actually see much, and we got really wet where we were surrounded by water. We stayed there for about an hour taking pictures, and then headed back to the train to go back to the main park. We decided to do the added extra activity of going for a boat ride under the falls, which we would do after lunch. Whilst going to the lunch area, we went on more walk walkways that winded through forests, and gave us views of the other individual waterfalls. It was so beautiful from every angle, so we all took thousands of pictures. 

There were still hundreds of butterflies, and we saw a handful of lizards and more coatis. The walkways spanned round the majority of the falls, apart from the main sheet of water that goes down as one big mass.

At lunch we had some pretty rubbish sandwiches, and watched as a coati stole a whole one of a table and scurried it away, we realised that they are super greedy! We headed up to the meeting point for the boat ride, which included a jeep journey and "Safari tour". The problem with the safari your was that the guide was bellowing into a microphone so any wildlife would have heard us coming a me enough. Sure enough we didn't see any animals! We finally reached the area to aboard the speed boat, and we were all becoming very excitable as well as slightly nervous! With our life jackets on, we made our way up the river that separated Brazil and Argentina.

Brazil on the left, Argentina on the right

The waters got rougher and rougher as we neared the falls, and we blasted up river against Rapids and torrents, until we were eventually face to face with Iguazu itself. We were told to put electronics away and then The countdown began. When we got to "1" we zoomed into the wall of water, and were pelted with water drops. It was more of a sensory journey as you couldn't see anything but white, but you could hear everyone screaming and we all got absolutely soaked with cold water. Tom took a video on his Go Pro camera so hopefully when were home we can watch that back and see a bit more! We went under a couple of times, then headed round another corner to another large waterfall, to do the same again.

Our soggy group

When we got off the ride we dropped past all of the dry people who were queing up to go next. At the bottom of the falls, we had another spectacular view from another perspective, and probably a better one in terms of seeing the falls as a whole. We walked along the base of the rocks and looked up and saw rainbows being made from the sun shining through the spray. 

We had such a great day and couldn't believe the Brazilian side we'd be visiting the following day would be any comparison. 

That night we went out to dinner to a place called Laos to enjoy some sushi and Thai food, again with Giulia's approval. We ordered lots of dishes and really enjoyed our meals then headed back to the hotel where we fell asleep fast. Adrenaline can do that to you! 

The next morning we were slightly skeptical about going back to the falls, as we said, the day before had been so action packed. Lourdes picked us up and explained it would be about an hours trip as there isn't as much to do. We got to the car park and looked over to see the falls, only to fall in love with them all over again. Seeing them from further away gave you a real idea of the sheer size, and it meant you could see all the tiny waterfalls you couldn't see underneath the larger ones.

 It looked like paradise, and like the perfect backdrop for an Avatar movie. Again, we took copious amounts of pictures in hope that just one would do it the justice it needs when seeing it in real life, however we think you need to hear the sheer amount of noise and to see the water moving to get a real sense of its power.

 At the end of the walk, we had an opportunity once again to get a little wet as we stood at a platform that was above and below a large waterfall, as it had two tiers. Here you could look down the natural tunnel the falls created, and see right through to the peaceful river it left at the end. 

There was also a viewing platform that reached to the very top of the falls so you could see the sheer height of the falls.

If you get a chance to go to see Iguazu, then we would HIGHLY recommend going to both sides. It's impossible to get bored of, and we asked Lourdes who sees the falls every single day as her job, if she got bored, and she said that it looks different everyday, whether it's because of water colour of the kind of day it is.

After the falls we headed to a bird park for the afternoon, where we saw all the typical birds that live in the region including flamingos and the ever elusive shy toucan.

 The colours and sounds that came from each bird were dazzling, and at one point we found ourselves in a macaw sanctuary with streaks of red, green and blue flying past us. We think they started to play with us because at the end they were coming so close to our heads that Steph and the girls had to leave because they were a bit scared. At the end we got to have a picture with a parrot.

 We went back to the hotel to pack ready to be picked up for a night bus at 10:30 that evening. We went to the restaurant next door to our hotel, and waited for our bus to Bonito. When on the bus, we all slept quite soundly after the amazing few days we'd had.

Paraty and the Power Cut

We Woke up in Illha Grande, and got a very sunny boat trip back to the main land. We got into the port 'Angra Dos Reis' translated to 'Bay of The Kings'. From here, we took a another bus journey to the small colonial town of Paraty.

Paraty became very famous for gold mining in the 18th century, but quickly became a hot spot for piracy. A lot of the gold was stolen and with the abolition of slavery combined with a new route of shipping between Sao Paulo and Rio, Paraty was no longer a hub of trade. Paraty had to rely on other sources for income and trade. It started to farm coffee and Cachaca, and still does to this day. Now, it is a quiet cobbled town, with a relaxed vibe.

On arrival in Paraty, Guilia took us to a small cafe around the corner from our Hostel. It was really quirky, and did lots of fresh fruit smoothies and ice cream. We all had a wrap for lunch, and we both indulged in the local favourite, Acai (prononouced here as Ass-eye-ee). Known to us as a recently trendy superfood, Acai is sold on the streets here as a small local snack at a low price.





The cafe itself was really arty, and had lots of imagery inside and out of the building.

As we were staying in Paraty for 3 days, we felt a little more settled and relaxed as we could unpack a little and not live out of our bags. Our room was comfortable and had an en suite. 

The group decided to head to the beach in the afternoon, as a few of us wanted to try our hands at Paddle Boarding, something we'd been lusting after since Rio. Quite a few of us rented paddle boards, and the others kayaks, and we all went to sea as an unstoppable force...until the storm started. We had a really good time getting to grips with the boards, and we all laughed at each other as we inevitably toppled off.

 The water was so warm so falling in was a bit of a relief from the cold rain that started coming down. We ended our afternoon sitting around in the shallows chatting.

That evening, we went to a posh looking restaraunt on Guila's recommendation once again (she has fantastic taste). The portions were huge so we both shared the steak parmesanio which was cooked to perfection! Whilst eating, Guila ordered herself a drink and told us all to try it. It was called a 'Jorgeamando', which was made of clove and cinnamon flavoured cachaca, and squeezed passionfruit. It tasted like a cross between a Mojito and a tropical fruit salad, and was really sweet and tasty, so Steph ordered one for herself.



Cachaca (pronounced Cash-assa) is the local drink that is made in Paraty, which is the spirit made out of the sugar cane that they grow. They then flavour the Cachaca for different tastes, and Guila said we could go for a tasting after dinner.

Just a 3 minute walk away, we went to the local Cachaca shop, where we tried lots of different flavours of Cachaca. On it's own, it tastes a little like tequila, but they had creamier ones like coconut and pistashio. We tried the Chocolate flavour and fell in love with it instantly as it tasted like Bailey's but better! We bought a small Chocolate Cachaca and a small Clove and Cinnamon one like the one in the Jorgiamado.

With a taste for the liquor, we decided the next day we would go on a boat trip that takes you to lots of locations but has the added bonus of unlimited Caiparihnas, made with the Cachaca, and not much else, just a dash of lime and lots of ice 

As it was St Patrick's day (and with a genuine Irish on-board), it was always destined to be a day of heavy drinking. After a slow start and the arrival of the cachaca, we embarked on our boozey cruise, shortly to be amazed by a pod of about 40 wild dolphins swimming past us close to shore (a first for all of us, even Guilia who makes the trip every few weeks!). Our captains for the journey were 3 mischevous and lively Brazillian men who were more than happy to drink on the job.



After a quick stop on a remote island to line our stomachs, we set sail once again and stopped at various privately owned islands and small coves. Here we jumped off the boat into the sea, did a bit of snorkeling and generally loved life. Not bad for a usually 'turdy tuesday', as we refer to them at home.


One of the islands was just about small enough for us to swim a lap of, as the current nudged us along. This was a first for us but enjoyable and amusing watching everyone.

#fail

As the sun started to set, we hopped back on the boat with another a capirinha in hand and took a moment to appreciate the unusual panorama of jungle filled mountains, beachy islands and calm blue sea.





We headed back towards the mainland with the dimming light but took the chance for one more swim (mainly because we all needed a wee) and quickly realised it wasn't nearly as deep as we had assumed that far out. Leandro.. the cheekiest of the three took great pleasure and joy out of diving to the bottom and caking us all in the dark brown vitamin rich sea mud which smelt vile. It quickly turned into a game and we all started throwing it at each other.

We said goodbye to the 3 amigos, Leandro, Gustav and Fostado after some choice harmonies of various songs on the way back to shore. That evening we headed to a lovely Italian for dinner which had live music. We knew it had to be good as half-Italian Guilia is particularly picky about her pasta. The restaurant had a nice ambiance with an acoustic singer doing live covers of popular British songs with a Brazillian twist. After dinner, we both went to a bar with Swiss Thomas and Irish Susan, to indulge in some overpriced beverages.



Apparently the Brazilians do St. Paddy's better than the Irish themselves! After a dance with a Paraty local, we called it a night and headed home. On the way back we bumped into Fastado seemingly having a drink by himself outside, what was apparently his house. He was as excitable as ever to see us and we were bemused as ever as to where he kept coming from and what he actually did!

The next day was a free day, meaning we could do what we wanted without poor Guilia having to entertain us. With foggy Caiparihna heads, we went to the juice bar to get another Acai which did the trick instantly, and we headed to the beach for a chilled day.



On the way, we unsurprisingly saw Fastado carrying a mattress on his head down the road and then again later that day painting a house.
The next day we would be up at 5am for our coach to Sao Paolo airport, so the evening was going to be quiet. We decided to go to the Thai Brazil restaraunt which is a must do according to trip advisor and our lonely planet books. Just as we went to leave, a power cut took over the whole town, and the rain started to pour. This was a little inconvenient of mother nature as we had to pack our bags this evening. Never the less we still decided to head out armed with head torches and flashlights. We navigated the large cobbled streets in the pitch black, yet who would be round the corner driving along in his car offering umbrellas... Fastado of course. This was getting a bit weird, surely he had to have a twin!? We finally made it to the Thai that was thankfully still open for the evening, and the fact we had to eat in candlelight made it a little more special, and topped off a great few days in Paraty. The Thai food was great too! Returning back to the hotel the power was still out and we commenced our packing with head torches ready for our 5am start. It was then we realised parents are always right and we would have been lost without a source of light.