Adventures Of A Global Backpacker: Brazil, Touring Iguazu Falls

By 7:30am I have checked out of my room at the Marcopolo Inn and I am waiting in the lobby area when a local gentleman walks in and tries to correctly pronounce my name.

After arranging a tour last night for US$40, I am being picked up for a visit to the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls and a trip to Paraguay.

Fortunately for me I do not need a visa for Brazil and the trip to Paraguay I can make without a visa since we will be visiting a “Commercial Shopping Zone”. I am excited about this because otherwise a visa for Paraguay would cost me US$160. For US$40, this tour which includes lunch is already a bargain.

A few stops to round up more passengers and soon our mini-van is crossing the Parana River into Brazil. With all of our passports in hand our driver leaves us waiting in the van as he goes to take care of the border crossing formalities.

Once inside Brazil we are joined by a guide who speaks about seven different languages. I mumble a feeble “Ola” and I am slightly embarrassed that I only speak one.

At the entrance to the park our guide leads us in the right direction to pay our park entrance fee of about US$21. Here many forms of payment and currencies are accepted for the admission fee unlike in Argentina.

On a “Double-Decker” bus we are driven to the starting point of our tour although the bus makes a few brief stops before getting there. At these stops for additional fees there are many activities you can do on your own including kayaking and a ten minute helicopter ride for US$120.

Although you won't get drenched on the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls you will get an encompassing view of their spectacular beauty.

Following a nicely laid out trail laced with dense green foliage, the views are simply amazing.

At some points you can look below and see cool rainbows, minus pots of gold, hanging above the crashing waters.

Iguazu Falls

Further along I venture out to Devils Throat where with a whipping wind you will definitely get wet but not drenched.

From this vantage point, being so close to the pounding crest of the falls belies the tranquility of the waters just above it.

Looking in the distance I wonder how long of a journey this water will make before it again becomes just a gentle stream.

Near Devil’s Throat you have the opportunity to see the falls from a different vantage point if you have the patience to wait for an elevator to take you to an observation platform. I take the stairs to meet up with the rest of my group then we take a walk to meet a gentleman who immediately impresses me.

Falls At Devil’s Throat

Born in 1873, Alberto Santos-Dumont the “Father Of Flight” in Brazilian aviation is considered here in the same light as the Wright Brothers are in the United States.

Santos-Dumont is also famous here for his role in the establishment of this Brazilian National treasure. My new found hero on two counts.

Back on the road it is time for lunch at a 5-Star Brazilian restaurant.

Here we enjoy a buffet filled with local favorites.

It takes me at least three plates plus a few scoops of passion fruit and toasted coconut ice cream to get a good scientific sampling of all the offerings.

Plate1… Carpaccio and Octopus Ceviche