A fleeting peek at Paraguay

Ecstatically
Paraguay
Indifferent
Cuidad del Este

Did a quick day trip to Paraguay - mainly to get another passport stamp. Pete reckons there isn't a lot of interesting places to see, so doesn't spend any time there with the truck. A group of us were curious though and so got a minibus to Cuidad del Este, Paraguay's second largest city, predominantly famous for its duty free shopping.

The city was heaving with little stalls where locals were peddling their wares. Most sold the exact same stuff, and kept their prices the same as the neighbouring stalls, with only a little haggling accepted. Sunglasses, towels and sneakers were the recurring products, there were also the odd few taizers for sale. A couple of the guys even got approached with the offer of Viagra - egos were dented after that sales approach I reckon.

Many of the group did substantial purchases in the town. New cameras were bought (from reputable stores, not the stalls!) and all the smokers ecstatically stocked up on really cheap duty free cigarettes.

Ciudad del Este was also teaming with hundreds of yellow motorbikes zipping all around the streets, some even had dedicated pathways. I soon discovered that these were motor-taxis, used for transporting single passengers around the city. You needed to keep your wits about you so as not to get run over by these. I counted seven bikes riding abreast at one stage, each weaving out their own path among the larger vehicle traffic.

Having been warned to only bring what we were prepared to lose I just brought my point-and-shoot camera. From the way people were going on I was expecting to definitely get pick-pocketed. In reality I felt safe with my belongings, apart from one eeek moment - but that was brought on by my heightened paranoia rather than anything malicious.

Some poor lady fell down a few steps outside a shop and roughly grabbed at my left wrist in an effort to steady herself. Selfishly I merely glanced to my right side and went to protect my bag and camera as I thought it might have been a 'stumble and snatch' pickpocket tag team effort (got that notion thanks to Shantaram, great!) Luckily it was just an innocent incident and the lady wasn't badly hurt. I was slightly worried afterwards at my indifferent attitude towards her welfare - hmmm not good!

Viewing Iguacu Falls from Brazil!

Exquisite
Pineapple and Cinnamon!
Inflatable
Churrascaria

The serenity of viewing Iguacu Falls from the Argentine side was counterbalanced by an action packed viewing from the Brazilian side. I started off the morning observing the falls from a snazzy helicopter, getting awesome aerial views of the falls and moving rainbows around it.

Parque das Aves, a 5 hectare bird park, was next on the list to check out over 800 species of birds. However the only bird I had eyes for was the Toucan. Such a gorgeous bird, yet it looks totally fake with its outrageously oversized coloured bill. In most of my photos it looks like an inflatable plastic toy.

We also decided to get a tour with Macuco Safari de Barco. It consisted of a 3km ride through the jungle in a truck-train, a short 600m walk seeing the small waterfall, Salto de Macuco, and finally a ride on a Zodiac for a 4km boat trip up the river, over rapids and under the falls at a point known as the Three Musketeers. Got completely drenched from head to toe. Not one bit of me was dry by the end but it was refreshing and helped mask the heat of the day.

Parque National do Iguacu also offers a Trilha das Cataratas (waterfall trail) of 1200m which follows the shore of Iguacu river, terminating at Garganta do Diablo. At the end of the trail a manmade walkway allows you to walk out to middle of river, surrounding you with gushing waters; getting you again very wet! However it is none-the-less refreshing the second time round, thankfully just not half as drenching as the boat trip.

A group of us went to an all you can eat Brazilian steak house (Churrascaria) called Gauchos. Churrascaria is a 300-year-old tradition stemming from Brazil where ranchers BBQ large portions of marinated beef, pork and poultry on skewers over an open fire pit. Gaucho's celebrates this tradition by carving 14 varieties of skewered meat table side.

You started with the salad bar which also had rice and mashed potatoes but the star of the show here is the meat. When you returned from the salad bar you turned over your table disc to green and the fun began. Waiters constantly circled around tables offering skewers of various meats, exquisitely cooked for everyone. Specific slices of meat could be chosen from the skewer before the waiters sliced them onto your plate and you didn't have to wait long for the meats to come around either. Choices included beef sirloin, pork loin, pork ribs, fillet mignon, meatballs, sausage, lamb, chicken (and even chicken hearts which I can gamely say I tried - a wee bit rubbery for my liking though, so no seconds for me on that front!). After two hours, once we had had our fill, we turned over our discs to red, signalling that we had been defeated and could not eat any more. Along with the meat the waiters also brought skewers of warm pineapple coated in cinnamon - this went down exceedingly well with the ladies of the group and we kept calling the guy over for more, and more, and more - which they eagerly brought us and reverently sliced.

All in all it was a fun relaxing night, and we all went back to camp with achingly full bellies - groaning as the minicab driver launched over speed-bumps; thankfully he ceased such behaviour after the second bump (probably worried that one of us might spew in his vehicle).

Viewing Iguazu Falls from Argentina

Enormous
Picturesque
Iguazu Falls
Coatis

Iguazu Falls consists of 275 individual falls, occupying 3km wide and 80m high - which is wider than Victoria, and higher than Niagara. Plus having seen the former, they are by far more beautiful and picturesque. The falls are unequally shared by Argentina and Brazil, Argentina claims the majority. Parque National Iguazu in Argentina provides an up close and personal experience of individual falls, whereas Parque National do Iguacu in Brazil offers a more panoramic view of the 275 falls.

Argentine access to this natural wonder, is by a Rainforest Ecological Train which brings visitors to the entrance of Devil's Throat, as well as the upper and lower circuits. Circuito Superior is the least spectacular with views from the tops of the falls. Circuito Inferior is a 1.5km walk offering pretty views from below the falls. Paseo Garganta del Diablo is a 1-kilometre-long trail that brings you directly over the falls at the Devil's Throat, the highest and deepest part. At this point the serene river turns violent: 13,000 cubic meters of water per second plunge 90m in 14 falls around the horse shoe canyon. Watching this section was a truly hypnotising multisensory experience - hearing the roar of the water, getting soaked by the enormous spray, and simply seeing the power of the gushing water; utterly mesmerising!!!

We ate lunch at a cafe near the top of the falls. The eating area was swarmed with begging, cheeky coatis. One of whom jumped up on our table in an effort to grab an opportunistic free lunch. Unfortunately for the coatis Heather is quite partial to her food and you don't want to get between her and it at any stage. The coatis were sent scampering after getting big smacks on the nose from a plastic tray.