foz do iguaçu
After a couple of random Police bribe stops (they´re always at it here!) we reached our campsite in Foz. More camping. Boohoo! Quite a distance from the city too. Not even within walking distance. But another Brazil game beckoned. The driver (fast becoming my drinking companion) and I watched the game amid all the madness that is football in Brazil. I got pretty drunk. Another street party and more craziness by the Brazilians.
In our drunken revelry we also managed to have a brush (figure of speech) with the law. While waiting pointlessly for a taxi and singing loudly we attracted the attention of the local rozzer shop. Six of them bailed out and I couldn´t quite believe my eyes when one them rushed at me while pulling out a huge baton. He then whipped me across the back of the legs. We had done nothing. The driver got a lash too. Then they realised we were foreigners and told us to clear off. Disgusted, I walked a few feet and then decided it was unacceptable and that it was proper that I file a complaint. Fortunately the driver persuaded me that it would be a bad idea. I reckon they would have bashed me to death.
Later that night or should I say early morning, I managed to drop my camera about 10 feet from my tent. Then there was a huge storm. Rain, rain, rain. Poor camera. Neglected and abandoned to the elements. An expensive one too that I picked up in Toyko. It was only in the morning when setting off for our excursion that I realised what had happened to it. After a search about the tent and the surrounds, I found her, busted, drenched, unworkable. A real pain given I was about to see one of the wonders of the natural world.
The reason for our stop in Foz is the amazing waterfalls. These waterfalls are shared by three countries, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. There are actually 275 linked waterfalls spread out over 3 kilometers of cliffs 80 metres high. They are wider than Victoria Falls, higher than Niagara Falls. Even though the volume of water passing over them was quite low at the time I saw them, they still made for an incredible sight. We had a tour that took us on a boat just under the falls where we got soaked. But it was great fun.
The next day was spent viewing the falls from the Argentine side. Plus later seeing the largest hydro-electricity dam in the world. Lots of concrete. There is an exhibition centre with it peppered with lots of Brazilian boasting about their first world status. Apparently most of the statistics are fabricated and inflated. But it is huge. Huge.
The next significant journey was to make it to the border with Paraquay. But before the passing could take place we would ´free camp´. This term refers to finding a spot by the road and pitching the tents and cooking up some grub in the open. Just marvellous.
I am beginning to tire of camping.
In our drunken revelry we also managed to have a brush (figure of speech) with the law. While waiting pointlessly for a taxi and singing loudly we attracted the attention of the local rozzer shop. Six of them bailed out and I couldn´t quite believe my eyes when one them rushed at me while pulling out a huge baton. He then whipped me across the back of the legs. We had done nothing. The driver got a lash too. Then they realised we were foreigners and told us to clear off. Disgusted, I walked a few feet and then decided it was unacceptable and that it was proper that I file a complaint. Fortunately the driver persuaded me that it would be a bad idea. I reckon they would have bashed me to death.
Later that night or should I say early morning, I managed to drop my camera about 10 feet from my tent. Then there was a huge storm. Rain, rain, rain. Poor camera. Neglected and abandoned to the elements. An expensive one too that I picked up in Toyko. It was only in the morning when setting off for our excursion that I realised what had happened to it. After a search about the tent and the surrounds, I found her, busted, drenched, unworkable. A real pain given I was about to see one of the wonders of the natural world.
The reason for our stop in Foz is the amazing waterfalls. These waterfalls are shared by three countries, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. There are actually 275 linked waterfalls spread out over 3 kilometers of cliffs 80 metres high. They are wider than Victoria Falls, higher than Niagara Falls. Even though the volume of water passing over them was quite low at the time I saw them, they still made for an incredible sight. We had a tour that took us on a boat just under the falls where we got soaked. But it was great fun.
The next day was spent viewing the falls from the Argentine side. Plus later seeing the largest hydro-electricity dam in the world. Lots of concrete. There is an exhibition centre with it peppered with lots of Brazilian boasting about their first world status. Apparently most of the statistics are fabricated and inflated. But it is huge. Huge.
The next significant journey was to make it to the border with Paraquay. But before the passing could take place we would ´free camp´. This term refers to finding a spot by the road and pitching the tents and cooking up some grub in the open. Just marvellous.
I am beginning to tire of camping.
posted by Ciarán at 9:28 p.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home