Foz de Iguazu

Ola all!

We are now officially in Brazil! Yesterday after I posted the blog from that truck stop (if you haven't read it then scroll down, it's all about our two days on a farm) we got our 15 hour overnight bus from the middle of nowhere to Foz de Iguazu. The ride started out with the heater blasting full bore even though it was 30+ degrees outside, but the temperature improved!

We got to watch 'Before I Go To Sleep' with Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth and then I pretty much slept from 10pm to 8am (but woke up when it was bumpy etc). 

We arrived at the bus station and then we were taken to the Argentina-Brazil border crossing where we crossed into Brazil to tour that side of Iguazu falls today! 25% of the falls are on the Brazilian side, but most of the Iguazu river is. We were so close to Paraguay as well that I got a 'welcome to Paraguay!' Text from Vodafone. Does that mean I can count that I've been there too?!? Haha. 

We walked the walking trail and were treated to beautiful views with sunshine (apparently it rains a lot so we were very lucky!). We saw quatis which are annoying animals that are a mix between a possum and a raccoon, very aggressive and are known to bite and steal! I kept a wide berth. We also saw a small lizard, a big lizard and some freaky spiders. The falls themselves were breathtaking, the best part is the Argentinian side which we could see from our walk. Tomorrow we venture back into Argentina for the day to walk there and do a jetboat ride. I'll give you some more info about them then!

Once we had finished our walk (which included walking out on a platform into the falls and getting soaked!) we had lunch at the top. I kept saying 'gracias', but as of today we are in Brazil where they speak Portuguese and not Spanish. After nearly seven weeks of gracias it's hard to suddenly just change to 'obrigada'! I'll have to get used to it. 

Then eight of us opted to go to a bird park. I really enjoyed it! We saw lots of colourful beautiful birds including toucans, macaws and more. The only Aussie bird was a cassowary! The scariest bird was one called a Harpy Eagle that can eat sloths and monkeys! We got really up close to lots of birds and I even got to hold a macaw! I learned that toucans' beaks can sometimes be longer than their body and contain blood vessels that make the red stripes on their beak. 

It was well worth going. Now I've had a shower (finally - felt awful after the bus ride and a day out in the humidity, it is SO hot here!) and tonight we are going to a Brazilian BBQ restaurant. 

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox