Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts

Thursday, February 08, 2007

A Brazilian Side To The Falls

On the second day, I awoke feeling much better and Keith was up and eating breakfast too. So we set off to the Brazilian side to see what was on offer from a different point of view. We also got another stamp in the passport, which we were all pleased with.

As to be expected, we were blessed with even more spectacular views of the falls, and since Keith and I hadn´t seen the Argentinian panoramic views, we were blown away. After walking along the walkway to settle in the restaurant (where you view the water just going over the edge) we all agreed that the Brazilian side was better.

The two sides were both fantastic with different experiences to be had. But the Brazilian side allowed you to see the full 2.7km width of the falls allowing you to appreciate the magnificence of them.



The Brazilian side packed a punch and were done with the Falls fairly early that morning. Across from the park in which the falls lie, there is a bird park, so we went around and viewed all the birds. Most are in aviaries, which you can actually walk through, so it´s possible to get really close to the birds as well. There was also a butterfly house which you could also walk through. This also housed humming birds which were truly beautiful.

Since Iguazu is in the rain forest, the number of butterflies is immense. The lick the salts off your skins, which means at times you could easily have several beautiful butterflies on you. Quite a treat.

The following day we flew back to Buenos Aires and back to our rigorous itinerary.

The Largest Dam In The World

One of the clever things the Brazilians have done is harness the power from all the water available around this area. In conjunction with Paraquay, they've created a hydro-electric plant which provides 20% of Brazil's energy needs and 90% of neighboroughing Paraquay's energy needs. It's the largest dam and hydro-electric energy plant in the world and it's pretty impressive.

Stu being an engineer thoroughly enjoyed the free tour, taking notes and lots of pictures. There are 18 turbines in total and the lake that sits on the other side of the dam is 8km long. The place is massive and geographically sits on the border between Paraquay and Brazil, so without knowing we visited another country - no stamp this time.