Flora and fauna of the falls

Just a short blog before we leave Iguazu/Iguaçu flalls.

Obviously the main reason to visit the falls is for the spectacle of the falls themselves. But whilst we were there we saw some local flora and fauna including butterflies, birds of prey and mammals.

Here are a few of the local residents we met during our visit:

As well as the beautiful butterflies, most of which were too flighty to photograph, there were many cute and cuddly creatures called Coatíes. They are a like a cross between a squirrel, badger and raccoon and very playful.

They weren’t afraid of us at all and were very intent on trying to eat our lunch!

Although they were so cute there were many warnings that they are still wild animals.

Well all I can say is that they were adorable and well behaved when we met them. No maiming or scratching seen all day!

Iguazú falls -Argentinian side

Iguazú falls – Argentinian side

After an early breakfast we headed back to the bus station and off to the Argentinian side of the falls.

The park is set up differently on this side of the border. On the Brazilian side the falls are seen mostly from afar across the river (apart from the dramatic soaking at the final section). Here in Argentina we had the opportunity to get up close to the action.

There are many paths to follow. Some go below the falls and others above.

We took them all following the the sound of the rushing water. The lower paths allowed us to experience the height and sheer volume of water tumbling off the cliff face. Walkways lead us under some of the larger cascades and again we got completely soaked. The force of the water was simply incredible.

When we took the upper trails we saw the river disappear over and over again off the cliff face. In some places the spray created by the cascade was higher than the falls themselves such was the force of the falling water.

Paths took us across the river tributaries and in places it looked like a river of chocolate falling and frothing. Like a tropical Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory made real.

Sadly the chocolate coloured water is due to ever increasing erosion of the rich red soil. In the 1980’s the falls were clear but today they look so different. Who knows what the next 30 years will bring.

As on the Brazilian side the finale of the visit were the falls that make up the Devil’s throat (Garguanta del Diabilo). This time we saw them from above. A little train took us slowly through the forrest to the climax of the visit. To get to the falls themselves we walked for almost 20 minutes across long walkways across the enormous river. On and on the river flowed, wider than I could have imagined with no sign of the falls until we reached the final section.

There we looked down as the water furiously crashed in a torrent on the rocks below. Except that the flow was so strong we couldn’t see the water hit the bottom. We could only stand in awe at the sound of the water and feel the spray on our faces and marvel at the power of nature.

Crossing the Brazil/Argentina border

After a great day at the Brazilian side of the falls we said goodbye to Tomer, jumped on the bus and headed back to the hostel in Foz to get our things before catching another bus towards Puerto Iguazu in Argentina.

This was our first land border crossing and was relatively simple, if a bit long in the 35 degree heat and high humidity. First we got a bus to the Brazilian border, got off and went through customs where they stamped our passports then we waited outside for the next bus. A while after we repeated the same process at the Argentinian border and hoped another bus to take us into Puerto Iguazu.

It had been a long day by the time we reached the bus station so we treated ourselves to an ice cream and our first taste of the legendary Argentinian Dulce de Leche. Estubo delicioso as they say!

After finding our hostel we went out for dinner and had the best steak and Malbec we have tasted all year. So far Argentina is living up to expectations.

On our return to the hostel we heard another storm approaching and stood in the street watching the sky flash with lightning in the distance.

It was pretty mesmerising standing there watching the sky. After about half an hour we headed off to bed full of excitement for the day ahead.

Iguaçu – Brazilian side

You can hear the falls long before you see them. The low level whooshing sound grew with each step we took along the path until a gap in the trees gave us our first glimpse. Simultaneously we all took in a breath and said wow!

Every step along the walkway clinging to the ridge high above the river showed us the falls with increasing grandure. We took picture after picture trying to capture the wonder we were seeing. You could feel the excitement in the air as everyone around was enthralled by the view.

Each turn of the path gave a different viewpoint and we got a sense of the scale of the falls (cataratas). The beauty of the falls was incredible. As the water plummeted from the cliff edge it hit the river’s surface with such force that spray drifted upwards. So high and dense in places it veiled some of the smaller falls in a fine mist. Butterflies and dragon flies flashed by as birds glided below on the thermals in front of the falls. It was just magical.

A few stats – the falls form a border between Brazil and Argentina go by different names depending which side you are viewing them from – Argentina (Iguazu) or Brazil (Iguaçu). They comprise of 250-300 (depending on water level) individual falls which vary in size and height. The highest of the falls (cataratas) is 80m high. Collectively they have estimated the average volume of water flowing is 1746 m3/s! The water below the falls forms the Paraná river (the 2nd longest river in South America) which then flows through Paraguay before finishing at Buenos Aires in Argentina.

The legend goes that a god planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí. To escape her fate she fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In a rage the god sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to a watery fall. Like a tropical Romeo and Juliet.

Towards the end the walkway projected out into the river and close to main force of the falls, the devil’s throat (Garganta del Diablo). Peaceful it was definitely not. At this point you are surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfalls.The roar of the water was deafening and within seconds of stepping out onto the walkway we were completely soaked.

Spray lashed at our faces, making it difficult to open our eyes as we giggled along the pathway. It was like being attacked by a hundred power showers coming at you from all directions. Such an incredible feeling. Hard to sum up in one word but I think our first one was the best, simply wow.

Street art in Rio

One thing we have seen a lot of all over Rio and especially in Santa Teresa is street art. Some is definitely what you would call graffiti and seems to be a real problem here.

However there are some pretty impressive murals all over town and especially in Santa Teresa. We also saw some great sculptures made if reclaimed car parts in the Favelas.

Below are some we saw during our stay.

The beach

So far we hadn’t spent much time at the beaches which Rio is so famous for. A little beach time was well over due.

We took the Metrô Rio from Glória to Cardeal Arcoverde at the eastern end of Copacabana. For the first time during our stay the heat was perfect. 35 degrees is quite tough when sightseeing but when lying on a white sandy beach it’s perfect.

At a local shop we saw TV footage of a flooded Estádio do Maracanã. The effects of the storm last night were city wide. After fueling up at Bob’s burgers ( a chain, nothing MacDonalds has anything to worry about) we walked past Copacanana Palace hotel to the beach.

There we found a nice spot by the locals, laid out our sarong and soaked up the sun. Coming from a British winter we looked very white compared to the locals. Plus our swimwear was considerably more modest than the thong bikinis usually worn in Rio!

Sorry for the lack of photographic evidence. Felt intrusive to take photos of the bronzed flesh, plus we were enjoying the sun too much to get out our cameras.

All of the city was on the beach. We saw elderly men power walking, bronzed girls running like they are in Bodyform ads, surfers riding the waves and families playing. The beach guards patrolled the shoreline on quad bikes whilst local kids played football. Beach vendors hawked their wares of beer, water, Globo biscuits and sarongs to sun worshippers. The powder white sand was perfect and as we lay there in the heat of the sun the strains of Barry Manilow floated in my head…”she was a show girl, her name was Lola…”

Fortunately the power had returned to Santa Teresa by the time we returned from a day at Praia de Copacabana. We spent the evening at a local restaurant, then went for drinks a great bar. Sipping beer we listening to the strains of Samba on our last night in Rio de Janeiro.

After the storm – Santa Teresa and Parque das Ruínas

After the excitement of last night’s storm we decided to have a relaxed, less dramatic day. Once we had filled up with another tasty breakfast, minus the toast as Santa Teresa is still out of power due the storm we headed out.

Walking through the streets the aftermath of nature’s power can be seen. Shopkeepers are mopping up flooded floors, bin men are out in force clearing up debris but some is just too heavy to lift. The poor car below got crushed by a fallen tree.

The guys at our hotel told at breakfast how although summer rains are common in Rio this was declared one of the worse storms in 20 years. The combination of flooding and power going down tragically caused the electrocution of two people including a pregnant French foreign tourist.

High in the hills of Santa Teresa is a little gem. It’s a place called Parque Das Ruínas. A well connected heiress Laurinda Sabtis Lobo (1878-1946) lived here and held fabulous parties for the rich and famous. The building itself is now in ruins but sensitively designed metal walkways and glass walls give a sense of the scale of the house.

Also it has the most amazing views of the bay including Sugar Loaf mountain.

We plan to spend the rest of our last day soaking up the sun at Copacabana beach before dining in Santa Teresa tonight.

The storm

The previous evening we saw a prelude to the kind of tropical thunder storms seen in Rio. It was exciting to watch dramatic lightning, especially from such an iconic setting as Sugarloaf mountain.

The storm tonight however took dramatic to a whole new level. That morning we visited Parque Lage, then the Botanical gardens. Afterwards we spent the late afternoon on Leblon beach.

We then walked along Ipanema (Praia do Ipenema) as the sun was setting behind the mountain and watched the locals playing football on the beach.

We stopped at a bar for a drink and some snacks. Unfortunately it was a football themed bar and was showing re-runs of Manchester United’s glory days. Images of Beckham and Rooney’s goals and hairstyles (or lack of in Rooney’s case) flickered on the TV screen in the corner. A local band killed a few American classics on the stage whilst we sipped our drinks.

After a while our attention was drawn to the rain that had started outside and the strange flashing lights in the sky. We peaked outside and saw the streets rapidly flooding with rain pouring down in sheets. People were wading through the waters trying to get somewhere dry.

Being quite a walk away from the Metro and seeing no buses, or knowing if they were headed towards our part of town we tried to hail a taxi. We sheltered under a canopy scanning the traffic for a welcoming yellow light to drive by. A local man, who by now was already soaked jumped into the dual carriageway and generously tried to hail us a taxi. After watching his valiant efforts for a couple of minutes we took the plunge and headed out into the rain ourselves.

The storm had gained in strength and by now huge forks of lightning were firing from the sky towards the beach. They were so bright that after the initial flash had passed a crackling impression of sparks was left like ghost echoing their outline. Each fork lit up the sky like an explosion of lights and we could momentarily see in the darkness.

Eventually a taxi came and we set off towards home. As we drove along the streets became more flooded until they turned into rivers and cars halted, unable to get through. Our gallant driver led the way through a water swollen crossroad, followed by more timid buses and cars. The traffic quickly came to a halt again and the taxi meter continued to climb. We saw a metro station and decided to try our luck again in the rain so we got out.

Running to the Metro we joined many drenched people seeking a dry route home. The train was full of soggy citizens and one asked where we were headed. He informed us that many of the stations further up the line were closed due to floods. Luckily we only had two stops to go.

Getting out at Glória we started to walk up the winding cobbled streets to Santa Teresa. I seemed much darker than before and we noticed that none of the lights were on. The storm had caused a power blackout.

Walked slowly up the winding streets through the driving rain, being careful not to slip on the cobbles in our flip flops we passed homes and bars lit by flickering candles. It was both an exciting and scary journey. The rain was so heavy and it was so dark we couldn’t check our map for directions. Relying on our memory we traced our way back. Other than the head lights of passing cars we were guided home by the flashes of lightening.

Arriving back at Casalegre in darkness we greeted the staff seated by candle light, found our head torches and retired for the night.

Botanical gardens

Having visited the two big icons of Rio we decided to have a more relaxing day. The botanical gardens followed by the beach at Ipanema seemed like a perfect plan. Looking on the map it was quite a distance from Santa Teresa so we jumped in a passing taxi and headed on our way. Unfortunately the traffic was bad and the meter reading climbed fast. We got out early to visit Parque Lage which was recommended to us by the hotel.

We were glad have found this little gem. It was a perfect spot to wander around for an hour. The park is wild and less manicured than most of Rio’s city parks. Within is a beautifully grand villa which houses a modern art school. It also had spectacular views of Corcovado.

Visitors are free to look around and admire the student’s work in progress.

Walking through the park we discovered a castle folly and a cute little aquarium designed by the art students.

Dotted around the park are ponds with brightly coloured dragon flies, filled shaped like ruined castle turrets and peaceful seating areas. The tall trees have many varieties of fruit hanging from their branches. Some are huge and we hoped they wouldn’t fall on our heads as we passed by.

We left the park at the peak of the days heat and walked 30mins to the Botanical gardens. These lovely gardens were created in 1808 by Dom João VI, king of Portugal. Walking along the sandy paths was a cooling respite from the blazing sun. All kinds of trees and plants are to be found, especially those native to Brazil. The palms and bamboo were especially spectacular. Within the gardens were smaller themed gardens including a Japanese garden, a lily pond with huge fish, fountains and sculptures. Unfortunately the orchid greenhouse was being refurbished when we visited.

Cheeky monkeys played amongst the trees.

At the end was a cactus garden with many varieties. Unfortunately I managed to brush past one with my leg and spent the best part of the next hour picking out the spines with some hastily bought tweezers!

To sooth my knee we headed to a bar for some medicinal Caipirinhas. I don’t know whether it is the heat or very generous bar men but the drinks are strong in Rio and slightly tipsy we headed off to the beach.

Sugar loaf – Part 2

The view from the top was simply amazing and I don’t think my photos do it justice at all. We could see Guanabara bay to our right, Corcovado mountain with Christ the Redeemer watching over the city straight ahead and the iconic sandy curves of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches to our left.

Birds spiralled on thermals overhead as planes glided past the mountain before landing at the local airport Santos Dumont in the bay. That has to rank within the top ten most spectacular flights.

As we soaked up the scene the sun’s final rays dipped below Sugarloaf and the city came alive with twinkling lights.

Far to our right another type of light appeared in the sky. A deep low rumbled heralded the for coming of a thunderous storm. We were then treated to some dramatic forked lightning. Everyone around us oohed and aahed with each crackling flash and were as excited as we were to witness the scene.

After the dramatic light show we headed back down in the cable car in search of dinner.

Not knowing which bus to take and seeing no cabs we walked for about half an hour following my trusty map. Crossing busy four lane roads in the dark was a bit hair raising but we made it safely to a little juice bar. There a friendly Chinese family served us freshly pressed juices and we ate tasty deserts at the pavement bar ( me a lovely coconut and chocolate creation and Jon ate créme caramel, yum!). After that we found a bus and taxi to take us home.