Foz do Iguaçu
Day 9
Friday, January 10, 2015 We flew into Foz do Iguaçu on this day. We got in really late and all of us were starving. Our housing arrangements were a little different here. Instead of a hotel, we stayed at a hostel. It took a while until we got food, but it was worth the wait, because the people at the hostel barbequed for us, Brazilian style. The sausage was delicious. Honestly, I was initially very uncomfortable being at the hostel. I was feeling a little homesick at this time. Eventually I got over it. There were other people besides us staying at the hostel. It was more of a personal environment. Everyone got to know everyone, and everyone came from a different place in the world, it was so interesting, and in a way, I learned from them. There was a man from Japan there, so it was a three way language barrier between Japanese, English, and Portuguese. Another man, from Connecticut, had been away from home for months and is a freelance writer who travels all around the world. The first night was interesting, but I couldn’t wait to wake up and start the day with something fun. Day 11
Sunday, January 12, 2015 Today we saw the dam. It was HUGE. There was lots of information on it, whether it was on a poster on the wall or our guide would tell us it. It took about seven years to build. Lots of work was put into it. We had to wear hard hats when we were inside. Compared to the bottom of the dam, we were pretty high, which kind of made my stomach drop. The dam is in Brazil and Paraguay. There is one room that controls the electricity for both places. While in the dam we were able to stand in Paraguay and Brazil at the same time. After we got back from the dam we got ready for dinner. The hostel owners took us to a local hangout spot. There was the Piranha River there, and on the other side was Paraguay. We had great tilapia to eat and some delicious fries with lemon drizzled on top. We also had chicken, and we’re pretty sure that when we got there, there were live chicken somewhere in the back of the restaurant/person’s house, although we didn’t see them once we left. It was a nice way to spend our last full day in Foz. Day 12
Monday, January 13, 2015 We woke up and went to Chirascoria, a buffet style restaurant with lots of meat (like most of the restaurants in Brazil). It was not what I expected, and was like every other restaurant we went to in Brazil, but the sausage was great. Once we got back to hostel most of napped or bathed in the sun. Staying at a hostel is an experience I feel everyone should have. You learn a lot from it, even if it were just for a few days. One thing I really miss about it now is all of the hammocks that were there. Eventually it became time to leave for the airport where we flew back into Rio, got food, and slept the best three hours on the plane ride. |
Day 10
Saturday, January 11, 2015 The hostel had breakfast for us, cheese sandwiches (they like those a lot in Brazil). We went to the falls right after. I didn’t realize how big they were, certainly a beautiful sight. I almost feel like I didn’t learn that much about them, only because usually at national parks in America they have signs around that park giving you information about certain things, which they did not have at Foz do Iguaçu. While we were there we took a small hike in the rainforest which led us to our exciting boat ride under the falls. That was A LOT of fun. We got soaked. We again didn’t learn much about the falls because while on the ride no one narrated our surroundings, not even in Portuguese. It seems like Brazilians in that area don’t appreciate the beauty of nature as much as Americans do. When we got back Harley and Anthony gave their presentation. They talked to us about fuel production, the Itaipu Dam, and Biodiversity. Fuel there is produced from sugar cane, while in the US we use corn based ethanol. Their largest export is ethanol (its 33% cheaper in Iguaçu). As for the Itaipu Dam they told us that is was named after a small island nearby. It is 740 feet high and Brazil and Paraguay share the electricity created by it. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I recall Harley knowing the biodiversity of the Atlantic Rainforest very well. It is one of the major bio hot spots with over 20,000 plant species. |