South America in 10 days – part I

So let’s start!

My journey started in Venice, from where I flew to the Iguaçu falls (the Brazilian side of the border).

The first contact with South America I had was in Sao Paulo. All the formalities had to be done there, since my destination Foz do Iguaçu, was a local airport. But not only passengers towards the falls did this, which meant some thousands of people waiting to enter Brazil. With some Balkan ingenuity I passed the line indicating I’ve entered Brazil in some ten minutes. If you want a good tip on how to shorten the waiting cue I suggest you mail info@globetrotter.si , where our secret recipe might help you pass the border passport control faster – and it’s neither illegal nor inappropriate.

After the passport control there were the customs, where they obviously had x-rays of our luggage, so we needn’t stop down to have everything checked.

Third line was for baggage sorting, which went surprisingly fast, for they were just shipped forward with the tags already on them.

The flight towards Iguaçu falls was short and almost panoramic. The window seats did not also mean a view of the falls. By booking a seat on the left side of the plane, you’ll see them and save some 75€ for the panoramic helicopter flight of the falls.

Unlike Sao Paulo, in v Foz do Iguaçu you just walk to your luggage and there’s no waiting at all.

You can find some photos of the Sao Paulo and Foz do Iguaçu airport HERE.

In the city Foz do Iguaçu you’ll find Brazilian hostels of extremely high quality in the center of the town as well as in the unspoiled nature. Both hostels have a swimming pool and other sport objects, but the waterfalls are the main attraction. To see both hostels in Foz do Iguaçu click HERE.

The Iguaçu falls are on the border between Argentina and Brazil, and I strongly recomend you visit both sides of the border to see them.

On Brazilian side you can walk among the exotic birds at »Parque de aves« ( www.parquedasaves.com.br/v2/ing.htm ), where the fine feathered friends are so used to tourists a picture with a tame Toucan is nothing unusual. Don’t believe me – see it HERE.

The national park itself is a model of neatness and you can find all the info on their website www.cataratasdoiguacu.com.br/. All parts of the park are connected to each other by buses (usually a double-decker), which have air conditioning in the lower and are open on the upper deck.

The park offers adrenalin challenges for everybody, but I strongly recommend a boat trip to and under the falls. You need to be prepared to get wet! Don’t worry, they warn you in advance, prior to going under the falls, to put the cameras, valets, cell phones and such thing in plastic bags (which you have to ask for in advance) to protect them.

After seeing the devil’s neck, or better translate throat, with path leading almost under the fall itself, we conclude the Brazilian sightseeing trip of the falls and head of to lunch in an »All you can eat« buffet.

Check out the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu falls HERE.

If you arrive to the waterfalls early enough, we could make a short jump to the Paraguayan side to the border city of Cuidad del Este. The city itself is basically nothing short of a huge shopping mall with luxurious shops on one and street shops on the other side. If you don’t plan to spend a lot of time shopping, I suggest you go there outside working hours, or else you’ll probably get stuck on the bridge connecting the two countries.

After two hours of Cuidad del Este you can’t get a real feel of Paraguay, especially since the city reminds us of a dump in the period between the closing time and until the cleanup crew completes its job. Still, there are some photos of Cuidad del Este (the eastern town), from our short trip, HERE.

After a short stop to buy a few pounds of real Brazilian cafe in a local supermarket out trip towards Argentina is to be continued!