The biggest waterfalls I’ve ever seen in my life are on the Iguazu River, which is the border between Brazil and Argentina. Sizing them with my own eyes I would say that they must be at least ten times bigger than Niagara Falls. I have no idea how (in)accurate this comparison is but they are really enormous!
The waterfalls may be seen from both sides of the river: Brazilian (in Foz do Iguaçu) and Argentinian (in Puerta Iguazú). If you have enough time it’s worth visiting both, but if you have just one day for enjoying the view I would strongly recommend going to Argentina. There are more waterfalls visible there, the views are better and if the weather is nice and the sky is cloudless you’ll have a perfect day!
I would really like to express in writing how amazing these cataratas (as the locals call them) are, but even after searching through the whole thesaurus it would be difficult to properly describe the impression they make. Gigantic, superb, fascinating, powerful and awesome are the first adjectives that come to my mind. So, instead of describing them I’ll suggest you to see the pictures below this post or I’d rather recommend going there during your next holiday!
Changing a subject a bit yet still remaining in Iguaçu. Have you ever seen a toucan from up close or in the wild? Before coming to Brazil my only encounter with those birds was while watching the Rio cartoon, which (as the title implicitly suggests) takes place in Brazil. In Parque das Aves (Bird Park) in Brazilian Iguaçu you can see over 60 of those birds flying around in aviaries. As they are used to people around they come quite close so it’s possible to admire them from a really small distance. There are two things you notice when looking at a toucan for the first time: a very big colorful beak and their big, blue eyes! Then you realize that their feathers don’t look much like feathers bur rather like black panther’s velvet fur. For those who are against such parks, there is also a possibility to see those birds flying around in the wild, if you are lucky of course.
We saw one more thing in Foz do Iguaçu: the Rafain Churrascaria Show – a Latin American dance show. It is organized especially for tourists in a big restaurant where you pay for an all-you-can-eat buffet offering a big variety of good Brazilian food and you enjoy the dance show while eating. As mentioned – it is organized for tourists so it is run as a show but it is also a professional dance performance. During 1,5 hour you see a variety of traditional dances from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Paraguay. The costumes are beautiful, the folk music is played life by the artists themselves and the dancers are really good! The whole performance ends in a truly Brazilian style, that is with samba starring artists from samba schools in Rio! I like to dance and I like to watch professional dance performances so for me it was a great evening!
Foz do Iguaçu was our last stop In Brazil. We’ve spent only 2 weeks there because at this trip it was more a drive-thru country for us rather than a planned destination. We’ve just had a taste of Brazil and we’ve liked what we’ve seen in this short period of time. Well, we say good bye to Brazil for now, however we intend to return to the northern part of South America (Brazil, Columbia and Ecuador) during one of our next trips in the future. Someday.
