Foz do Iguaçu

The last weekend in April, I traveled to see one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature - Foz do Iguaçu, or Iguazu Waterfall. Iguaçu is the second largest waterfall in the world, after Victoria Falls in Africa. They are located at the border of three countries - Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. I've never been to Niagara Falls, but I've heard that if you've seen Iguazu first, you won't be very impressed.

I took an overnight bus to Iguazu where I met three other girls from the Fulbright program. We are all living in different cities - Christina lives in São Jose do Rio Preto about 6 hours north of Londrina, Cynthia in Curitiba, the capital of Paraná state and about 4 hours from me, and Chelsea flew all the way down from Northeastern Brasil. Yep, so we were LC³. It was the first time we were all together since our orientation in São Paulo. We then traveled over to the town of Puerto Iguazu on the Argentinian side, where we had a reservation at Garden Stone Hostel (thanks for the great recommendation, Eliza!). After dropping our stuff at the hostel, we decided to go out and explore the town. The only issue was it was POURING. I'm not talking raining hard, I'm talking relentless, torrential downpour. Luckily, we had bought plastic ponchos from a guy at the bus station who had seen a good sales opportunity when four foreign travelers, blurry-eyed from overnight bus travel and confused about how to get from the Brasil side to the Argentina side, asked him for directions. I have to say, it was the best 2 bucks I've ever spent.

Heading into town, we stumbled upon a half indoor, half outdoor market with wooden stalls that sold olives, cheese, sausage, olive oil, etc. They also sold food - homemade empanadas, among other delicious goodies. We ended up spending a good four or five hours here, consuming endless empanadas and cervezas and sharing stories about life in Brasil. I have to say, that afternoon was one of my best moments here yet. We went out to do some shopping around the town (3 of the 4 of us ended up buying the same fleece in different colors - that heavy rain brought with it a frio that no one was prepared for). Where did we end up for dinner? Yep, back at our favorite market.


The next day dawned sunny and bright - perfect day for the park! The falls are actually a series of waterfalls and they can be viewed from two parks, one on the Argentina side and one on the Brazilian side. The Argentinian side has many more trails and viewing points, and we spent the entire day there. A long trail leads you into the park and we were itching with anticipation as we got closer to the falls that we would hear but not yet see. As we caught our first glimpse of the falls, Chelsea and I grabbed each other in excitement. It is truly an impressive sight. We walked along almost every trail and hit every viewing point of the falls. I was amazed at how close you can get! We also took a boat ride that gets you close to the bottom of the falls (and pretty wet!). Along the top section of the falls you can walk out to a point where the water comes together (they call it the Garganta del Diablo, the Devil's Throat) and rushes down one hole. The viewing platform is built so that you can stand on the very edge of the drop off. What a rush! Words truly don't do it justice, so check out the pictures and videos that I took in the slideshow below or on Picasa. We topped off the great day with an amazing dinner at a restaurant "La Vaca Enamorada," where the incredibly friendly owner took a liking to us.

Chelsea and Cynthia had an early bus back the next day, but Christina and I walked to the area called "Tres Fronteras," a place where two rivers connect and you can see Brasil, Argentina, and Paraguay on different shores. It was pretty cool! On the way back, before catching a bus back to Londrina, I had my first authentic mate in Argentina - a type of tea that Argentina is known for. It was three quick days, but definitely an unforgettable trip!



The full effect:

Flashback to Easter...

Ok, after a month+ break from the blog, I'm back to it! There is lots to catch up on. First, we'll flashback to early April. I spent Easter with my roommate's family in her small hometown of Manduri about three hours from Londrina, in the state of Sao Paulo. While I knew that Londrina is surrounded by farms and countryside, it was the first time I ventured out of the city and into the land of caipiras (country folk). On Thursday night we caught a ride with Bárbara's friend, João, who is from a nearby town and has a car. We arrived to Manduri around midnight, and I was expecting to say hi to the family and go straight to bed. But when we arrived, everyone was fully awake, dressed, and ready to go. I was surprised to hear that we were going out for pizza at midnight! But I guess it's not unusual in Brazil. So I found myself at 1:00am in a pizza place (we ate at this restaurant two more times while I was there), surrounded by people who all seemed to know us (ah, small town life). By the next day, word had gone 'round town that "there was an American(!) staying at their house." It was funny to be the talk of the town.

Breakfast with the family
(minus one brother)

Bárbara's family was extremely welcoming to me. Her father is a biology teacher and her mom is, in addition to a wonderful artist, the Brazilian Martha Stuart. Bárabar's two younger brothers still live at home and are in school. As I mentioned in a previous post, Bárbara spent to years in Westwood, MA as an au pair. During that time her Mom came to visit for about a month and they traveled all over New England. They even went to Vermont! It was fun to hear about their experience (her mom LOVED Dunkin Donuts muffins!) and reminisce with them about some of my favorite places.




We spent Friday relaxing and preparing for an all-day family affair of eating and drinking. Bárbara's mom is an excellent cook and prepared two delicious dishes, one of fish and the other of shrimp. They were both delicious. At a relative's house I also tried bacalhau, a traditional dish served on holidays that is made of dried salted cod (ew), potatoes, eggs, peppers, olives. It was only 11:00am and I reeeeally wasn't in the mood to try it, but I wanted to be a polite guest and so choked it down. The rest of the day was spent at their house, chatting with friends and relatives, and of course, eating and drinking.

Beautiful lake where we went for the nature walk.

The following day, I went on a nature walk with Bárbara and her father, a high school biology teacher. It was local park with a lovely pond for swimming and boating, a picnic/bbq area, and some nice trails running through the woods. Her father was a great guide, filled with lots of interesting facts and tidbits of information. The weather, as you can see, was absolutely perfect. That night I went to another churrasco (bbq party) and met many of Bárabara's childhood friends. Everyone was extremely patient with my faltering Portuguese - I still can't get over how nice everyone is here.

Instant friends!

The Easter tradition in Brazil, instead of Easter baskets, are gigantic chocolate eggs, filled with more chocolate inside. Parents hide these and the kids search for them. Bárbara's parents had bought each of us an egg (and some for the cousins who live next door). It made me feel like a kid again to be searching their yard for my pink colored egg. It was wonderful to get out of the city for a weekend, and to spend it in such a relaxing place. While I missed Easter with my own family yet again (although we did have a group Skype!), it was nice to be able to spend it with my Brazilian family. (Side note: They just came to Londrina for Mother's Day, and Bárbara's mom stocked our freezer with food that she had prepared for us. Everything came in two's - one for Bárbara and one for me. How nice is that?!)

Here's a slideshow of the whole weekend.