May 29, 2003
We had made arrangements the night before for a taxi to take us across the border to see the Brazilian side of the falls. We were told that it would cost 60 pesos.
So we got up early in the morning and met our driver outside the hotel. On the way to the border, we learned that he hadn't been told about the discussion the previous night and that such travel arrangements usually cost 100 pesos. However, he agreed to abide by the 60 peso price and we made our way to the border. We stopped at the Argentine side and he took our passports and disappeared for a short while. Then he returned, handed us our passports, and off we went again.
We crossed a bridge and breezed past the Brazilian border checkpoint.
Our first stop was another bird facility just outside the entrance to the park. We knew it would be different from the one in Argentina when we saw the ostriches as we parked. Michaela immediately started pointing to them and making noise, so I quickly got her into the backpack and went to the fence by the ostriches. The entrance fee was US$8 (a lot more expensive than the place in Argentina) which we paid with US dollars since we didn't have any Brazilian money. This facility specialized in breeding birds - and not just local varieties. There were all sorts of birds from Australia, Asia, etc. As before the birds that interested Michaela most were those that moved or were loud. Fortunately, there were plenty. The first area was a large open area with parrots in small cages at the side and a variety of birds in the open area, including a toucan that we were able to get very close to. Michaela's head kept moving around as she spotted another flying bird or something else made a noise. We ended up seeing plenty of macaws and parrots (including an African grey), including one that kept saying "Hola." We saw many different kinds of toucans and a variety of pigeons. We also saw a pool of caimans with an island of marmosets. There was also an aviary containing lots of hummingbirds and butterflies. Unfortunately for Michaela, the hummingbirds were difficult to spot and the butterflies weren't that noticeable either. In other aviaries, however, there were toucans flying from side to side, or other birds flying around or making noise. There was an aviary full of macaws and parrots and another aviary with just owls. You could enter nearly all of aviaries, except for the one with owls. There were also fenced areas containing two cassowaries. These are very large and colorful flightless birds (only the ostrich is larger) that immediately bring thoughts of dinosaurs to ones mind because of the large "helmet" on its head. They have large powerful legs and sport a large claw on one of their three toes. A very impressive bird.
At the end of walking through and seeing all the birds, there was a staff person waiting with two macaws that you could hold on your arm. Of course, when I got there, Marga was already holding one on her arm. I did so as well, which got Michaela's attention. I also got to old it while it laid on its back. It was a great experience.
After the bird park, we walked over to the entrance of the park so we wouldn't have to pay for parking. Margarita paid for the tickets (18.50 reals, 15.50 for Mercosur residents) with Argentine pesos, which are essentially equivalent to the real, while I supervised Michaela, who was crawling and walking around.
We got onto a double decker bus with Michaela and me on the top and Marga and the driver on the bottom. While on the bus, there were automated ads describing the food court known as Porto Canoas. It ended with thanks from Cataratas Iguacu SA. It turns out that the Brazilian park is actually a concession or franchise run by a private company. Odd.
When we stopped at the entrance to the trail (and the large hotel), the local coatis were ready. A group of about six met us. Coatis are mammals about the size of raccoons with large bushy tails, long noses and dark fur around their eyes. They are very cute. Although we received many warnings not to feed them and there were signs, it was obvious that they are fed by visitors because they swamped us. They were all over us, sniffing at us and our packs. A woman in front of us kneeled to get a picture and coatis grabbed the plastic bag she was holding that contained an apple. They shredded the plastic until one grabbed the apple and ran off to eat its loot. Other coatis were late to the party, and we saw a bunch more running up the trail to greet us. I had Michaela in the backpack and the sight of all these cute animals thrilled her. Margarita leaned down and soon had coatis opening up our backpack looking for food. I had to forcefully remove one coati's snout from the backpack in order to close the backpack and move on.
After all the commotion, there were probably about two dozen coatis around. Then Margarita motioned to me to look up at the view. Spectacular! From the Brazilian side, we could see nearly all of the falls. While we had been very close to the falls on the Argentine side, we could now see the bigger picture. It is very worthwhile to see the falls from both the Argentine and Brazilian side. We continued along the trail, taking pictures, filming, etc. Then we got an overlook of Devil's Throat where it was obvious we were going to get wet. Margarita had brought a towel to keep Michaela dry, but I thought a plastic poncho (5 reals) would be better. By this time Michaela was asleep and we were hoping she would be able to remain resting. Nope. The spray was too much for her to remain asleep and she cried and fussed as the cold and wet spray enveloped her exposed legs. The view was good and we got a good view of Devil's Throat but the view from Argentina was better.
We left the overlook and were greeted by a sign saying that the elevator was out of service. Wow. An elevator that takes you up to the food court. But alas, we would have to walk, and my calves were sore from having Michaela on my back nearly all day the day before and going up and down stairs. At the top, I was surprised that there was nothing more to see. I asked and the driver confirmed that we had walked the entire trail and seen everything. It wasn't even afternoon yet.
We walked to the food court area where Marga hit the bathroom while I walked towards the water where I could see the Argentina lookout at Devil's Throat. I let Michaela walk and crawl around while we waited for Marga to return and for the bus to get ready to leave. We got back on the bus - this time all on the bottom and headed back for the entrance.
At the entrance, Margarita bought some quick souvenirs while I watched Michaela as she walked and crawled around and the driver went to get the car. On the way from the falls, the driver stopped at a large tourist shop selling all kinds of tourist trap crap. It was all overpriced (we thought) which isn't unexpected because it looked like it catered to tour groups. The staff was nice, grabbing Michaela's hand to help her walk and then (suprising me) picking up Michaela and walking off with her to show to other staff and finally placing her in a stroller. Michaela and I strolled through the floor separately from Marga until Michaela saw the stuff animals. She had to have one. I would hand her a coati and she would then point at another one. She would grab that one as well and then reconsider. What was clear was that she wanted one and we briefly entertained not getting her one because they were 39.5 reals for the large ones. Finally, we decided to get her one, as we were unlikely to find stuffed animal coatis in the US. We gave her a choice of a couple of coatis and she picked one and we bought it with Argentine pesos.
We had told the driver that we wanted to eat lunch at a Brazilian restaurant and he took us to a buffet that catered to tour buses. Oh well. The buffet selection was not too appealing so I was a bit disappointed. What I didn't realize, however, is that the meat is brought to the table. At Argentine buffets, you approach the asador (the man grilling the meat) and ask for what you want. Here, they come to your table and slice off a piece for you. It was very good. However, when they came to the table with a brochette full of chicken hearts, I passed. The bill came to 57.5 for us and the driver (we invited him to lunch) and we paid with Argentine pesos.
We had seen roadside stands selling hammocks and Marga wanted to get one so we stopped on our way back to the border. We looked at some and asked for the price. 95 was the answer. Marga asked the driver for some help with what was a reasonable price as Michaela crawled around. The price came down to 55 after Marga asked him for his lowest price, which we thought was still too high, so we got in the car and began to leave. Then the price came down to 40, which we were willing to pay, although we knew that we probably still paid too much.
On the way back, we arranged with the driver to take us to a local semi-precious stone mine for an additional 50 pesos. The border was no problem and we stopped at the hotel to get milk for Michaela and to change her diaper.
Back in the taxi, we headed for Wanda, where we could tour a local mine. Neither of us had much idea what to expect, but someone we had met had told us about it and how they had given them some free semi-precious stones at the end of the tour. With time to kill, we decided to have a look.
The drive was interrupted by an immigration check much like the immigration checks in the US that occur within a certain distance of the border. Unfortunately, the trip woke up a sleeping Michaela, which ticked me off. Then the check took a long time, so I sent Marga off to find out what was going on. As she headed for the office, the driver and immigration official returned. There was no problem - once they checked the computer to see that we were in the country legally. The driver informed us that there up to 12 similar checkpoints on the road to Buenos Aires because the border area with Brasil and Paraguay is so porous. There were plenty of tree farms along the road as we made our way to Wanda.
There was a big sign clearly showing where to turn onto the dirt road for the mine. It seems to quite a large tourist attraction. Along the road were children selling crystals and rocks as well. The fee for the tour was 2 or 3 pesos each and was very informative. Basically, a family bought the land to farm and one day the woman reached down to pick up something she dropped and cut her hand on a crystal. While she didn't think much about it, her kids did some research and found that some mines had opened in Brazil looking for similar stones, so they decided to start mining it. Basically, the mine is the result of a lava flow from a Brazilian volcano that formed lots of geodes (basically hollow rocks inside which crystals grow). The tour guide told us that they didn't start mining right away because they had no money, but when we saw that all of the mining is done by hand, we wondered why they needed much money at all. They use an air hammer, drill, small explosives, and hand tools. We had expected to see a much more industrial operation, but there were about 4 to 6 people with hand tools - no heavy equipment. At the end of the tour, we were taken into the gift shop where we looked for a suitable earring for me but could only find ones that were very feminine. We spent a lot of time looking around and ended up buying an agate ring for Marga. I paid for the ring with my only Argentine pesos - a 100 peso bill for a 5 peso ring. This caused all sorts of commotion as the staff searched for change, which I found odd, because some of the stuff they were selling was priced at thousands of pesos. While they searched, Michaela and Marga played with a cat that had made its way into the store.
On the way out, we stopped at one of the places with children selling crystals. I wanted some crystal souvenir of our visit for Michaela and me that wasn't too big and I wanted Michaela to be able to crawl and walk around for a while nas well. The crystals the children were selling were cheap...too cheap....and they didn't even have change for a 5 peso bill. Plus, their crystals were too large. I didn't want to haul back a large rock or rocks all the way to the US. Michaela was very interested in the two youngest children who sat nearby but neither said anything to or interacted with her in any way. We ended up leaving, with Michaela crying because she wanted to be walking and crawling - not stuck in the car.
We stopped where the dirt road met the main road at another store selling crystals that I hoped would be cheaper, but ended up being part of the mine. Nevertheless, we looked around, and again, Michaela enchanted the staff. While Marga headed off to another artesan stand, one of the staff pocked up Michaela and played with her. She set her down next to two of those giant cups that are used to drink mate. Michaela promptly crashed one of them onto the floor. The staff said not to worry. Marga returned from the other store and said that they had small crystals that I was looking for. Marga took Michaela while I checked out the other store. I ended up selecting a couple of stones and again, no change was available. So I paid for the three stones with a US$1 and off I went. I found Michaela and Margarita with a guy who had a pet toucan that Michaela was able to touch and feel its beak. Very cool. Except for the toucan, of course.
The drive back to the hotel was uneventful. We paid the driver and gave him some extra and repeated our previous pattern of dinner and then playtime for Michaela with Mauro and Milena.
Tomorrow - to Tres Fronteras, where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet.
Posted by mike at June 3, 2003 12:20 AM