Oh, poor Niagra!!!

On Wednesday afternoon, October 7 we headed to the airport

with some friends.  Because we were 5 people we needed 2 cabs.

We instructed the drivers to try to stay close together so we would 

end up at the same place at the same time.

Not always easy in this kind of traffic!

I was settled in, breathed a sigh of relief that we were on our way.

Approximately 30 minutes later,  Randy says to me, 

"Do you have the tickets, Mom?"  Of course I did, but I have to 

sometimes "satisfy" him so I dug through my bag to show him.

And.  they.  were.  not.  there.

Dang it!  I left them on my desk.! 

These are not just airline itinerary print-outs.  It's a whole package deal with 

hotel, tour tickets, plane - from CVC travel agency.   :/

So, we had time to spare and the best choice was to turn around and go back.

Somehow our driver let the other driver know what we were doing

and because they had been told to stay together, we all went back.

(Can you visualize this?  I had my eyes closed.)

Tickets found, right there, where I left them.  Now we really should hurry.

Am I the only one who has ever done something like this?  Probably not...

Our drivers were highly skilled and we were fine - and happy to board the plane :)

And thank you Randy! I hate to picture the alternate airport scenario.

Probably could have been resolved with a few phone calls- but 

Portuguese phone calls are my husbands worst nightmare.

Seems to be a different language on the phone!?!

Alright - so here we are!

This is the name of the town in Brazil where we came

for an awesome sightseeing trip~

Upon seeing Iguazu for the first time, the United States

 First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagra!"

 (which, at 165 feet, are a third shorter and about half as wide).

The Iguazu River rises near the city of Curitiba.  For most of its course, 
the river flows through Brazil, however, most of the falls are on the Argentine side. 
Below its confluence with the San Antonio River, 
the Iguazu River forms the boundary between Argentina and Brazil.   

For months, we had been hoping to come here with our oldest son, Craig who served his mission in Argentina.  He saw the falls when he was there and wanted the repeat treat!  Unfortunately, life sometimes gets in the way and it didn't work for him  :(

So we found some willing sr. missionaries and we had an incredible journey.

 We were booked to stay at the "Wish Golf Resort"

But - we would not be golfing~

This is the view from our upper floor, front porch.

This is the cute fourplex where we stayed.

The lighted staircase on the right leads to our room.

Attractive gateway from the resort lobby to the cottages.

Night view of the back side.

I was a little concerned because the weather forecast was for rain the whole weekend.

Our tour director assured us that we would be seeing the Falls  
on the following day and that it would not rain.

So off we went and

fortunately, our guide was exactly right!

But we were prepared to get wet anyway!

 Elder Leland and Sister Lianne Thomson - and me.

and Randy

This tour is known as the 

Macuca Safari

This is one of the boats that was in front of us.

Yes - we went right in there!  Why?!

I thought it was more fun to watch the other boats going in~

Because of my awesome poncho I dried out reasonably fast.

On the Brazilian side, there is a walkway along the canyon 

with an extension to the lower base of Devil's Throat.

These are shots from the walkway hike.

We spent at least 2 hours - just walking and marveling.

Thanks to our resident videographer, Randy!

Elder Thomson

 Iguaçu wildlife - racoon like animal called - coati.
Pretty pesty around the concessions!

See the little boat down there in  the middle of the river?

This is not us of course, but that's what we did.

At the end of this trail, we approach Devils Throat.

There is this big observation bridge

 where ponchos are once again, suggested.

 Two cute kids who were very excited about the prospect of getting wet.

Hard to get a clear photo with all the "mist"!.

 And here we are at the famous Devil's Throat

 which moments before this photo was taken,

had successfully "swallowed" my hat!

 So - it's down there - somewhere ~

We took the helicopter ride offering aerial views of the falls.

After the helicopter ride, we went to the 
beautiful 12-acre bird and butterfly park.
Yes, the same day - so much to see!

This park was pretty noisy with all the different
kinds of parrots and such!

Some crazy tree!

Plenty of flowers -
some that look like birds!

The birds, and even the butterflies, are pretty good at posing.

 Darling little threesome.

                                                                                  So many beautiful birds!

and fabulous flowers!

The next day it actually did rain as predicted.

But we went ahead and boarded the City Tour Bus

and hoped for the best~
This is not a big city so we weren't sure what to expect :)

Fortunately, the Thomson's are very easy going.
They are a fun couple who raised 9! children in Mesa, AZ
He was a computer programmer for the State of Arizona.
They work in the Self-Reliance mission.

First stop was the local Muslim Mosque

 very impressive for a small religious group in this town

 Stunning interior-

Required head-gear for women to enter.



Next we'll take a look at the Buddhist Temple

There were many of these lawn statues.

 Evidence of the earlier rain that we somehow mostly missed
while we were out of the bus :)

I'm sure all of this is deeply significant and meaningful

 if you are a Buddhist.

To us outsiders, we are aware of the 

workmanship and beauty and I sensed the 

spirituality in the symbolism. 

  

A quick look at a Catholic church under construction.

And happily - 

We found this small one - for us! 

This view is from the Buddhist Temple lawn.
Across the Parana River is Paraguay

This is the place to shop till you drop with prices considerably lower than in Brazil.
Many, many tour busses go there each day.

We opted out of this excursion because we were not confident that we would be
allowed access back to Brazil.  Our passports/visa to Brazil are expired. 
Even though we applied a few months ago for extensions, 
they have not yet been "processed" by the government.  ???
We are welcome to leave  (and pay a fine for an expired visa)
- but maybe not return~


So we ventured on.

For this stop, the rain did catch us.

This monument is to represent the mark 
of the joining of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

The actual "border" is in the rivers.

As shown on these souvenirs -  t-shirt and magnet.

Muito interessante!




Later that night:

Delicious Churrascaria Buffet Dinner 
and Amazing Latin American Dance Show

This is one of my most favorite ways to spend an evening in Brazil...

How many bottles can you balance on your head, while dancing??

Or a fruit bowl?

The end of a long, but very engaging day 8)


Saturday morning we checked out of the resort 
and before going to the airport 
we took the Dam Tour.

The Itaipu Dam is the second largest operating hydroelectric facility in the world in terms of annual energy generation.  The Three Gorges Dam in China is bigger.

It is binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the Paraná River on the 
border section between the two countries,



Construction from 1975-1984.

Artwork of the building process.

scroll to the right for this panorama photo :)

"Dam Builder Action Man" and Randy

At this smallish airport, we had to walk the tarmac and climb the stairs.

Hard to say goodbye to the phenomenal   Cataratas do Iguaçu !

Thank you,  Gol Airlines for a comfortable and safe travel,

and the trip of a lifetime~