January 13th: Day 12
Today was our last first day. We began the day by leaving Curitiba, after breakfast we loaded into the bus and headed to the airport. This was the first time we encounterd a delay in all of our flights, but it worked out. We had a planned long layover in San Paulo, but instead we had a shorter time there and were able to catch the connector with ease. The flights were OK, no complaints, I have now mastered the art of sleeping on planes. What made these flights different was that we saw an unexpected visitor in the air port, Tayeke. We were all so excited to see him, we took pictures, laughed, and attempted to talk but the language barrier again got in the way. After landing in Foz de Iguacu, we were greeted by the man we were staying with, Joelton. He seemed like a very relaxed guy, and we followed him back to the hostel. Mangarosa, was the name of the place, and "Frat House" is the best way to describe it. The house was very open and had Brazilian music jamming from a huge stereo system in the corner. We stayed in two large eight person rooms with bunk beds lining the walls. Outside was a huge patio with homemade tire stools, a picnic table and a huge outdoor kitchen. There was a separate building where Tait and Lester stayed with hammocks covering the porch. There was a tightrope set up, three dogs running around, and a bunch of Brazilian guys around our age smoking and drinking beer. This was not what I was expecting, but it was a really cool surprise. For the rest of the afternoon, we played on the tightrope, punched the punching bag, rolled in the grass, laid on the hammocks and talked about everything! It was one of the best afternoons I've had in college, and I even topped it off with a yoga class led by Erika. This place was wild! Dinner we had a barbecue, with all sorts of fruit, snacks and meats. The meat was grilled on an open fire and tasted perfect! The barbecue was the perfect way to end a perfect afternoon. As everyone went to bed, I decided there was no way I wanted to stay in a room with eight people, when I could stay outside in a hammock under the stars. So I went out and made myself comfortable, under the Brazilian stars in a hammock, something I never imagined doing. Today was wild to say the least! This place is so cool and I'm sure the last two days of the trip will be some of the most memorable!
Fun fact of the Day: The inside of a Jack fruit is oozy and extremely sticky, you only eat the flesh covering the seed, and discard the rest. The best way to describe the taste is a cross between a pineapple and a banana.
Fun fact of the Day: The inside of a Jack fruit is oozy and extremely sticky, you only eat the flesh covering the seed, and discard the rest. The best way to describe the taste is a cross between a pineapple and a banana.
January 14th: Day 13
Today I woke up to a surprise... One of the dogs decided my sanuk was a good chew toy and completely destroyed the heel of my favorite shoes. I was not happy, but thankfully the day got better form there. I was the first one up, so I became the group's the cook. I made eggs, toast, fried pork, and even fried bananas for everyone to munch on before we headed out for the day. Our first stop was to the National Forest to see the famous, Iguacu Falls! The falls were incredible and they put Niagara Falls to shame. They were so impressive words can not describe it! Standing there looking at them just took your breathe away! After taking pictures at the bus drop off, we began our assent to get up close and personal with the falls! The problem was that the path was very small and there was an extraordinary amount of people trying to walk and take pictures blocking the path. The sights were beautiful, even while being bumped by dozens sweaty people. We finally were able to walk out on a long pier where we were being drenched with the mist coming over the massive falls. When we headed off the pier we noticed that Andy wasn't with the group, so everyone began to panic. It turned out that Andy had walked way ahead of the group to go find a snack. Now that we were all back together we walked up to the top to take a last few pictures before he headed back up another path to lead us to the bus. It is crazy to think about but the average water flow over the falls is 61,600 cu ft/sec, and is a combination of over 240 independent falls instead of one giant one. We loaded into the bus and headed towards the main entrance where we stopped for lunch. Brazil is just like America, when it comes to over priced park food, but we were hungry so we spent the money we had! With full bellies, Tait did what he usually did and took us for a walk. We met with Joelton, who lead us to a hotel a ways down the road form the national park. We were introduced to our guide in the lobby, and we followed him out the back. He took us on a small hike pointing out different locals plants and explaining a little about the area. Our hike ended at a waterfall, and of course we had to play! A few of us hopped right into the water, slashing and having a good time under neath the falls and the pools it filled. What really amazed me about the falls was the immense power of the water and how it felt as it pelted you in the back. After about a half an hour horsing around in the water, we headed on another short hike. This hike ended by meeting a group of river guides who took us kayaking and paddle boarding! This was an unexpected surprise, and it was so much fun! We kayaked up a ways before turning around a large bend where a a beautiful waterfall dumped into the river. Back to playing in the waterfall we went, this time in our kayaks. It was so much fun horsing around and enjoying ourselves, we all switched vessels and I was able to attempt paddle boarding. I learned I am not a good paddle boarder, so I stayed with the kayak. Before heading back to the launch, I made a break for the other bank. On the other side of the river was Argentina, and I was not about to leave without steeping foot onto their soil. I raced as fast as I could and finally landed on the Argentina soil! I stepped out of the kayak and played for a minute or so before climbing back in the kayak and rejoining the group. It wasn't until the paddle back that I realized that I had just crossed into a country illegally... I never imagined I would be an illegal immigrant, but I never thought I'd be in Brazil either! After dropping off the kayaks and hiking back up to the bus it was time to head back to the hostel. Back at the hotel we all acted like bums, just relaxing in the beautiful Brazilian weather! We talked, laughed, napped in the hammocks, it was great. Before we knew it, the sun was setting and we hadn't even gave dinner a thought! We all scrambled to get it going, but food over a fire takes a long time to cook. It wasn't until midnight that we were able to finally eat some meat! About the same time, we all sat down as a group to discuss the trip and reflect on things good, bad , and in different. It was a very good thing to be able to openly discuss what worked, what didn't, and things that we could do better. The best part of the discussion though wasn't any thing someone said though, it was an action. Andy being so tired, leaned back to nap, and leaned right into his own birthday cake! It was hilarious and a great way to end the night!! Today was an awesome day with all sorts of surprises! My shoes, kayaking, and Andy's cake all were surprised and all will be funny to reflect back on. It is a very weird feeling to think that this is the last time I will go to bed in Brazil. This trip has been amazing so far, but there is no time to be upset about leaving because we have another day to make memories that will last a lifetime!
Fun Fact of the Day: Foz de Iguacu is known as "Triplice Fronteria" which translates to Triple Frontier, named for the meeting of the three countries, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.
Fun Fact of the Day: Foz de Iguacu is known as "Triplice Fronteria" which translates to Triple Frontier, named for the meeting of the three countries, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.
January 15th: Day 14
Today is our last day in Brazil... It is so bitter sweet to think that this amazing adventure is about to end, but I do miss the good ole USA. The day began with me again playing chef. We tried to use whatever food we had left in the refrigerator, so breakfast was a free for all! I made eggs for everyone, but everyone seemed to eat whatever they found. Once breakfast was finished, we headed out to the van to go to Itaipu Dam,the largest hydroelectric dam in South America, and the third largest in the world! Arriving we ran into a slight hiccup, everyone's pants had to be fingertip length, and some of the girls pants did not fit the criteria. This caused them to be given these oversize goofy pants, which they had to wear the entire tour! It was very comical to see the girls in these pants, but they all rocked them and had fun! We began by touring the top of the dam, and it was huge! The lake that it backs up is huge, bigger than most lakes I've seen! It was so impressive to see the shear size of the dam, it is a true feat of modern engineering! We toured the inner working of the dam, and it was just as impressive as the outside! We walked deep into he heart of the dam, observing he control room, the different operating stations, and even witnessed a turbine in action! Seeing the massive size and speed of the turbine was very impressive, and blew my mind as how someone came up with the idea, it's just amazing. The twenty turbines indie the dam a minimum of seventeen turbines, run inside the dam and create a production capacity of 14 GW. Each turbine averages 700 MW, to give an idea of the power of the dam, all of the water flowing over Iguacu Falls, would only power two generator. My favorite area in the dam was the fire suppression room. This is where all of the fire fighting equipment was stored, and it was like looking into a museum. The equipment they were using is so outdated in the US that most of the tools and equipment are actually on display at most fire halls. There was old steel bottles, elephant trunk masks, long coats, rubber coated hose, and all other sorts of antique equipment. It amazes me that this stuff is actually still in service, especially in such an important place! After heading back out of the dam's center, we loaded back into the bus to make a final stop. We stopped to see the panoramic view of the dam as a whole and we stood there and took in the beauty. The dam was such an impressive sight to see and I am so glad we were able to experience it! From here we headed back to the hostel to start the packing process, and that was a bitter sweet feeling. Once all of my junk was compacted into the bags it came in, I went outside to hang out before we left. We still had one more thing to take care of though, lunch! The whole trip we had heard the rumors of a terrascaria , a restaurant with all sort of meat, and when I saw it, my dreams had come true! The looked incredible! It was a buffet of anything you could want and more, but the best part was the old man carving huge chunks of meat at the end of the buffet table. The food was phenomenal, and we ate like we hadn't eaten in days. I had four plates that were heaped with all sorts of meats and mixtures of food, it was fantastic! I ate my self silly, it was actually a struggle to waddle back to the hostel. One of the best parts of lunch was the fact that chickens were running everywhere, but slowly they would disappear and a short while later a chicken dish would emerge from the kitchen! Now that's fresh food! It was one of the best meals of my life! Back at the hotel we spent the last bit of our time reflecting on all the fun we had and how much we would miss this crazy country, but it was in the van and off to the airport for us. The flight to San Paulo was a nice, easy flight, but my heart began to race when we landed in the airport. It was such a bitter sweet feeling knowing that in a few minutes I would leave the country that had changed my life the past two weeks. It was weird as I boarded the plane, and sad as the plane took off. I waved one last goodbye to Brazil, a country I most likely will never visit again, but one that will forever be in my heart! One long flight, a whole lot of napping, and two not so great airline meals later, I stepped off the plane and into the greatest country in the world. It felt and continues to feel so good to be back where I belong, right here in the USA.
Fun fact of the Day: The Itaipu Dam is shared by Paraguay and Brazil, while Brazil receives a larger portion of the energy produced, Paraguay relies much more on the energy produced than Brazil. Roughly 84% of Paraguay's energy comes from Itaipu and other hydro electric dams.
Fun fact of the Day: The Itaipu Dam is shared by Paraguay and Brazil, while Brazil receives a larger portion of the energy produced, Paraguay relies much more on the energy produced than Brazil. Roughly 84% of Paraguay's energy comes from Itaipu and other hydro electric dams.