2022 Late November - Brazil

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Foz do Iguazú , Brazil

Iguazú Falls

Our trip starts with a 330 alarm.  It’s a 2-hour flight to Foz do Iguazú, the city on the Brazilian side of the Iguazú falls.  The Iguazú River in this area forms the border between Brazil and Argentina.  We are touring both sides of the falls, adding another country to our trip.

Sitting in the window seat I study the passing terrain.  Once away from Sao Paulo the land opens into forests and rolling ranch land.  Approaching Foz do Iguazú the land flattens out.  It is so green, and flat, I feel I am looking down on an huge empty pool table. 

We are staying in a home/hotel with two independent rooms.  It is in a quiet residential neighborhood, within walking distance of restaurants and shops.

It is warm, close to 90 and sunny, but low humidity makes the heat tolerable.  We start our search for another Brazilian steakhouse.  The first one has several buses outside, a good sign, lots of people enjoying their meals.  But we wait, and wait, nothing opens up, so on to the next restaurant.  We finally find one after passing on a few unappealing ones.  There are more meat selections than in the Sao Paulo restaurant.  Lamb and different sausages are new offerings and enjoyed.  On the way back to our room, we pass a group of protesters backing Balsonaro, the former Brazilian president, that lost the recent election.  We hurry past the peaceful protest, not wanting to take any chances.

The next morning Ole, the owner of our hotel, prepares breakfast; ham, cheese, bread, jams, fruit and coffee. We enjoy our breakfast overlooking his backyard filled with flowers and trees providing shade for the pool.  A tropical paradise.

Iguazú Falls

Capybara

Gil, our tour guide and driver, from Iguazú Falls Tour, picks us up at 730 for our tour of the Brazilian side of the falls, the Itaipu Dam, and the Bird Park.

The Itaipu Dam is the second largest dam in the world, second to the Three Gorges Dam in China.  It is 5 miles wide and 65 stories tall.  There are 20 generating units each providing 700 MW of power.  Construction started in 1971, it has been generating power since 1984.

Itaipu Dam

Turbines

The bus tour takes us through the nature preserve surrounding the dam.  We see numerous birds and animals.  A family of capybara, large rodents, graze on the grasses near a small pond, on our way to the dam.  Raptors circle the area searching for breakfast.

Notice the buses

The dam is enormous.  It is hard to imagine its scale.  Only when I see another tour bus pass on the same route we just drove, can I comprehend its size.  The reservoir formed behind the dam covers 520 square miles.

Heading towards the Iguazú Falls we stop at the Bird Park, an Integrated Conservation Center for birds of the Atlantic forest.  It’s main job is the conservation of 120 species of birds.  After paying our admission we follow the walkway, winding through a jungle.  We stop at each of the large cages of birds.  Other times we enter large cages walking among the birds.  We see macaws, toucans, various raptors, and flamingos, to name a few.  

Toucan

The air is filled with singing, squawking and flapping, vibrant colors.  Reptiles, including a large anaconda, and a caiman each in their own quarters.  Butterflies flit, then sail from plant to plant in another cage.

Map of the falls

Iguazú Falls is huge.  Collectively the falls resemble an elongated horseshoe extending 1.7 miles (nearly three times wider than Niagara Falls).  The falls reside on both the Brazilian and Argentine border, with the majority of the 275 individual waterfalls (cascades) on the Argentine side.  We get panoramic views of the falls from the Brazilian side.  For closeup views, we will tour the Argentine side tomorrow.

Paying the entrance fee to the national park allows us to be on our way.  As Gil drives the 12 miles through the park, before arriving at the trailhead to the falls.  He warns us to be ready to get wet.  The trail we follow eventually leads to the Devil’s Throat, the center of the horseshoe falls.  We are ready, rain jackets for us, and our cameras.  Gil drops us off at the close end of the paved trail, parking the van at the falls, our destination.  We start down the trail with dozens of others excited to see the falls.  The trail starts high above the river, leading us through a tropical forest.  Openings between the trees provide glimpses of individual cascades.  Continuing, we start hearing a rushing sound, faint at first, like a small fan moving air on a hot day.  We see more cascades.  As the sound grows, the number and size of the cascades does too.  Breaks in the jungle reveal laddered cascades; multiple steps the torrents of water flow over, before finally crashing into the river.  

Oversized zodiacs ferry tourists to the base of cascades, a select few going all the way to the Devil’s Throat, some distance ahead.  For those of you that have visited Niagara Falls, think Maid of the Mist boat ride.  We are only at the start of this spectacle.  The crowds of tourists get larger at every overlook.  People stand in line, waiting for the best selfie spot, with falls in the background.  The small cascades we marveled at earlier are replaced by larger ones.  We start seeing low clouds of mist hanging over the river.  Humidity levels rise, approaching the main part of the falls.  With the humidity comes heat with the 90° temperatures.  Coming around a bend in the trail we feel a cool breeze; outflow from the turbulent waters.  Crowds continue growing, the trail packed with people, comes to a crawl, like the traffic we faced in Sao Paulo.  More selfies, to take in this sight.  

Observation platform

The trail leads us down to river level.  Photos cannot tell the story of the falls.  The experience is so much more than a still photo or even a video can portray.  We feel the mist moistening our faces, as we breathe in, it fills our nostrils with fresh air.  Gil informs us the water flow is down from a tour he led just a few days ago.  We walk out on the observation platform over the river.  

We do not experience the soaking mist we are prepared for.  We get a little damp, but not much more, we still cover our cameras even with this minute amount of mist.  We are as close as we can get to the Devil’s Throat.  We are surrounded by the relentless roar of crashing water.  Returning to the main trail we end at the base of one of the main cascades.  We stand in awe of this natural wonder.  Living for many years in New Mexico, a desert, it is unfathomable to me that the river flows like this, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for millennia.  We take an elevator to the top of the falls seeing the river before it plunges the 200’ – 260’ below.  Spectacular.

We stop here for a buffet lunch, taking in the scene, enjoying the day.

The next morning we are up at 500 for a 715 tour of the falls from Argentina.  We are touring with another couple, from North Carolina.  We head to the border, only slowing down as we pass through.  Arrangements are in place for tour operators allowing the quick passage.

Gil parks the van, then we start on a series of trails leading to the upper portion of the cascades.  Several trails are closed due to a severe rainstorm that passed through the area several months ago.  The river rose, washing out the steel grate walkway several feet above the river level, we are touring today.  Looking upstream, we spot a line of concrete pilings that used to support the walkway.

We aren’t viewing cascades across the river valley, like yesterday.  We are directly over them.  The sensation is different being only a few feet above a cascade witnessing the water disappear over the precipice.  When I stop to observe, I feel the grate I am standing on, vibrate.  I see the power of the water, it is somewhat shallow below the observation platform but there is no way to stop it when it is moving this fast.  It is so loud, we have to speak directly into each other’s ear to understand what is being said.  I understand why the walkway, in the main part of the river is gone.

We walk through jungle as we pass between cascades.  Moving only a few feet away from the rushing water the sound is muffled.  Gil is always observing what is going on around us.  He spots lizards, 12 – 18” tall ant mounds, turtles and a small caiman sunning itself.  In swampy parts of the forest we are surrounded by multicolored butterflies dancing in the breeze; red and blue, blue velvet, oranges and yellows.  His 25 years of guiding tourists around the falls shows.  He knows each of the plants we ask about.  Even in this shallow portion of the river we see twisted metal grates and pilings that used to be walkway.

The couple from North Carolina is taking a boat ride to the bottom of the falls.  They are ready, swim suits and sandals.  As a backup they have a bag with dry clothing.  We are hiking the lower trail instead, experiencing the bottom of the cascades.  We stop for lunch.  While we are eating a Coati wanders through the picnic area looking for handouts or dropped food, whichever comes first.  Signs are everywhere, Do Not Feed The Animals.  A photo of a bloodied hand shows what the wildlife can do to someone that offers food.  Coati’s are related to racoons.  They look like a cross between a lemur and a badger.  They have long moveable noses for finding food.

The lower trail is cut short by the same storm that took out walkway above the falls.  Another section of the trail is closed due to boulders that came down on to the walkway.  We see a few of the cascades from the bottom.  They are impressive but not as much as being at the top.

We meet up with the other couple.  They are all smiles having enjoyed their boat trip.  We see a video of their trip.  Very wet.  They ride to the base of one of the cascades two or three times for the full shower.

We return to our room famished.  We are exhausted from the last two, activity filled days, but we would do it all over again.  I head out, looking for a restaurant to pick up something to eat in our room.  Everything is closed except for a fast food burger place, siesta is alive and well in Brazil.  With help from a woman that speaks a bit of English I am able to order a couple burgers and fries, enough to hold us for the night.

The next morning we wake at 630, have our last breakfast at El Refugio, we visit with Ole, he’s originally from Denmark having married a women from Foz do Iguazú.  I do not usually mention places we stay or companies we use, but the two here in Foz do Iguazú we feel are exceptional.  These are unsolicited recommendations.

Rio de Janeiro

Favela

The city of Rio de Janeiro is picturesque.  It is large, 5 – 6 million people.  Fitting that many people into this unique landscape is quite a feat.  With the exception of a few houses in wealthy neighborhoods high-rise apartment buildings make up the city.  A bay and ocean are on one side, mountains and forests run around and through the rest of the city.  Some neighborhoods, favelas, are perched on the mountains, appearing ready to slide off at the next thunderstorm.  Roads tunnel through mountains, emerging on the other side, to yet more city.  The city is surrounded by green, with a national park bordering the city.

We chose a hotel on the Copacabana Beach, a mistake, not because I don’t like it.  But because I cannot get Barry Manilow’s Copacabana song out of my head.  I’m hearing it again as I write this -  “At the Copa, Copacabana…..”  The hotel is from the 50’s, ornate, marble, and wood.  We dine in the hotel restaurant, then retire early with stuffy noses and headaches, we find out later no Covid, only a sinus infection for Nicida.

Sugarloaf Mountain on left

The next morning we are off on a tour of the major sites of Rio.  We start with Christ the Redeemer, probably the most famous statue Rio is known for.  We are on an early tour, 730, to avoid the crowds.  Our van driver has done this before, he knows when to take main streets, and when to take side streets.  As we approach the bottom of the mountain the cobble streets narrow becoming steep, then they become steeper still, until we arrive at the entrance to Tijuca National Park.  There, we tour the gift shop, show our tickets, then get on a park van for another 10 minute ride to the top of the 2,310’ mountain.

Christ the Redeemer

The statue is 98’ tall, arms stretching 92’ wide.  It is made of reinforced concrete covered with thousands of triangular soapstone tiles.  Construction started in 1922, it was completed in 1931.  It has a commanding view of the city, although we couldn’t see it today, as clouds hung around the top of the mountain.  While the area was crowded, we were able to make a few photos without having throngs of people in the image.  Our guide says later in the day the observation area is wall to wall people.  

Capuchin monkey

We see a single capuchin monkey sitting and studying tourists, milling around him shooting pictures.  After several minutes we witness it explode from its seat, into a trash bin, then quickly exiting with a bag of leftover popcorn.  It eats voraciously, every little kernel, discarding the bag, then searching for spilled kernels.  Tourists enjoy witnessing the scene.  Some try tempting it with more food.  We turn away, not wanting to witness a tourist pull back a bloodied hand from feeding a monkey.

Still in the clouds, our guide goes with plan B.  We head back down the mountain, meet up with our driver, then head to another viewing spot, under the clouds, a few hundred feet below the statue.  We are rewarded with wonderful views of north and south Rio.  We can see Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.  Looking back to the summit, the statue is still blanketed in clouds.

Copacabana Beach

 Our next stop is Sugarloaf Mountain.  Its form reminded 16^th century Portuguese people of the shape of blocks of sugar transported on ships, hence the name.  We take two different cable cars, with a midway stop, to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.  The Atlantic Ocean is on one side, the city on the other.  Christ the Redeemer has emerged from the clouds with the warmer temperatures.  We also see Pedra de Gávea, off in the distance, our next big hike, Nicida’s promise to be fulfilled.  We return to the hotel, then, off to do laundry.  We find a small lavandaria, (laundromat), a half mile from our hotel.  This is the smallest laundromat we have ever seen, 10’ x 12’.  Three washers with three dryers stacked on top.  The operation is automated.  Put your clothes in, use the touch screen telling it which machine, type of wash, and Go.  We don’t even have to bring detergent, it is automatically dispensed.  Our timing is right, five minutes after we arrive, more people arrive with dirty clothes.  Less than two hours later, we walk away with clean clothes, set for the balance of our trip.  We research and find Museo Histórico Nacional, (National Historical Museum), tomorrow’s adventure.

Feeling a bit better today, we find a taxi to take us to the museum.  It documents Brazil’s history from 1500, when it was discovered by the Portuguese, to today.  Brazil is not one of the places I think of when slavery is mentioned.  It is estimated 10 – 15 slaves were transported to the Western Hemisphere with 40% of them going to Brazil.  Those numbers, 10 – 15 million, astound me.  I don’t remember anything like those kind of numbers mentioned in my history classes, from school.  We also see how the Portuguese lived and ruled Brazil, until Brazil declared its freedom in 1922.

Today we hike Pedra de Gávea.  We prepare our fanny packs; 3 – 4 bottles of water, and a few snacks.  Having watched videos of the hike, we have decided no cameras, too heavy and cumbersome, iPhones will have to do.  We have scheduled another early tour to beat the crowds.  Our guide arrives at 700.  Two others will be hiking with us, 21 and 27 year olds, both from Denmark.  They are on extended vacations 3 – 4 months, touring Mexico, Central, and South America.  Rafael, our guide, is in his mid-40’s, he is an extreme adventure person, 1000 km kayaking trips, mountain climbing, he also trains for triathlons.  We will be the slower ones of this group.  We are heading to a different part of the Tijuca National Park.  Approaching the edge of Rio we turn off the main road, starting our climb to the trail head.  The roads become narrower, and the tropical forest becomes denser, the higher we drive.  We weave around the contours of the land continuously climbing, Rafael has to shift to lower gears as the road becomes ever steeper.  At a wide spot in the road Rafael pulls over and parks, the trail head just ahead of us.  Opening the doors, we are hit with the rich earthy smells of a damp tropical forest.  It’s not that that ‘tropical forest scent’ you buy in a can.  Bird calls surround us from above.  Insect buzzing and chirping surround us from above, from below.  We don’t realize it at the time, but from the time we step out of the car, and for the next two hours we will be on a continuous climb.  We start with comfortable hiking conditions, temperatures in the 70’s and cloudy.

Face of monolith

The trail starts as a moderately steep stone path.  We move at a comfortable pace taking deep breaths as we go.  The stones are a bit slippery; we are glad when the trail becomes natural dirt, rocks, and tree roots.  Sporadically, the sun penetrates the leafy canopy illuminating the ground.  Mosses, looking like manicured grass lit by the sun, grow on boulders.  We see huge vines draped between trees; some are the diameter of my wrist.  Think, one of Tarzan’s modes of travel.

We come across a small waterfall; filling his water bottle, Rafael tells us it is good to drink, we aren’t taking the chance.  Instead, we splash our sweaty faces with the cool water.  The temperature is climbing as we continue our hike.  The forest is so dense there is no air movement.  An hour into our hike I notice my nylon hiking shirt is sticking to my body, soaking wet.  Nicida and I can’t imagine hiking this trail in during the summer months.  

After more climbing we come to a large boulder with a chain anchored at either end.  We use the chain to help pull us up the steep boulder.  After more climbing we come to a large break in the forest.  We see the ‘face’ in the monolith above us, the top of the monolith is our goal.  “Another hour,” Rafael informs us.  Here the dense forest gives way, we hike among waist to chest high grasses, and the trail starts to level out.  

Final ascent, 100'

Hiking another 20 minutes puts us at the base of the final climb of the monolith.  From here we see sweeping views of the main part of Rio to the north, and more city and the ocean to the south.  Looking back at the monolith we see climbing ropes anchored 100+’ above us for those that want to go to the top.  Rafael asks all of us what we want to do.  He says the top is about another 45-minute climb from here.  The two kids are going for the top.  Nicida and I confer, deciding to enjoy our view from here.  We have been struggling a bit with our breathing from our sinus issues, besides we have another, bigger part of our journey ahead of us.  Rafael shows the kids how to put on the climbing belts showing them how to hook themselves in.  He starts them up the incline, part climbing, part crawling along the face of the monolith.  Once they are in position he climbs the rock with ease, anchoring the rope, throwing one end down to pull each of the kids up.  Then they disappear, onward to the top.

View from bottom
of monolith (our stop)

We enjoy our time here.  The view is spectacular.  Looking towards Rio we see Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana Beach, the Twin Brothers, the ocean, and a portion of the city.  Looking south we see miles of city and ocean, before they disappear in the distance.  We have our lunch. More importantly, Nicida celebrates her victory over her illness.  I am happy for her, and happy to be part of her celebration.

View from bottom
of monolith (other direction)

Sitting here an hour we slow down to notice things going on around us.  We hear the traffic from the cars far below.  We notice three different types of lizards sunning themselves on the rocks, looking for meals.  They must be youngsters, only 4 – 5” long.  Later, I hear thrashing in the grasses then another lizard appears.  As this one comes out, the little guys run for the hills.  This one is 18 – 24” long.  He stays a while, looks around, then disappears back into the grasses.  We observe puffy clouds drift across the sky.  We visit with Tony, one of the local climbers.  He offers the service of his ropes, assisting tourists to the top and back.  He also carries a cooler to this location filled with bottles of water, soda, tea and frozen acai popsicles for sale.  He does this 4 – 5 times a week.  In the meantime, my shirt dries out ready for the return trip.  While Rafael and the kids are on the top, a number of other hikers make their way down the monolith.  We find out that there are only about 20 people up on the top today.  Pulling out my iPhone I use my Measure app to see how steep the slope is of this part of the monolith.  I measure between 40° and 50° from horizontal.

Rafael and the kids return, the climb down looks just as difficult as the climb up.  We get all of our stuff in order and start down.  The clouds have disappeared raising the temperature, within 30 minutes my shirt is soaked through.  The kids pull ahead, stopping for us to catch up.  Rafael serves as the go between, assisting us in the steeper portions of the trail.  While we are descending, we ask him how many 65- and 70-year-olds make this hike.  “Some, but not very many,” he replies, somewhat surprised at our ages.  The chain section is a challenge for me, swinging from side to side.  This makes me wonder how I would have fared on the steeper, longer monolith climb. 

View from top of Pedra de Gavea
(courtesy of Rafael, our guide)

Further down, the stone portion of the trail seems much shorter than on the way up.  Our two-hour hike up, takes us only 90 minutes to come down.  All of us are happy to have made this hike.

Our drive home is slow.  For one - it’s a Friday afternoon, and two - Brazil is playing in the World Cup later tonight.  Large screen TVs are set up along the beach for hundreds of people to watch.  Finally, we make it home, tired, but happy.  At this point we are not even sore.

I pull out my GPS.  We did 3.2 miles round trip, climbing 2,000’ in the 1.6 miles.  No wonder we were beathing heavily.

Back in the room and rested, I head out to pick up a pizza for dinner.  The World Cup game is done, the streets are full of heartbroken people, Brazil lost to Cameroon 1 - 0.  In spite of the results, we enjoy our cheese and pepperoni pizza.  We should sleep well tonight.

Copacabana Beach

The next morning, we wake at 600, to bright sunlight shining on the wall.  With the exception of Nicida’s sinus pain we are not feeling any effects of yesterday’s hike.  We have breakfast, ask the desk clerk for a clinic then head out.  Once opened, we are in and out within 30 minutes.  She is diagnosed with a sinus infection and given two prescriptions.  The pharmacy downstairs fills the prescriptions, and we are on our way.  One more Brazil football shirt to buy.  We watch the US lose to the Netherlands and Argentina beat Australia in the World Cup.  Later in the afternoon, we put on our beach attire walking the Copacabana beach.  The waves are active and the water cool.  We look for shells, but only find a few little ones.  There are a lot of beach goers, most of them staying on the beach rather than in the water. 

Our flight to Punta Arenas leaves tomorrow evening, giving us another day to wander.  We spot a large farmer’s market surrounding a nearby park; meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and handcrafted gifts are spread out on an endless line of tables.  Not finding anything we need; we leave empty handed.  We spend our last few hours in Rio watching France vs Poland in the World Cup, then we depart for the airport.  Another overnight flight arriving in Santiago, Chile at 200 AM, on to Punt Arenas, Chile, our departure point for Antarctica.  We will arrive in Punta Arenas tomorrow at 800 AM.

Our challenge in the Rio airport is to leave with almost no Brazilian Reals in our pockets.  We drink coffee, hot chocolate, dine on sandwiches, then buy a few snacks.  We leave with less than 5 Reals, less than $1 US.  As we get closer to our departure, the gate area fills with people, many of them coughing and sneezing.  We are wearing our masks, but still reposition to a less crowded area.

At the Santiago airport we have to walk from the international to the domestic terminal, an outside trek.  The weather is slightly cool, 70’s, from the upper 80’s we left in Rio.  On to the next flight.

Thanks for stopping by,

Mark