South America 2009 - Day 5 (8/11/2009) - Foz do Iguaçu

The free breakfast at Charm Iguassu was pretty impressive - they had a big spread that included different types of breads, cakes, meats, cheeses, and fruits, as well as coffee, tea, and 2 types of juice. After eating, Greg and I walked down to the bus stop, where we caught the bus to Parque Nacional, the Brazilian side of the falls. This time, we had no problems figuring out where to go - plus pretty much everyone on the bus was headed to the same place.

Once at the park, we bought our tickets and entered. From there, we hopped on another bus (transportation within the park is included in the entrance fee) that took us through the park. We got off at the Cataratas stop, and walked down the path to the falls, with stops at look-outs along the way for some photos. When we got down to the Devil's Throat walkway, we realized that we had made a mistake in not bringing along our rain gear (this was at my behest - I figured we wouldn't get wet since we didn't plan on taking any of the boat rides). We grudgingly bought plastic parkas for R$7 each, and then took the walkway out to the middle of the falls. After a few minutes of photos and videos (though I could barely see anything through my wet glasses), we continued on to the panorama area above the falls. After we were done with the falls, we headed up to the food area and had a huge lunch at the buffet restaurant before leaving the park.

Next, we headed to the bird park that was nearby. I must admit that the experience there exceeded my expectations, which were not that high. It also reconfirmed that I am scared of animals, though one of the highlights for me was holding a parrot on my arm. Others included seeing Greg being attacked by both a parrot and a toucan, and the hummingbirds in the butterfly cage. After the bird park, we took the bus back to the city and returned to our hostel (after buying some water and beer). We again settled in early for the night, intending to wake up early for the Argentinian side tomorrow.