Brazil Part IV & Argentina Part I

Date: 18 December 2010

Day: Saturday

Place: Foz de Iguacu Airport

The migraine I had been suffering from for the last two days has increased. It is causing nausea and my sight to be blurry. In addition, the stomach aches I have been suffering from for the last couple of days are not helping the situation. I am not sure if it is because of the extreme heat combined with artificial air conditioned air. But today migraine is making my life very difficult.

The weather is lovely today. It is summer weather. The sky is blue. But as the hours passed, the heat increased. In the morning, we crossed the border into Argentina. 

The bridge on the Iguacu River between Brazil and Argentina was built in 1985. Just like the bridge between Greece and Turkey on the Meric River, it is painted half and half in both countries’ flags.

When we stopped in the middle of the bridge, we could see these two countries’ land plus the Paranara River, which crosses the Iguacu River. Across the Paranara River was Paraguay, which was also very close to us.

Our trip in the Argentine side of the Iguazu Park started very happily for me because as soon as we entered the park, we saw a toucan. 

I could not believe my eyes. Its massive, orange beak looks like plastic, almost like a cartoon character. It was being attacked by other birds. It was taking revenge by hitting a bird’s nest, which looked like it was made of stone.

After a short train ride in the park, we came to a part of the fall, which is called Gargantua del Diablo. 

This time we could see the Brazilian land across us. It is not possible for me to describe the power of the water. I don’t think any creature could survive under that impact.

Then we went to a different area for a panoramic view and here we saw the Turkish Ambassador walking with a cowboy hat on, Brazilian t-shirt and shorts.

This view of the falls made me understand how the Earth was before humans. I can easily picture in my head how the dinosaurs roamed around here. It was very easy to feel and grasp the strength of our plant and nature in this place.

We saw lizards as long as my arm and as wide as my hand. 

On our way back, we decided to walk through the forest rather than take the train. In the forest, we saw an animal called “quiati” (actually many of them, including the babies), which is from the raccoon family. They were incredibly cute. They are not scared of humans. In fact, they get very close because they are used to tourists.

This sub-tropical forest is actually a real jungle.  Because the trees and the bushes are not very tall, it is almost impossible to walk in this forest. 

However, in the Amazons, the trees can be 100 m. tall and because the rays of sun don’t reach the bottom, no other plant grows. That’s why it is easier to walk in the Amazonian forest.

 We crossed back into Brazil to catch our Sao Paolo flight. Now we are waiting for our delayed flight.

NOTES:

-          It was great to be able to use my Turkish passport to enter Argentina, without having to get a visa.
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