Today we're heading to Brazil. (Click on any photo for larger views.)
One can catch a municipal bus in the town of Foz do Iguaçu to take you to the entrance to the National Park to see Iguaçu Falls. There, you catch colorful buses that feature stylized jaquars, alligators and toucans. (There may be other animals, but I saw three buses with those animals on the sides.) However, except for birds, I didn't see any animals, let alone exotic ones ---I'm sure the tourists scare them away.
Once you arrive at the falls, there is a lot of walking on stairs and across wooden or metal walkways to get the best views of the falls. Every place, there are fences or railings to keep tourists safe. The falls seem to go on forever on the Brazilian side of the border.
I have to say the only spectacular thing about these fences is the view from behind them.
Next week, I will post photos from the Argentinean side, where the Spanish spelling of Iguazú is different than the Portuguese Iguaçu. (I've also seen Iguassu ---which is probably the English version.)
If you want to see more of my photos of both the Brazilian and Argentinean sides of the falls and view a very short video (less than 30 seconds) that will give you a taste of the enormous roar of the falls from the place where my final photo was taken, you will find those by clicking HERE.
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| Colorful double-decker buses take tourists from the park entrance to the actual falls. This one just happened to have a red and yellow fence (railing?) in front of it. |
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| Most people get their first view of the falls from here. Fences keep tourists from falling down step hillsides and cliffs into the rapidly-flowing river below. |
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| A rain poncho was essential to keep from being soaked by overspray. (Cheap plastic ones were available.) It was a cool morning, so I had thrown a nylon parka into my bag, without thinking I would need it to stay dry. |
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| There were "bridges" out over the falls with heavy fences (railings) to keep us safe. |
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| Closeup of the above bridge. There are falls behind the bridge, to the right, and immediately under the bridge, and plenty more downstream. |
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| This is a still shot from a video I took on the bridge. The long-haired guy on the right was a young Japanese student. I took pictures of him with his camera and he did the same for me. (He took the photo of me, above, with my camera.) |
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| There are two levels here to view the falls. This is the upper one, which is drier than the one below. Occasionally, on the lower level, those closest to the railing are suddenly hit with what seems like 50 tons of water. (If you click on the link above my photos you will find a YouTube video of the roaring falls from this location. It's less than 30 seconds long.) |
10 comments:
wow! those are such impressive falls! like niagara falls in n. america! thanks for sharing these very good fences!
HI CJ It was wonderful to see all these shots as I have been there although the year I was there, the water was so much and fast that they closed one of the walkways. When Tex started this meme, that was the photograph I put on that first edition if you wish to see it.
Great post! How exciting to be so close to the falls! Do you know how to link in to a meme like Good Fences? Once you publish your post, copy the url in the address bar. Open up the blog hosting the post, and where it says "Add Your Link" click on that and Paste your url. You may also be asked to choose a thumbnail picture to show. You should get lots of comments from the others who are participating.
What a thrilling experience. It would feel good to be surrounded by fences up next to the falls for sure. Excellent post.
TexWisGirl ---well they are like Niagara in that lots of water flows over the edge, but once you've seen Iguaçu, Niagara would be a disappointment. First Iguaçu goes on and on ---many different falls in many kinds of settings on both sides of the border. There are 275 cascades spread over two miles (Niagara has 3), and they are taller (82 meters) than Niagara (51 m.) Water flow varies with the seasons but can reach 450,000 cubic ft. per second at Iguaçu. In both Brazil and Argentina, Iguaçu feels more like a a walk in a national park and not so much like a tourist trap. Not that Iguaçu isn't making lots of money from entry fees, but, for example, there is one quiet place to eat at Iguaçu at the end of your walk on the Brazil side, run by the park service. You are not surrounded by fast food and Starbucks. You have to take a bus from town to the entrance and then another to get close to the falls, so you are away from public roads and traffic. Even the town of Foz do Iguaçu has quiet tree-lined streets with little traffic, no casinos, and the restaurants mostly have tropical or rustic decor. I can believe that someday Iguaçu might turn into Niagara, but not yet.
The one advantage of Niagara is that it is relatively easy to get to from anywhere in the continental U.S. An economy flight to Foz do Iguaçu can take 16 hours or more and cost $1300 and up.
I think it would almost be scary standing on the part that is out over the rushing water! I have what I call "low risk tolerance" ... hahhahha....
It looks like a neat place to visit even if you do get a little wet in the process. Love that there are bridges across the falls themselves.
CJ, Wow, great images!
I'm impressed! The falls are beautiful!
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