Foz do Iguaço

Our first day in Foz and Chris and I were quite exhausted. Luckily, we met up with Alex in the airport, even though we had no idea when he was getting in. Another lucky fact is that I failed to reserve a spot with the hostel (it wasn't clear to me that Chris and Alex weren't going to do this for me...) but they had space anyway. Hostel Bambu is centrally located in Foz and gives out one free caipirinha per night. It's perfect.

Our first day out, we took a tour of the Brazilian side of the Falls, and I was a little disappointed at first. The entry fee is a little high and then to hike half the trails you have to pay (a lot) extra to be guided through the forest, or take a boat trip up the river. We just weren't feeling it. And after the Pantanal, the concrete trails offering crowded sites of the river were also a little lacking. (Though Alex claims this would have been the case without the Pantanal). Yet, at the end of the trail you get to walk out over the biggest of the falls (and there are many) and you realize just how much water is flowing over them. It's impressive.

There is a legend for the falls- that a native tribe had to sacrifice the most beautiful virgin to the river god (a snake) but one of the warriors had fallen in love with her, so on the day she was to be sacrificed, he stole her away in a canoe and was speeding away with her on the calm Iguazu River. But the snake god became angry and opened up the river in front of them, turning the girl into a rock at the falls base, to forever feel the scorn of the snake god, and turning the boy into a palm tree, to forever contemplate his love.