13 January 2017On our first day in Foz do Iguaçu, we learned much about the area, which is located in Brazil's arid interior. This was perhaps the most lax day of our trip, and we spend the majority of our time at Manga Rosa, the hostel at which we were staying.
We arrived in Foz do Iguaçu at 15:15, and then drove about 30 minutse to Manga Rosa. We spent much of the time hanging out at the hostel. Many of us took the opportunity to do our reflections for each of the days of the trip. At around 21:00, we had our outdoor barbecue. We went to bed around 0:00. 14 January 2017On our second day in Foz do Iguaçu, we visited the famous Iguaçu Falls, on the Iguaçu River. We left Manga Rosa at 8:00 to left for Iguaçu Falls National Park, arriving there at 9:00.
We spend a significant time at the Park, viewing the waterfall from both the stone walkway leading down to the Iguaçu River and from the walkways that extended into the River. The Falls not only demonstrated the power of water demonstrated by the Iguaçu and Parana Rivers, but also taught us about how the that power can shape the geology of an area. It helped to shape Iguaçu Falls, which further contributes to the high levels of biodiversity in the subtropical rainforests surrounding the banks of both the Paraná and Iguaçu Rivers. We ate lunch at the Park cafeteria, finishing around 15:30. Afterwards, we proceeded to go on a hike in the rainforests behind the nearby Hotel Canzi. The trail ended on the banks of the Iguaçu River. After arriving at the river, me and most other members of our group proceeded to kayak and paddle-board downstream to a small lagoon on the Brazilian banks of the river. While kayaking along the river, I understood more about the hydrology of the Iguaçu. Specifically, I observed how the banks along the Brazilian side of the river were much rockier and steeper than the banks on the Argentinian side, which while still steep, contained a number of rocky beaches adequate for a paddle boat to rest on. We paddled to a small lagoon on the Brazilian side of the river which contained a small waterfall. After about an hour, we paddled back upstream to the beach where we had launched from. After our boat tour was concluded, we hiked back up the same route which we had taken, and subsequently went back to Manga Rosa. After a short break at the hostel, we all went out to lunch at a local churascurria. 15 January 2017 |
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On our third and final day in Foz do Iguaçu, which was also our final day in Brazil, we visited the massive Itaipu Dam, located on the Parana River, the river which the Iguaçu River feeds into. Constructed in the 1970s, Itaipu still remains one of the largest dams in the world, providing electricity for 17% of Brazil and 75% of Paraguay.
We started our tour of the inside of Itaipu at 10:00. We started our tour in the area housing reinforced concrete frame of the dam. We then proceeded to the dam control room, which was interestingly, was divided for operations on the Brazilian side of the dam and operations on the Paraguayan side (Itaipu is jointly run by the Brazilian and Paraguayan governments). We then continued to the dams turbines and generators of which there are fourteen. After viewing the turbines and generator, we went back to the dam entrance. By that time, it was about 11:30. We then went back to Manga Rosa. We then left Manga Rosa for the small Foz do Iguaçu Airport. We then caught our flights, first to Sao Paulo and then to New York. |