Got up early again this morning to go back to the Brazilian Consulate. Hoorah, the visa is ready and absolutely no complications. So off I went back to the travel agency to book my flight from Iguasu to Rio de Janeiro. Two days ago the cheapest flight was from the Brazilian side of the falls, but today that flight is much more expensive and the cheaper one is on the Argentine side, so that’s the one I took. Both flights were leaving pretty much at the same time. It took the young lady almost 1 ½ hours to book this ! something that would have taken about 10 minutes elsewhere, but she has been very nice and she is in training so I just smiled and waited. I rushed back to the hotel and was late for my 10 am check-out, but the owner was at the desk and she had seen me rushing around for the last 3 days so there was no problem. I called the agency that would be providing my ride to the airport to confirm my 4:30 pick-up for the 6:45 flight. I asked if I could leave my luggage at the hotel since I wanted to see the Brazilian side of the falls. No problem, she even called a taxi company for me and suggested I stop in to see something that sounded like Parque de Salves; telling me that I could easily see both and return by 4 pm. The taxi arrived almost immediately and off we went. Juan was very nice and turned out to be a God-send. Not only did he take care of all the Portuguese at the border crossing but he waited while I visited the “Parque Dos Aves” (Bird Park), and drove me the short distance to the falls and acted as my guide. He had quoted a price from a list he had and I thought it was a bit expensive, but well worth not having to worry about getting another taxi back across the border and dealing with the Portuguese language on my own.
The bird park was outstanding and well worth the visit. I took over 100 pictures and filmed as well, but here is the best sampling. Some I as able to get the lens through the grills to get a clear shot, but others were placed so that you could not get close to the grill. Still others you could walk into the huge cage with the birds, butterflies, animals.
Harpie Eagle, over 3 feet high
Gorgeous yellow & green
Endangered species
Casawary. For a big bird he moved quickly. Could not get a good shot.
Nap time !
Safe in their cubby holeThen we were off to see the falls, only a short distance to the entrance of the park. From here we left the car, and after I purchased my ticket we took a bus into the park, about a 10 minute ride. We then walked along a pathway along the top of the river, slowly going down and up the cliffs for the best views of the falls.
And more coatisThe best part was that we did not have to walk back, at the other end of the walk, nearest to the Devil’s Throat, we could get back on a bus and return to the park entrance and the car. No problems getting back across to Argentina. I got Juan to stop at the bank so I could use the ATM to pay him and have enough left over for a nice lunch for myself. It was 3:15 my now so I had time for a leisurely lunch. I just made it back to the hotel by 4:25 for my 4:30 pick-up to the airport.
The flight went well. The forests here are very dense, semi-jungle and you can see vast areas of replanted forests from the air. As we took off, I could see where the river was in the distance from the amount of spray in the air, indicating a number of waterfalls all along its length.
The descent into Rio was a long one in the clouds and the rain. We were probably circling the airport for awhile because we were about 15 minutes late landing. I took the time to change what I had left of my Argentine Pesos into Brazilian Reales and used the ATM to have at least enough to pay for the cab ride into Rio.
It was raining and with the one hour time difference, almost 11:30 when I got to the hotel I was expecting to stay in. My first impression of the city was not a good one. I had hoped to be staying at the IBIS downtown, but they were full, and so were the other two hotels I checked out nearby. Don’t worry, I wasn’t towing my luggage around, the people at the Ibis kept it for me while I looked for another place to stay. The streets did not inspire confidence; there was garbage everywhere and I did not like walking around those streets at night. By the time I came back to the Ibis, a young Portuguese speaking lady was there also looking for accommodation. The night clerks took pity on us and started calling around to other hotels. The discussion was in Portuguese so I could not catch what was being said, but the young student spoke some English and explained that they had found a possible hotel, not expensive, but not that great. By this point I just wanted a clean bed to sleep in for the night and so did the young student, so we shared a cab to the other hotel. She booked in for 4 nights, but I said I only wanted 1 night since I had not seen the room yet.
Another room with mirrors on the ceiling and both at the head and foot of the bed ! Plus the bed was on a platform with those old type of controls that look like you can make the bed vibrate ! That should give you an idea of how old the hotel is. Although there were no smoking signs, there were ashtrays in the room and it smelled like an old hotel room. The bottom sheet was on the bed and so were the pillows, but the top sheet was folded and in a sealed plastic bag. So were the towels ! This is what I was thinking as I showered: “Do you get a rebate if you don’t use the towels and sheet?” I had to laugh, I had no choice. At least it looked clean and I was too tired so I turned off the light and tried to sleep. Rubber covered mattress and pillows !
No comments:
Post a Comment