The Clark Family's Amazing Adventures

We were at Iguazu for a few days. We stayed in Argentina and just across the river Iguazu were Brazil and Paraguay. It was wet and jungly rainforest which we hadn’t seen for a while after being in the Andes. Each day we were in a different country. We crossed the borders about 10 times in a week!  Here are some of my highlights and favourite pictures and wildlife!

Brazil

You can visit the Falls in Brazil and Argentina. We started in Brazil.  This was pretty much my first view of the falls. It looked amazing but even more amazing when we got on the boat a few days later. We could see the boats down in the river going under the falls!

Me at Iguazu!

These little coatis were cute but very very very annoying, especially when you are eating because you have to hold your food up high. They were on the tables and jumping up and the park keepers came and shood them away every 5 minutes but they were soon back!  There were signs with photos of hands in coati mouths so we didn’t really feel like stroking them, especially Lara!

Coatis at Iguazu … and my little sister!

This sign was on the path! We had a look around for any banisters heading up the path that we shouldn’t overtake but decided they must mean ‘don’t jump over the railings and fall to your death in the rapids below’ !

Funny Iguazu sign!!

Paraguay

We went to Paraguay for the day to visit Itaipu dam, the second biggest dam in the world and we took this amazing helicopter flight.  The dam is seven kilometers long and look how much rainforest was flooded to make this huge lake behind the dam!

Helicopter ride over Itaipu Dam!

Just kidding, I didn’t go on a helicopter flight but we did go on a bus right across the middle and over the top of the dam – it was amazing!  Especially afterwards when Zoe and I went surfing !

Good surf at Itaipu Dam!

It is a hydroelectric dam, shared by Paraguay and Brazil that generates 90% of Paraguay’s electricity and 19% of Brazil’s electricity. It took 14 years to build and opened in 1984 flooding 1,350,000 square km of rainforest!  After seeing the dam, we went to Itaipu zoo where we saw some interesting, weird animals that would have lived in the flooded rainforest! Here’s a few of my favourite ones.

This is a Tapir. You would think the Tapir looks like an anteater or a pig but actually its not related to either of them but its related to horses and rhinos!

Tapir – he has hoofs and a small trunk! How weird!

These three monkeys seemed rather bored…

Three wise monkeys?

There were termite hills everywhere. I didn’t want to get too close!

Termite hill and me!

This jaguar looked so gorgeous and I felt like I wanted to give it a hug!

Jaguar

This puma rolled around and just stared at us like she couldn’t really understand why we were outside and she was inside!

Puma at Itaipu Zoo

This is one of the strange animals we saw. Its related to a rodent but looks a bit like an otter. I can’t remember what its called. Does anyone know?

What am I?

Outside, another encounter with a giant caterpillar which I nearly trod on!

Another giant caterpillar

Argentina

We went to visit the Falls again in Argentina . There were paths and bridges all the way around the falls . We were really close to the falls,  sometimes I thought I could trip and get washed away!

Right at the top of some of the falls.

We took a boat trip under the falls and got very very very wet! My daft mother thought it would be a good idea to bring raincoats! Most other people brought swimwear – much more sensible as it was pretty hot and I took my coat off anyway! Going under the waterfall, I couldn’t really see – there was so much water splashing in my eyes, I had to cover them with my hands and look through the gaps. It was still brilliant fun!

My amazing boat ride under the iguazu falls.

We went on a little train to see the Devils Throat, the wildest waterfall you’d ever see but I’d seen so much water by now I was actually more interested in the thousands of butterflies everywhere that would climb onto your finger happily. You put your finger in front of it, let it smell you for a few seconds then very very slowly move your finger under the butterfly and it might or might not get on! Once it was on, it seemed happy to stay for ages!  They were amazing.

Friendly Iguazu Butterflies

From the train it was a long walk across the bridges to the Devils Throat. The butterflies came with us and we also saw turtles sitting on the base of the bridge supports. I don’t know how they climbed on or how they didn’t end up being washed over the edge of the falls!  This one even has a butterfly on its head!

Iguazu Turtle with a butterfly on its head!

There was a wildlife refuge near where we stayed and we went there another day….. Here are my favourite animals from there!

Now that is cool – toucan at wildlife refuge

Lovely hawk at the centre where they try to teach them to hunt and if they can then they can release them

Cheeky Monkey, tried to grab my Mum’s camara

A strange looking vulture!

I’d been looking forward to eating some steak in Argentina for ages because its renowned for it’s amazing beef ! Some Argentinian people I met disagreed with me but this is the best food eveeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and I even persuaded my parents to go back to the same restaurant for this steak on two more nights!

Chateaubriand steak – AMAZING!!