When I first started to plan out my trip to Brazil, I listed Foz do Iguaçu as a priority. It is a famous series of waterfalls forming the border of Argentina and Brazil, recently hosted the X-Games, and is featured in many tourism brochures and pictures of Brazil. It even played a part of an Indiana Jones movie. Beyond all this, I had heard that it was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The idea of Seven Wonders definitely piqued my interest, and I began to research it more. After all the amazing places I have visited, would this be my third Wonder? My fourth? Would it be feasible to see all Seven? A simple Wikipedia reference showed how little I truly knew. 'Seven Wonders' has essentially devolved from an impressive title into a tourism gimmick, with more than ten international lists and many countries holding their own. There are the Seven Natural, the Seven Man-made, the Ancient, the Modern, those of the Medieval Mind, those from the Middle Ages, Seven of Modern Engineering, the underwater Wonders and the Seven from the Industrial World- to begin.
If we were to claim that all of these lists (or even just the ones on Wikipedia) had legitimacy, I would have already seen fifteen world Wonders, with another to see just next week.
I think this is one of the most appropriate times to say thank you, a million times over, to my parents for these opportunities. They have each been amazing, and could not have happened without you!
Foz do Iguaçu, though only featured on two of the Seven Wonders list, proved itself well. Four of my friends from our program and I made the trip a few weeks ago, and spent the week just in silent awe. This is where pictures can speak their thousand words.
On our adventures, we met some friends. A Brazilian woman and German boy from our hostel who ventured with us to the Brazilian side, some British guys from our hostel who asked for the history of country music, then some Brazilian men who helped us on our adventures into Argentina.
Due to reciprocity, American citizens have to pay $260 to enter Argentina- even if it is just for a day, to see the other side of the falls. After a day of adventure on the Brazilian side, we didn't think that another perspective would be worth that much money- especially when combined with park entrance fees and transportation costs. However, from reading travel forums we knew that illegal crossings from Foz to Paraguay were very simple, we wondered if the same would be true of Argentina, or if we could just talk to the border control and explain that we just wanted to see the park and come back.
The rest of this story is hypothetical, and involving imaginary characters. I use the "we" and "I" in my adaptation just for facilitation. We decided it was worth a try just to go and see what the border control said. We took a bus to the border, on which two Brazilian men started talking to me. We passed through Brazilian customs without stopping, then on the Argentinian side filed into line with the rest of the crowd and presented our passports. Despite our pleas and bargaining attempts in Portunhol, they told us to leave. At this point, the Brazilian men from the bus started asking what the problem was, and seeing how they could help- not at all. We had decided to just explore the border's duty free store before we headed back to see the Bird Park and other attractions- when the Brazilian guys started calling out to us. They had gone through customs and were about to get back on the bus- and wanted us to come with. They just lifted up the chain that was at the border, we walked through, went on the bus, and started our adventures in the park (while also ditching the men within minutes of arriving). Not especially secure borders here...
After an amazing day in Brazil, another in Argentina, we decided to complete the trifecta and spend a day in Paraguay. This time, we weren't even stopped at the border- the bus just continued into Cidad del Este, the huge shopping mecca of Paraguay. Brazil has very high taxes on imports, electronics, leathers, and certain clothing, alcohol and food- making Paraguay an epicenter for this black market. Brazilians take a quick little bus, buy everything they need, and then head back to Brazil. We found scarves and Indian clothes for less than 50 cents, peanut butter, tennis shoes, Hershey's, donuts... random gems that had been missing in Brazil. However, because the city is known for smugglers and a shady clientele, we brought only limited money with us and no cameras. So no pictures, unfortunately.
At the end of our trip to Foz, we had an interesting airport experience. Our flight was set to leave at about 5am, so we stayed up chatting with hostel guests until about 2am when we took a taxi. From there, the airport was under construction so we couldn't sleep with the noise, and then when it came time to check in, they mentioned that our flight was cancelled. As an international airport, there were a lot of non-Brazilians who didn't understand this, and I spent a few hours translating for the airlines- going around to each passenger and explaining when their specific flight would leave, as many had been re-booked on complicated connections, or some just on direct flights instead of the connections they would have had.
There was a couple from Australia who actually spoke English, then a professor from Italy and some people from France who knew some English- so I had to slowly translate for then. Then, there was a Russian guy. No languages in common. I tried English, tried Portuguese, even tried a little Spanish. We both would just laugh and babble off in our own language, helplessly failing to communicate.
I finally borrowed the clerk's phone and used service to Google Translate to Russian and tell him what was happening. His eyes lit up when he finally understood, then started babbling again and walked away. Her phone wasn't touch screen, and didn't have a Russian keyboard, so he couldn't communicate anything back. By the end of the process, I bought internet for my phone, downloaded a Russian keyboard, and basically stayed nearby to him in case he needed anything.
I don't think that I've ever been in that kind of situation before- where there is no real way of communication, no common language, and such a need for it. In Uganda, it was frustrating to work out sign language and motions to communicate, but somehow this was different. In Uganda, there were groups of Americans and groups of Ugandans- so we could talk among ourselves to try to find the best way to communicate, and if need be, call over a translator. Here, he was alone. Nobody in the airport spoke his language or even understood his writing- hand motions provided limited help, and it was ultimately only through technology that things were resolved. More than five hours passed between the cancellation of his flight and his rebooked flight- can you imagine spending that time in a lost confusion?
As it ended, we were laughing and talking to each other in our own languages as if the other could
understand. When he finally went through security, he randomly snapped a picture of me and then laughed and ran off. Easily one of the strangest interactions I've ever had.
The Falls themselves were incredible. Beyond what any picture could capture because it was just standing there, watching the power and force of them cascade over, tumbling across rocks and forcing a path. But seeing them, Wondering at them, wasn't just a matter of the sights. It was the adventures along the way, the fun hostel we stayed in, the activities in the park, and the strange/hilarious experiences we had.
It was all the reasons why travelling is so much more than pictures, so much more than sights. It was a Wonder in itself!
The idea of Seven Wonders definitely piqued my interest, and I began to research it more. After all the amazing places I have visited, would this be my third Wonder? My fourth? Would it be feasible to see all Seven? A simple Wikipedia reference showed how little I truly knew. 'Seven Wonders' has essentially devolved from an impressive title into a tourism gimmick, with more than ten international lists and many countries holding their own. There are the Seven Natural, the Seven Man-made, the Ancient, the Modern, those of the Medieval Mind, those from the Middle Ages, Seven of Modern Engineering, the underwater Wonders and the Seven from the Industrial World- to begin.
If we were to claim that all of these lists (or even just the ones on Wikipedia) had legitimacy, I would have already seen fifteen world Wonders, with another to see just next week.
 |
One view from the Brazilian side! There are more than 235
different waterfalls so any one picture cannot
do this place justice. For our day on the Brazilian side,
we rappelled down the falls and then rafted them.
|
I think this is one of the most appropriate times to say thank you, a million times over, to my parents for these opportunities. They have each been amazing, and could not have happened without you!
Foz do Iguaçu, though only featured on two of the Seven Wonders list, proved itself well. Four of my friends from our program and I made the trip a few weeks ago, and spent the week just in silent awe. This is where pictures can speak their thousand words.
On our adventures, we met some friends. A Brazilian woman and German boy from our hostel who ventured with us to the Brazilian side, some British guys from our hostel who asked for the history of country music, then some Brazilian men who helped us on our adventures into Argentina.
Due to reciprocity, American citizens have to pay $260 to enter Argentina- even if it is just for a day, to see the other side of the falls. After a day of adventure on the Brazilian side, we didn't think that another perspective would be worth that much money- especially when combined with park entrance fees and transportation costs. However, from reading travel forums we knew that illegal crossings from Foz to Paraguay were very simple, we wondered if the same would be true of Argentina, or if we could just talk to the border control and explain that we just wanted to see the park and come back.
The rest of this story is hypothetical, and involving imaginary characters. I use the "we" and "I" in my adaptation just for facilitation. We decided it was worth a try just to go and see what the border control said. We took a bus to the border, on which two Brazilian men started talking to me. We passed through Brazilian customs without stopping, then on the Argentinian side filed into line with the rest of the crowd and presented our passports. Despite our pleas and bargaining attempts in Portunhol, they told us to leave. At this point, the Brazilian men from the bus started asking what the problem was, and seeing how they could help- not at all. We had decided to just explore the border's duty free store before we headed back to see the Bird Park and other attractions- when the Brazilian guys started calling out to us. They had gone through customs and were about to get back on the bus- and wanted us to come with. They just lifted up the chain that was at the border, we walked through, went on the bus, and started our adventures in the park (while also ditching the men within minutes of arriving). Not especially secure borders here...
After an amazing day in Brazil, another in Argentina, we decided to complete the trifecta and spend a day in Paraguay. This time, we weren't even stopped at the border- the bus just continued into Cidad del Este, the huge shopping mecca of Paraguay. Brazil has very high taxes on imports, electronics, leathers, and certain clothing, alcohol and food- making Paraguay an epicenter for this black market. Brazilians take a quick little bus, buy everything they need, and then head back to Brazil. We found scarves and Indian clothes for less than 50 cents, peanut butter, tennis shoes, Hershey's, donuts... random gems that had been missing in Brazil. However, because the city is known for smugglers and a shady clientele, we brought only limited money with us and no cameras. So no pictures, unfortunately.
At the end of our trip to Foz, we had an interesting airport experience. Our flight was set to leave at about 5am, so we stayed up chatting with hostel guests until about 2am when we took a taxi. From there, the airport was under construction so we couldn't sleep with the noise, and then when it came time to check in, they mentioned that our flight was cancelled. As an international airport, there were a lot of non-Brazilians who didn't understand this, and I spent a few hours translating for the airlines- going around to each passenger and explaining when their specific flight would leave, as many had been re-booked on complicated connections, or some just on direct flights instead of the connections they would have had.
I finally borrowed the clerk's phone and used service to Google Translate to Russian and tell him what was happening. His eyes lit up when he finally understood, then started babbling again and walked away. Her phone wasn't touch screen, and didn't have a Russian keyboard, so he couldn't communicate anything back. By the end of the process, I bought internet for my phone, downloaded a Russian keyboard, and basically stayed nearby to him in case he needed anything.
I don't think that I've ever been in that kind of situation before- where there is no real way of communication, no common language, and such a need for it. In Uganda, it was frustrating to work out sign language and motions to communicate, but somehow this was different. In Uganda, there were groups of Americans and groups of Ugandans- so we could talk among ourselves to try to find the best way to communicate, and if need be, call over a translator. Here, he was alone. Nobody in the airport spoke his language or even understood his writing- hand motions provided limited help, and it was ultimately only through technology that things were resolved. More than five hours passed between the cancellation of his flight and his rebooked flight- can you imagine spending that time in a lost confusion?
As it ended, we were laughing and talking to each other in our own languages as if the other could
understand. When he finally went through security, he randomly snapped a picture of me and then laughed and ran off. Easily one of the strangest interactions I've ever had.
The Falls themselves were incredible. Beyond what any picture could capture because it was just standing there, watching the power and force of them cascade over, tumbling across rocks and forcing a path. But seeing them, Wondering at them, wasn't just a matter of the sights. It was the adventures along the way, the fun hostel we stayed in, the activities in the park, and the strange/hilarious experiences we had.
It was all the reasons why travelling is so much more than pictures, so much more than sights. It was a Wonder in itself!
For THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!! Has your mother never told you NOT TO SPEAK WITH STRANGERS??!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow about 'DONT EVER ILLEGALLY ENTER A COUNTRY?
Or blog about it before returning to the USA !!!
Liam nissen