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Day 5: Tuesday, March 5, 2002
We took a direct flight
from Rio to Iguassu, which strangely enough stopped in Sao Paulo. We flew
Tam airlines and found it rather satisfactory. They showed 
Pink Panther
cartoons during the flights and had prompt and efficient service. In a
testament to their efficiency in a direct flight that had two legs each lasting
only an hour, they were capable of serving two meals. The only oddity in
the travel is they did not allow the use of any electronics for the duration of
the flight. Bill was shamelessly scolded for listening to my walkman while in
transit.
After grabbing
our luggage, we met our Iguassu Chauffeur, Celio. Celio drove us to town,
explaining to us that he was much more than a taxi driver, but a full
blown tour guide. He could take us to Argentina, Paraguay, the Itaipu
Hydroelectric Plant, a safari, a bird park, and a helicopter ride. You
name it, Celio had a connection. Anyway, when he dropped us off at the
hotel we took his business card and said we would consider his services.
From the front of our hotel,
Tropical Das Cataratas Hotel, we had an utterly amazing view of the falls.
Personally, the view from the hotel was better than any waterfall we had ever
seen, better than any of the falls in Yosemite and better than Niagara. It
simply must be seen to be believed.
Anyway , we wanted to take the Brazilian hike to explore the falls. We checked into the hotel, which was complete with a cigar lounge with Brazilian live music, a poolside bar, and a leather chair lounge. This place had all the makings of a resort hotel and an English manor – a neat hotel to say the least.
We started the hike down the
precipice along the Iguassu river. The views were simply amazing. The only drawback
was the temperature, it was a smelting day with little cloud
cover. I swear we must have broke three digits on the Fahrenheit scale.
The trip culminated in a walkway that runs out into the center of the Devil’s
Throat (Diablo xxx). There could not have been a finer ending
to the hike, surrounded by waterfalls on all angles being drenched with mother
natures finest. It was difficult to take pictures with all the mist in the
air, but the views were still spectacular. After, an appropriate time of
soaking in the glory of nature, we headed back to reality. We took the
weakest panoramic elevator ride known anywhere in the world. Granted
it only cost 50 cents, but I still felt cheated.
After enjoying natures finest, we decided to head back to hotel and take a dip in the pool. The dip involved an elaborate game of catching multiple soccer balls while jumping off the diving board. A game for the ages, but not for the aged, none of us could ever pull down more than one ball. After our swimming endeavors we sun dried while enjoying Caipirinha's and other Cachaca cocktails.
We ate dinner at the pool side bar,
which was surprisingly good. It was a grill of various meats, an elaborate
salad bar with soups and Feijoada. After dinner we headed into the cigar
lounge to smoke a Brazilian cigar and consume various beverages. We passed
time by playing cards and listening to a live band play various Bossa Nova
songs.
