Curitiba, Parangua and Ilha do Mel

From Iguaçu we got a bus to Curitiba and decided to stay there a night. We got a hostel right next to the bus station and both passed out with the light on and the door open because we were so knackered from the bus journey. It was quite sweet, the cleaner came and turned off our light and closed our door. When we had recovered we headed into town for a wander round. First we found a really cool market it was like a farmers market in England. Everything was so well organised and really well presented and looked so good. Brazil is just so different to Bolivia and Peru! Here is some pics from the market:

We spent the rest of the days looking at other markets, eating, window shopping and generally chilling out. I really liked Curitiba because it had a laid back feeling yet it was a huge city. The next day we got the train to Morretes which is supposed to be the most beautiful train journey in Brazil. It was stunning because it goes through jungle and mountains. We were lucky not to have many people in our carriage as well so we could move around and look out both sides:

We then got the bus from Morretes to Parangua and decided to stay there a night. It´s a strange port town with, what would have been, lovely colonial buildings along the front but they are now faded and falling apart. On the front, by the sea, it´s the kind of town where everyone rides big old lady bikes and no one is in a rush but then you dip into the commerical area and it´s just a normal busy, boring town. We didn´t have much to do apart from watch the world go by and drink cold beer.

The next morning we got the ferry to Ilha do Mel and met a French musician called Julian. We all stayed in the same pousada and went sunbathing and then for lunch. Ilha do Mel is beautiful and made even more relaxing by the lack of cars/roads. Everyone cycles or walks everywhere. Alexa and I went for an evening run to burn off the chocolate ducle de leche we´d endulged in earlier!

Front in Parangua:

Scenary from the boat ride to Ilha do Mel:

In the evening we went out and ate prawns and fish which were tasty and we bumped into Richard who had been in the Pantanal with us. He´s a really nice guy from England who has been teaching in Buenas Aires for 2 years. It turned out to be a fun evening.

The next day was my birthday! In the morning we walked with Julian to the fort which was about 4km north of where we were staying and he played his flute for us there. We sunbathed the rest of the afternoon and then hiked up to the lighthouse with Richard and made caprinhas and ate chocolate cake (which Alexa had cleverly brought over from the mainland). It was very exciting.

Walking to the fort:

Sunset at the lighthouse:

Us with Richard:

For dinner we went to an all you can eat pizza/pasta place with Julian and Richard. There was live music and Richard got them to sing me happy birthday in Portuguese which was a new experience and one which I obviously found highly embarassing for no reason! We then played numerous games of Oh Shit! and Sweedish and Irish Snap. All in all it was a really fun birthday.

We got the boat back to the mainland on the 26th Mar and are now heading for Uruguay!

Iguaçu Falls

We arrived in Foz do Iguaça about 9am and went to a hostel we had been recommended which ended up being 12km outside town - a bit of a mission. After showers we went to the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu Falls. The Brazilian side gives a good overall few of the falls but you don´t get that close up. They are stunning and we spent a good hour admiring them from across the river:

I look gross in this picture but it was 35deg:

The next day we went to the Argentinian side of the falls. It´s a bit of a faff because you have to go through immigration and then back again so we went with a driver which was easy. This is us standing on the middle of the bridge between Argentina and Brazil, you can see the different colours on the wall:

On the Argentinian side you can get up much closer to the falls and there is loads to do. First we walked round the top of the falls then we walked lower down and looked up. Then we got a boat across to the island and swam in the river and ate our packed lunch. Then we got the train to the Garganta del Diablo which is the most impressive section and you can get really close. Here´s a selection of the hundreds of photos we now possess:

The beach:

Garganta del Diablo:

One of the many beautiful butterflys we saw:

We had a swim and a chilled out evening hanging round our hostel and packed up ready to move on in the morning.

Pantanal, Brazil

We arrived at the border town of Bolivia about 8am and got out across into Brazil pretty sharpish. The Brazilan side of the border was a nightmare and it took us until about 11am to get our entry stamps. At the bus station we booked a tour to the Pantanal so were really saw nothing of Corumba, the Brazilian border town, apart from a moped ride around to get money. We left at 1pm with an English guy called Pete and got the nicest bus ever (reclining seats, toliet with toilet roll and a water machine!) to the Pantanal. At the turn off we had to wait for another group of people to pitch up, they turned out all to be Israeli which was a bit intimidating at first. There were 7 of them and the were very load and rowdy but all in Hebrew. They turned out to be a really nice group and we merged in quite well together and of course they could all speak fluent English. We opted to camp at the resort which meant we slept in hammocks and stayed in a not so posh area with lots of other backpackers. I was really impressed with the set up, great surroundings, great food, loads of hammock and good people. We didn´t have an activity planned for the afternoon so we got straight into beating the Israelis at their own card game!

The next day we went on a jeep ride and then a walk with a cool guide, Alex. We saw monkeys, coatis, capybaras, caiman and loads of beautiful birds:

Coatis:

That afternoon we went horseriding. It was really good fun but there was 15 of us so it was pretty slow going, however, it was relaxing and a good laugh so I very much enjoyed myself:

In the evening, we had a ´night safari` which wasn´t great because we just drove along the road and back again but we did see all the caiman eyes and some more capybaras:

The next morning I got persuaded to get up at 5am to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful but I got bitten all over my legs within 10mins so I wasn´t thrilled! We did see an anteater though which was exciting.

The morning activity for the next day was a boat ride. We really didn´t see much but it was fun and half way through we all jumped in the river and had a swim - a rather scary prospect when you have just seen a caiman swimming in the same place!

A Capybara:

That afternoon we had another walk on which we saw more of everything:

Female Howler monkey:

Sunset:

On our final morning we went pirana fishing. I caught two piranas and one sardine which was good but it was pretty hard because they were so quick to nick the meat and leave you with an empty hook. Afterwards we had them for lunch!

We then got the bus to Campo Grande and immediately got a very expensive but very safe and comfy nightbus to Foz do Iguaçu in South Brazil.