Dateline – Iguazu National Park – Brazil
Today was a low key day, mainly dedicated to travel. As Brazil is larger than the continental US, it takes a while to get anywhere. The destination was Iguazu National Park which straddles the Brazil/Argentina border, home of Iguazu falls which absolutely dwarf Niagara, being one of the largest series of cataracts in the world. There are somewhere between 150 and 300 of them in the complex, depending on the height of the river and local rainfall conditions. I looked it up. It’s about nine hundred road miles from Rio which would have been an interminable time on the bus (especially as it would be necessary to negotiate Sao Paulo on the way, one of the largest cities in the world with roughly three times the population of New York City). Therefore, flying was the only logical option.
As the flight wasn’t until the afternoon, I was able to sleep in this morning before having a last breakfast at the Copacabana Palace buffet (I’m going to miss those passion fruit croissants). Storm clouds had moved in off the Atlantic overnight bringing intermittent bursts of rain, some stronger winds and some fairly formidable waves that would make a walk on the beach a bit dangerous. (One of the advantages of having a professor of oceanography as a parent is an ability to respect the power of the ocean and to know when to stay well away from it). So I packed, had a last glass of flat champagne from my complimentary bottle, and curled up with a book until it was time to gather for the bus ride to the airport. As the day was dreary, there wasn’t much to look at. At least the change in the weather was perfectly timed with our itinerary.
Rio’s domestic terminal is like airports the world over. Although they did have a Starbucks, giving me a caramel macchiato fix. I have enjoyed the Brazilian coffee but sometimes one does want comfort food. I continued my book (Ricky Ian Gordon‘s new memoir Seeing Through which is excellent but occasionally a sucker punch to my gut as we’re not all that different in age and experiences and it occasionally brings up thoughts and feelings about my past and relationship to art that aren’t the most comfortable to face. We eventually boarded a domestic flight to the Brazilian town of Foz do Iguacu (there seem to be at least four spellings of the name of the river – I do wish they’d make up their mind), landing uneventfully close to sunlight. Descending one of those metal staircases rolled up to the plane in the light so beloved of cinematographers known as ‘magic hour’ made me feel like I was in a scene in some 1960s Jet Set romance. I have expected some extra to rush up with a large bouquet.
Our hotel for the next two nights is Hotel das Cataratas, another luxury retreat, deep within the national park and on the edge of the falls. We arrived just as the sun was going down allowing for a glimpse in the pinky gold light before having to deal with mundane things such as room keys and basic unpacking. I wandered out a bit later to the overlook to see the falls in the light of the full moon (the bad weather having been left behind in Rio) before heading to the hotel restaurant for dinner. We’re spending all day tomorrow exploring the falls from various angles, the jungle, and the wildlife so there will be plenty of chances to take pictures then. I am still hoping for toucans. I am assured they are quite plentiful in the area and the best time to see them is in the morning around breakfast so I shall be looking. We have been told not to wander off the hotel property after dark as it is a national park with a large jaguar population and I don’t think the proprietors want to have to explain mauled guests to the local authorities. It’s OK with me. I don’t see in the dark anywhere as well as I once did and I’d likely take a header over a tree root if I tried walking up and down canyon trails.
Going to pull Netflix up and watch something before bed. I should be writing. Maybe tomorrow…
Life, The Universe, and Everything 