Today we checked out of the youth hostel and got a taxi across to Brazil to stay at the [Carima Hotel] where we relaxed until it was time for Dad to go and pick up the hire car. We spent most of the time by the pool, had a swim and cocktails which was really nice, although I got a nasty sunburn across my back :(. After Mum & Dad set off to get the car, we had lunch in the hotel coffee bar. In the afternoon we tried to go out to the [Itaipu Dam] (the biggest hydroelectric dam in the world), but found that it is closed on Sundays. However on the road to the dam there is also an ‘Eco museum’ which tells the story of the dam and how they have protected the wildlife and replanted trees to make up for the flooding of the area. After that we headed out to the Brazilian three frontiers park, and had a look at the monuments from there. We found the Geocache that was there which hasn’t been found for almost a year, so we were quite pleased about that.
Having a lazier day today, caught the bus out to 3 frontiers, where you can see three posts coloured to match the flags of the three countries on the banks of the rivers in the respective countries. On the way back we went to a Orquidario which my parents had seen a sign for before when they were staying at the hotel up the road. There there were loads of local plants and birds including someof the ‘air plants’ that grow on tree bark. The lady there also told us about the garden of Hummingbirds, which was another hidden beauty. So after lunch, we headed up there - it was a family garden, but they’d arranged it so as it attracts hummingbirds. There must have been hundreds of hummingbirds come and go in the time we were there. It’s well worth a visit if you’re ever in the area. In the evening we went back (with Mum & Dad this time) to the ‘Corner Restaurant’ for the buffet.
Today we went to the park again and had a bit of a less hectic day. We started off by doing the high tour around the tops of some of the falls - which was lovely apart from the annoying hoards of tour groups there. After that we had pizza for lunch and went back out to the devils throat to take the ecological tour boat back along the river. That was really nice and peaceful, and we saw 3 turtles, an alligator and a black splodge which was supposedly a toucan. After this we took a bit of a walk down the Macuco trail to try and see some monkeys - there were lots of giant ants, and we saw something that looked cat like but unfortunatley no monkeys. In the evening Laura & I went to the “Corner Restaurant” and had a lovely all you can eat buffet (15 pesos including desert!)
We arrived today after the overnight bus, and jumped straight in to doing everything on the first day - we checked into the youth hostel and headed straight to the park. Once there, we set off on the lower trail and then went on the boat ride under the falls and got drenched - but it was fun! After that we went across to San Martin Island where we got some lovely views of the falls from. After we’d finished the lower trail, we got the train out to the devils throat which was just amazing- you could see the waterfalls all round and the big gorge with water pouring in from all sides. There were loads of butterflies all over, so hopefully I should have some nice photos of them here soon.
We had a nice chat with Marcelo yesterday, and learnt a few more interesting bits about Uruguay. The conversation started of with whether or not there is freedom of religion in England, and then went on to Politics, Computers, Voting and various other bits and pieces to compare. Here voting in the elections is compulsory, and if you don’t vote there are financial sancions - loss of social benefits. It was also interesting to here how in the financial crisis here a couple of years ago, all the political parties joined together to sort things out, before seperating again once things were sorted.
It’s back to school time here in Uruguay, most of the kids go back to school today, but some went back on Monday. They’ve just had their summer/Christmas holiday and it’s time to start the next school year, assuming they passed the last one -as here they have to repeat the year until they pass it. As it’s back to school time, there’s lots more stationary around in the shops, and school uniforms in many windows. But the number of people in the office shop yesterday was crazy - 4 queues to the counter filling the shop, and they’d employed 3 or 4 security guards especially for the occasion. Everyone was getting their supplies! At the weekend, we gave the kids from Escuelita books for school, and on Monday it was nice to see some of their work in their books.
The underground in Buenos Aires
Last night we had a lovely chat with our friends from back home over the webcam in the internet cafe. You can see them here:
The other day we had some sheets washed at the Lavadero (Launderette), and they will deliver them to you once they’ve been washed and dried. When I dropped the sheets off, they took my name - which I said and then spelt for them, but the lady there stopped me before I’d finished. On Wednesday, they delivered them and I had a bit of a chat with the deliverey guy, who was intrigued as to where we were from because of an unusual surname, which I thought nothing of, as it is unusual for Uruguay. He asked us if we are from far away, and whether we are Mormons, as there are lots of Mormons here and it’s a usual assumption for foreigners.
Anyway - yesterday I saw the slip on the washing where the surname had been written: “Miuerhi” - even more unusual, they probably thought we were from the far east or something!
In the last week, we’ve had a few of the children round from the barrio, and it’s quite interesting to see the differences between them and children back home (in general!). The children that we’ve had round love to clean and wash up - which I was surprised at. However we had a bag of packaging foam pieces from a parcel that we’d received and they thought that it was sweets or some other type of food - and asked where to buy them.