Foz de Iguaçu

We went to Iguaçu Falls two weeks ago. I had gone in 2008 with my mom and sister, but only on the Argentinian side as the Brazilian side required a visa, which I did not have at the time. In 2014, I did have the visa to Brazil; however, upon speaking with people at the hostel, Argentina has a newly implemented visa requirement for Americans of $150. Hardly worth forking over $150 plus park entrance fees to see the Argentinian side for one day. Plus Sandra didn't have her immigration papers. So, my situation was exactly reversed between 2008 and 2014 in terms of having the right visas for two bordering countries. A bit unusual in my opinion. Here are the pictures from 2008 of what Iguazu normally looks like. 







Beautiful right? That's not how Iguazu looks right now. Brazil is experiencing extremely unusual weather patterns that many believe are due to Climate Change. There is a huge drought in Sao Paulo as a pocket of hot air is sitting above the state causing all precipitation to be diverted north to Belo Horizonte or south to Paraná (the state that has Iguazu). So while my friends in Assis and Sao Paulo are complaining of a massive drought and electricity shortages (Brazil is 75% hydroelectric so droughts have multiple effects), Iguazu is seeing unprecedented levels of water from the floods in Paraná. In fact, it appears as though the day we went, June 14, 2014 was the day that Iguazu Falls broke the record for fastest flow in history at "33 times the usual flow rate at 46,300 cubic meters per second." http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/south-americas-iguazu-falls-record-fastest-flow-history-1452680

That's actually pretty cool because I just learned that as I was researching to write this blog. Anyway, the falls were massive and you could really feel their force. In 2008, the water fell into neat little tidy crevices that had been eroded for centuries, but in 2014, the water was gushing over everything and overtaking the entire rock face. It wasn't necessarily pretty, more impressive at the raw force of the spectacle. You'll notice that the water is red as there is so much soil erosion upstream from the unprecedented water levels that there is a high amount of soil in the water. The soil in this area of Brazil is astoundingly red from high levels of iron. 






We even walked out on the bridge, which seemed very dangerous as the water was lapping up against the walkway. I am told that typically the water is several meters below. It was very unsettling to be out on the bridge with raging currents lapping up against you and a massive waterfall to your right. If the walkway were to give, I'd put our chances of survival at .03333% (repeating of course). We also made the mistake of trying to walk to the very end of the walkway for the View Point. The amount of mist coming off the waterfall was so intense that in our attempts to get out there, we became completely soaked in water in a matter of seconds.


Luckily, we did get a few nice pictures. 

On the Brazilian side (I don't recall them on the Argentinian side), these little guys were running around everywhere and eating food. They were extremely domesticated and borderline aggressive.


So that was Iguazu. It's worth noting that the boats going under the falls were also closed given the high water levels and the bridge on the Argentinian side to go to the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), was closed as it had been completed washed away in the high waters. It won't be constructed for another 4 months. So we didn't get the "typical" Iguazu experience, but we did get a record setting view at one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, so can't complain.

And the World Cup rumbles on. Brazil will take on Chile on Saturday, and the United States will take on Belgium on Tuesday. The USA - Germany game was stressful to say the least. Thank you to MVP Ronaldo. Even when the USA loses, we win. USA USA USA!!!

I was given another interesting perspective on the World Cup. One of my Brazilian friends says he wants Brazil to lose not because he is against the World Cup spending, but rather because if Brazil wins the World Cup, the euphoria of will the cup will cause everyone to forget about the problems in Brazil that so urgently need to be addressed. The next presidential election is in October, so it seems as though Brazil's bid to host the World Cup had ulterior motives.

I saw this gif and it made me laugh. Can't confirm it's China or a professional team, but here it is '"Why China doesn't participate in the World Cup:"
https://38.media.tumblr.com/c655d04dc833ed8ccba88dacd2c9194e/tumblr_n7mpf8izTu1rkallao1_250.gif



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