We woke up extra early to pick up Carlos and Fabio at the train station, with plans to go to Argentina to shop for a cuya and bomba (the cup and straw for the tea they drink here). The two dodo birds forgot their passports, so our plans changed. We visited a friend of theirs, who served us breakfast. Then we were off to visit the bird park and the waterfalls. The waterfalls are so massive and overwhelming; that none of the many pictures we took could do them justice. It was raining most of the day, which made for a pretty foggy view. Despite this, the experience was beautiful. We ate at an Arabic stand, that served a pita bread wrap served with chicken or beef, pickles, onions, tomatoes and French fries. After resting a while. Carlos, Fabio and some of their friends picked us up to do some shopping at the street markets. We found some good deals on coconut rings and a few other things, but for the most part, it’s the same stuff we see in Mexico. We then went to eat at a pizzeria with this group of friends. This was a dang good rodizio pizza place! Then it was off for some sleep.
On Thursday, we slept in and went to an awesome bakery. We then went to the waterfalls again. Paul and I walked the path to the waterfalls because it was a much clearer day, which made for some great pictures.
We took a boat tour to some of the waterfalls. This tour started with a jeep trip through the jungle. We then walked about half a mile through the jungle to get to our boat. This was a beautiful hike! We got on our boat and started out for the falls. I thought the waterfalls were overwhelming from far away, but it is a complete different experience when you’re practically underneath them. The tour takes you to the smallest waterfalls and lets you stop for pictures, then up close to them to get drenched! It was a very adventurous and romantic experience. We had so much fun.
We bought a hammock on our way back to the hotel to clean up for some dinner. Paul was very thoughtful about which hammock to buy because of quality and the way we would have to get it home. We picked one that is just our style. I love it. Oh yeah… our air conditioning got fixed, so our room was perfect.
Dinner was at a churrascaria that wasn’t so great, but we still had fun. We walked the mall and then went to bed.
Today, we took some time to make some space in our luggage and do a good job packing. Our flight for Rio was scheduled for 4:30. We checked out at noon and did some last minute shopping. We found a soccer jersey for Sophie Love. We ate another lunch at a churrasco. Finally, I found some fried mandioca (yucca root)! I think I’m ready to be a vegetarian when we get home. J
Our flight was late, but overall went ok. It was after the flight, at the airport that things got stressy. Our luggage was delayed an hour because we were coming from a place that borders Paraguay and Argentina, so many foreign items come in people’s luggage and it has to be scanned. Then, our hammock didn’t get sent out with our luggage, so we had to go track it down. Paul then had to walk very far to find a cambio to exchange our traveler’s checks. What a slow start. We finally got a taxi to our hotel. The driver freaked me out!
Luckily our hotel was even better than we expected. It’s right on the beach and we have a balcony with a beach view. It is so beautiful! We walked to a hot dog stand for some dinner and found a little street fair with live music and food. We ate a fried pastry and listened to music. We stayed a bit and Paul got antsy because it was getting late.
We’re settled in now and are gonna get some sleep for our tours of Rio tomorrow. Only two more nights until we’re home. Yay!
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