Iguazu Falls and Itaipu Dam

A part of the huge complex of waterfalls in Iguazu

After Buenos Aires we headed to the north of the country, to Iguazu where Argentina shares a border with Brazil and Paraguay.  The 18hr bus was 3 hours late and when we arrived there we were broken. The Argentinian side is called Puerto Iguazu and it is a small town living on the tourism that the mighty Iguazu Falls (Wikipedia Iguazu Falls) attracts.

With 275 falls, the Iguazu complex has the widest cumulated curtain of water in the world, although Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe has the widest single curtain of water in the world. It has the second average water flow rate in the world after the Niagara falls although the maximum water flow rate ever recorded in the world was here in Iguazu.

We're going to go under the falls on the left

We took a bus to the National Park and started walking. The Argentinian side holds about 80% of the waterfalls of the Iguazu complex. They were amazing and we went down to a quay where we boarded a RHIB (Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat). That boat with its powerful outboard motors brought us all the way up to one of the big falls. Then the captain asked us to put our cameras, bags and anything else we wanted to keep dry in heavy duty watertight bags. He was going to bring the RHIB under the waterfall.

As we came even closer, the noise was deafening and you could even feel the vibrations created by the tons of water falling in your chest. Then we actually went under the falling water and we were completely soaked. It was nothing like I thought, it was so much better!

Then we walked through the park along the footpaths where you could admire at very close range some of the biggest falls in the world. We made it to the “Garganta Del Diablo” (the Devil’s Throat). This is a gaping hole about 150 metres in diameter in which the raging torrents just fall. It is amazing and frightening at the same time.

That afternoon when we came back we got our stuff and took a local bus to Brazil – just like that! The bus took 15 minutes to take us to the border and I was let into Brazil without a hitch (muito obrigado!).

Brazil is going to be the most expensive country in our trip by far. But coming to Brazil the same week the Credit Rating Agencies degraded several Euro zone countries is butchery. We have to face 6^th largest economy in the world with a Euro that just lost 17% of its value against the all too powerful Brazilian Real.

The border town on the Brazilian side is called Foz do Iguazu and is more developed than its Argentinian counterpart. In the streets you can find tour buses, cars and taxis from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.  After a short bus ride we arrive at the park and buy our entrance tickets.

From the Brazilian side a full panoramic view of the waterfalls may be enjoyed as opposed to be directly on or under them in Argentina. And the spectacle is grandiose. We walked a few kilometres taking pictures from every possible angle.

We then rushed back to the city to be able to squeeze in a visit of the Itaipu Dam. This dam is a bi-national project between Brazil and Paraguay. The total length of the dam is 8km and the retention lake it created is enormous : 145km long, 8km wide and 160 metres at it’s deepest.

Some fun facts about the dam (source Wikipedia) :

• ·         The course of the 7th biggest river in the world was shifted, as were 50 million tons of earth and rock.
• ·        The amount of concrete used to build the Itaipu Power Plant would be enough to build 210 football stadiums the size of Maracanã (for those who don't know, 200.000 paying spectators were crammed in to watch the 1950 World Cup Final).
• ·         The iron and steel used would allow for the construction of 380 Eiffel Towers.
• ·         The volume of excavation of earth and rock in Itaipu is 8.5 times greater than that of the Channel Tunnel and the volume of concrete is 15 times greater.

One of the three spillways letting excess water out

The project is a true 50-50 between Brazil and Paraguay in terms of investment, manpower and energy production. There are 20 turbines (10 for Brazil, 10 for Paraguay) and it is the largest operating hydroelectric facility in terms of annual generating capacity, even ahead of Three Gorges Dam in China.

With a small population of only 6 million people, Paraguay only needs 2 of its 10 turbines to sustain almost its whole energy consumption. So it sells the electricity produced by the other 8 turbines to Brazil. And the 18 turbines feeding Brazil (population 192 million) cover 16% of its energy needs.

The huge tube in which water falls to the turbines

The whole tour of the dam is made in a bus and part of it is actually on Paraguayan soil! Imagine, after making it sooooo hard for me to get in South American countries with a valid passport and visa, now they just drive me into Paraguay! WTF man!!! Anyway I got two countries for the price of one!

For all Iguazu Falls and Itaipu Dam

And finally an amusing note posted in our hostel in Foz do Iguazu. Pay particular attention to the order of reasons for not doing drugs! 

They have a sense of humour in Brazil