Today’s post is 1275 words, 35 photos, 1 videos, a 7 minute read. Enjoy!
Hi everyone,
This week the tour with Eduardo continues to the stunning scenery of Iguazu Falls, another fabulous lunch, and a tour of the gigantic Itaipu Dam.
If you missed the first five posts in this series from Brazil, click here, here, here, here, and here.
Iguazu Falls
Well folks, finally the time has come to take you to the Iguazu Falls or Iguaçu Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world and an UNESCO World Heritage Site. These falls are located on the Iguazu River between Brazil and Argentina. Apparently, there is some battering back and forth which country has the best views. It’s a fact that most of the falls are on the Argentine side but maybe better viewed from the Brazilian side. If time wasn’t a factor, I would have visited both sides.
Eduardo dropped us off on a walking trail that would eventually take us to the main part of the falls. He told us that the water level was low this year so the falls weren’t quite as spectacular as when the water level is higher.
There were a lot of people on the narrow paved trail. It went single file and most people were polite when others stopped to take photos. Here’s the first photos I took with my Sony camera at the beginning of the trail. While these were stunning, the main show was yet to come.
This panorama was taken with my iPhone.
As we walked along, we did see a little wildlife, a turkey vulture and a butterfly that landed on the arm of someone in our group.
The farther we went on the trail, the wider the fall became and the roar of the water louder. There were times when I had to stop to take a breath, not from walking but from the sheer size and beauty of the falls. There are about 275 distinct falls. The highest falls drop 270 feet (82 meters). This is compared to Niagara Falls with a drop of 167 feet (51 meters). The water flow is many times higher than Niagara Falls and the taller Victoria Falls in Africa.
In this photo, please note the viewing platform that extends out in front of the falls. The trail eventually took us to that platform.
As the water rushed away, it created these eddies when the water from several falls came together.
On the platform, one feels the immensity and power of the falls. I took lots of photos from different angles to try and convey the beauty of the falls. 
Rainbows are formed when the sunlight interacts with the water droplets created by the mist rising from the falls.
There were a lot of people on the platform. Some of them thought it was their personal studio for taking photos of each other. I understand wanting to create a record to show that they were there at the falls but should also be considerate of others trying to absorb what is before them. Ok, maybe that’s a snarky comment from an old photographer. I used the telephoto on my camera to take this photo, not my best of the day.
This video was made with my iPhone is an attempt to capture the scale and sound of the falls.
As we were leaving, I snapped a photo of this tiny waterfall close to the exit. I wonder how it will grow in a 100 or a 1000 years. Time will tell. It’s estimated that the development of Iguazu Falls began over 5 million years ago.
The photo below was my last look at the falls, this time from above. After boarding the bus, I began processing what I just saw. I was sad to be leaving. I wondered what it would be like to spend a few days exploring and photographing the falls in the morning and evening light. The day was beautiful but a sunrise or sunset would be like finding gold. Maybe next time.
Rafain Churrascaria
It was well after lunch time and we were hungry. Eduardo pulled into at churrascaria, Rafain. The place is huge. We were there for lunch but they have a dinner show that features the culture and folklore of nine Latin American countries. Sounds interesting but we were here to eat. And eat we did!
They featured a very nice buffet that had many types of salads, typical Brazilian dishes, and foods from other cultures. Of course there was the meat station that served 15 types of meat with beef being the most prominent. We ended our meal with a visit to the dessert station. I was stuffed to the gills!
After boarding the bus, I was ready for a post-prandial siesta. I may or may not have nodded off a time or two during the drive to our next attraction.
Itaipu Dam
After clearing security at the dam, Eduardo parked the bus and we entered the tourist center. From there we would take a bus for a tour of the dam facilities. We were on the panorama tour. Each year about one million people visit Itaipu Dam. 
Itaipu Dam is one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world. Construction began in 1971 and was completed 13 years later in 1984. It was built on the Paraná River that runs between the border of Brazil and Paraguay. The two countries equally share the electricity generated by the dam. In Paraguay, the dam supplies 85% of the countries electricity while in much larger Brazil, it supplies 15%. Brazil has higher needs so often purchases additional electricity from Paraguay. During construction 1/2 of the 40,000 workers came from each country as do the 3000 permanent employees. It’s estimated that the dam has created about 10,000 indirect jobs in retail, construction, maintenance, and etc.
We boarded a large bus that featured a guide that gave his talk in three languages, Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Meet Renaldo, the guide. I don’t know how he switched so quickly from one language to another. He seemed exhausted at the end of the one hour tour.
The dam is huge with 20 generating units each producing about 700 megawatts of power. The dam is about 650 feet (196 meters) high and the spillway is nearly 1600 feet (483 meters) long. In length the dam is about 5 miles or 8 km. Here are a few photos from our tour with Renaldo.
Towards the end of the tour, we made a stop an overlook where there was a snack bar and gift shop. In the courtyard, someone with a great imagination created this sculpture out of electrical parts.
Back on the bus, Renaldo explained about the markers that were next to the trees near the overlook. The power company honors employees on their retirement by planting a tree with a placard with their name next to the tree. It’s a nice way to recognize employee contributions. In addition, the company has plans to plant 44 million trees to support the surrounding environment. So far, 24 million have been planted.
Off in the distance we could see the city of Foz do Iguaçu. 
Eduardo delivered us back at the hotel at about 5:00 PM and told us he’d be back at 3:30 AM to take us to the airport. After a light dinner, we were off to bed for a bit of sleep. Next week, I’ll take you to our first Friendship Force host club in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
I’ll end with the five senses plus one.
See – the amazing huge waterfalls, a large hydroelectric dam, birds, butterflies
Hear – the roar of the falls
Smell – the mist in the air, cooking meat
Touch – the railing on the platform at the falls
Tasted – passion fruit juice (very good!), food at the churrascaria
Learned – about the grandeur of the falls, a lot about the hydroelectric dam
Until next week, happy travels!
Tom
PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM