The Iguazu Falls, a series of 275 waterfalls spanning Brazil & Argentina, are literally breathtaking. I peered into the Garganta del Diablo, or Devil's Throat, I got sprayed by standing on the precipices of smaller waterfalls, and then I took a boat underneath several of the waterfalls. A thoroughly brilliant experience, at least once my clothes dried out again!
Iguazu Falls from Tina Cone on Vimeo.
There used to be another impressive set of waterfalls in the area - the Guaira falls on the Brazilian Paraguayan border. But they were destroyed to make way for this:
The Itaipu dam. It produces a massive amount of electricity; only Three Gorges in China is bigger. Itaipu provides something like 90% of the electricity in Paraguay and 20% in Brazil (powering much, if not all, of Sao Paolo). But building it meant the destruction of thousands of homes, and the aforementioned waterfalls. I confess that even after visiting the dam, I remain somewhat ambivalent about it. I don't think you can compare the loss of rural villages and a natural wonder of the world with providing electricity for millions of people. Both are important, but I have no way to measure them against each other.
It was easier just to admire the wildlife that is still left.
And one of the best places to do that, was in the Parque das Aves by the Brazilian side of the falls.
Bird Park from Tina Cone on Vimeo.
put a bird on it! =D
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