Where is Jeremy Irons?

Let me tell you more about our time in Brazil. Perhaps the easiest place to start is the two days we spent at Iguazu Falls. The falls were simply spectacular! Beyond words. 

Our first encounter came on the Brazil side where we booked a 15-minute helicopter flight over the Falls. This gave us a terrific overview of the area and prepared us for two days of memorable sights and sounds. We then walked the Brazil side of the panoramic falls viewing track.

I will say this, if we ever return to the falls we're definitely staying at Hotel das Cataratas. This hotel sits in the heart of Iguazu National Park. It was clear from the air that your room is literally spitting distance away from the thundering water. Nice!

Each turn revealed a new perspective of the falls, each more spectacular than the last. Then, just when we thought it couldn´t get any better we came upon the Salto Santa Maria walkway. This zig-zagging elevated catwalk took us out into the very heart of the Brazilian falls themselves. The spray soaked us within seconds, the sound was deafening and the wall of water surrounding us was beyond description. That's Garry giving us a wave in the photo above. A magic moment indeed.

The same day we also visited a nearby bird park. The first few aviaries of rather average birds made us think this was a tourist-cheap affair. However, we then moved on to a series of giant walk-through enclosures packed with the most stunning birdlife I´ve ever seen. We literally had beautiful tucans sitting next to us on the various walkways, with Macaws flying around us in a whirlwind of colour.

The following day we visited the Argentine side of the falls. The perspective here is completely different. So much so that you feel as if you´re visiting a totally different location. Here we took jet boat rides to the base of the fall themselves. We tipped our boat driver so that he'd give us a couple of extra sights and a few extra plunges into the falls themselves. We were totally soaked by the end of the experience. The rest of the day was spent wandering the various walking tracks around the Falls National Park.

At every turn you expected Jeremy Irons to wander past, reliving dramatic moments from the movie, "The Mission". Sadly, no Hollywood stars were sighted, although I did spot a rather large lizard harassing an American couple. A B-grade remake of "Godzilla" perhaps?

One final anecdote about our time at the Falls. As our tour progressed some of us on tour grew tired of the tour guide's uninspiring restaurant choices. In particular, he seemed to have an obsessive predilection for pizza and steak, rather than any local cuisine. 

On our last night in Iguazu Garry and I had finally had enough. After our guide announced that we were off to yet another pizzeria we staged a mutiny. We hadn’t travelled halfway across the globe to spend a week eating pizza. We walked out of his chosen venue and went searching for another. Much to our amusement, several members of the group caught wind of our plans and came with us.  

After wandering the streets for 10-15 minutes we came across a bustling restaurant more than willing to accommodate a large, walk-in group. We ultimately enjoyed a surprisingly tasty meal at a long table in a semi-private alcove at the back of the restaurant.