Foz do Iguaçu is a Brazilian city that is home to the Iguaçu (or Iguazu) falls. It is the westernmost city in the Brazilian state of Parana, which has been where I’ve been hanging my hat and callin’ home for the past three years. That it has taken me this long to get to this spot is an egregious oversight, to be certain. Many times you build up an image of a place prior to going and reality doesn’t match your expectation-but the falls were a rushing, roaring, full-blown sensory experience, and not in any way overhyped, despite my darkest “been-burned-too-many-times” touristy fears.
There is archaeological evidence of people living in this region for at least the last 8,000 years- which isn’t surprising, with the amount of water and biodiversity on display. It is also no surprise that the Spanish and Portuguese showed up on the scene very early on in their exploration of the Americas- since 1542 there has been a steady European presence.
In addition to being an amazing example of physical geography, the political geography of the area is equally fascinating- Whereas Niagara is shared by two countries. Iguaçu falls is shared by Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. This is called the “triple frontier” with the three cities adjacent to the falls- Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, Ciudade del Este in Paraguay, and Porto Iguazu in Argentina- all have open borders and trading with each other.
Foz Largest Islamic population in brazil
Taiwanese food in Paraguay
The two experiences we wanted from the bizarre border town of Foz was the falls (obviously) but also the Parque das Aves (named simply “Bird Park”)- which commands 16 hectares with over 140 species of birds and mammals almost directly across from the entrance of the Brazilian park to the falls. The park has been around for almost 30 years, with the majority of animals unable to survive in the wild due to trafficking or injury, or they are on loan from other zoos. It is the only institution in the world focused on the conservation of the specific birds of the Atlantic Rainforest system.
One of the highlights in the park is the Macaw area- an enclosed area longer than a football field, the macaws would squawk and swoop overhead and play and fight with each other in a dizzying array of colors.
After a day at the falls and a morning at the Bird Park, my family and I decided to spend an afternoon in Paraguay. When crossing the “Friendship Bridge” into Paraguay, we were told by customs that if we were just there to shop, we wouldn’t even need our passports stamped. It’s a weird feeling to walk right through to another country with no problems, or “não problema” as the Brazilians are wont to say.
The bustling border town of Ciudad del Este is responsible for 60% of Paraguay’s GDP- and it all comes from selling goods with little-to-no tax to neighboring Argentina and Brazil. This is so common a thing here that there is a term for people who buy items (refrigerators, TV’s, computers and whatnot) and carry or roll the items back across the bridge- “sacoleiros”. While crossing the bridge both times we saw people laden with luxury goods and carrying them on their backs, in wheelbarrows, dollies, etc.
The towering electronics buildings catering to tax-free high-end goods surrounded by vendors selling knock-off goods of every variety (one gentlemen walked around the street showing everyone how good his tasers were) was a discombobulating experience on par with the four years I lived in Bangkok.
Purchasing in one of these high-rise odes to capitalism was an Alice in Wonderland “through the looking glass” experience, wherein you buy the item (in this case, two rather reasonably-priced Nintendo switch games) from a person with an iPad, then stand in line to actually pay for the item, AND then get escorted to a warehouse-like part of the building (think IKEA’s furniture warehouse) and then pick up your item(s), and then get escorted out to a back alley exit. This clandestine system reminds me of what it was like to exchange money in Argentina- apparently totally normal and yet incredibly shady from an outside perspective.
In addition to the excessive, and frankly, rampant consumerism, the multicultural aspect of this triangle region is radically different from the rest of southern Brazil. The largest percentage of people in Brazil who practice Islam is found in this region, as well as large populations of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Taiwanese people as well. So, I figured, what could be better than eating Taiwanese food in Paraguay? So the fam and I went to Gugu’s Cocina China and had, in my limited experience, the best Chinese/Taiwanese food in South America.
Other than trying new South American experiences, our long December/January travels left us in need of some deep relaxation, which we found at the Bourbon resort in Foz. Great accommodations, multiple pools (with, important for the wife and me, poolside bars chock full of caipirinhas!) and many activities for the kids- arcades, ziplines, tennis, foosball, hiking trails, and a couple of bowling lanes made the end of our trip easy and enjoyable and full of incredible memories. What a trip, after feeling stuck in our first two years of living in Brazil during covid, this was exactly the trip needed to help us fall in love with adventure, travel, and the joy of new experiences all over again. Cheers.
Love all of the photos, but the bird photos were 👨🍳💋