Bye Bye Brazil

We made it to Argentina. It was quite the journey though. Let me back up a bit. After we left Rio, we initially had wanted to go to a colonial town called Ouro Preto but plans changed because of crappy bus schedules and decided to head down to Sao Paulo. After being there for about 2 hours, we understood why the guidebook doesnt really suggest a visit. We once again found ourselves in a mini-cockroach infested hotel room wondering what we were going to do to kill two days there. There wasnt much but museums (which we´re not too keen on) but there was sushi. So our two dinners there were spent in the asian neighborhood (again, Brett´s heaven). The first day there we did the "walking tour," thanks to Lonely Planet, and luckily for us, there was student protesting in front of the dept. of education building. There were paint cans thrown all over the steps of the building along with policemen in their full on riot gear...that didnt exactly give a safe feeling. We got out of that area as soon as we could. On the second day, while waiting for a local bus, we were again in the middle of protests and two cop cars turned into about 10 before we knew it. (this is Brett) It was a classic south american big city. I went running in the morning at the only park I could find in the middle of the central area and I saw a bunch of street kids huffing glue out of water bottles. Then we were walking around during the day and Ruby got stopped by a bum asking for a drink of her water (common). We also came across some religious fanatics thumping their bibles and screaming at people in the street. Then during our walk we went through another park filled with bums doing their laundry in a fountain and groups of kids and teenagers sniffing more glue. On the way back home we almost got in the middle of another fight before the cops arrived. One of the guys involved pretended to walk away and instead went a grabbed a brick from a pile of junk on the side of the road and was about to beat the other guy as the cops arrived. All in all, it was a bit of a rough town. But they did have really good sandwiches, and juice...and sushi.
The next day we hopped on a bus to the university area where they had a snake farm. Almost all the snakes and iguanas were showboating so it was worth our $2.50. Got our gear from the hotel then headed to the bus station via the good ol metro. It still amazes me the stares we get when we´re walking around with our packs. Everyone looks at us like we´re freaks. Yes, we get it. We´re tourists. Get over it.
Next stop: Foz do Iguaçu. After a lovely 15 hour overnight bus ride where we had no leg room, we arrived at our destination...right in time for Brett´s birthday. He turned the big 25 on friday. Asked the cabbie to take us to a hotel but immediately started pushing for another one; obviously one of his buddies´places. We were hesistant but decided to give it a try. Definitely made the right choice. They place was brand new and since they weren´t established yet, they were open to some bargaining and the service was great. For the first time on our trip, we had real beds. They had a box spring and a real mattress. Everything else has been basically foam pads. It was heaven. The town was crap but it did have the world´s largest hydroelectrical plant, Itaipu Dam, and for brett´s birthday, that was perfect. He loves stuff like that. Cant say I´m quite as fascinated with things of that nature myself but it was pretty impressive. The thing is 8km from end to end and it alone produces 25% of all the power used in Brazil and 95% in Paraguay. We also got to take a tour of a biological refuge where we saw a jaguar, the world´s largest rodent (can´t remember the name), an opossum with a missing foot, anteaters, monkeys, and other such animals. It was great. Next day, we went to the Parque Nacional and saw the Iguacu falls...275 consecutive falls. Crossing the border today was a major pain. We took a bus to the brazilian exit point where we had to get exit stamps. Instead of waiting for the next bus, the travelers we were with decided it would be a brilliant idea to walk the "short" distance to the Argentina border. Big mistake. Of course today was the first day the sun´s been out in a couple of days and it was back to the blazing 95 degrees. The walk was not short and by the time we got there, we were drenched in sweat. Nasty.
Well, that pretty much brings you up to date. Today we left Brazil after spending over two months there, and we´re very excited to be in a new country. No more portuguese! I can actually practice a language that I can use when i get home. Tomorrow we´re going to the National park to see the falls from the Argentina side. Ill try and put up pictures soon.