Kyle Berg

Leaving the hostel around 10 a.m., I had planned to go into Puerto Iguazu to do laundry and then go to Foz do Iguacu in Brazil to buy a bus ticket to Curitiba. However, the taxi driver was a good salesman and convinced me to let him take me to a hostel in Foz where they could take care of my laundry and help me buy a bus ticket. It sounded much easier and worth the extra cab fare. After breezing through customs (if only all customs crossings were as easy as they are in tourist towns), we continued the short drive to Paudimar hostel outside the city. They indeed were able to do my laundry, but had no in-house services and farmed it out to someone else. Frustratingly, I ended up paying 30 reales for 4.5 kilos of laundry. I had read that laundry was expensive in Brazil and I learned this one the hard way. We also scheduled a bus for the next day at noon.

I dropped my bags off in the room and met my roommate Willy, a guy in his late 30s or early 40s who lived in San Francisco. We walked together to the bus stop and took the short ride to the park. I provided him with some instructions and then went to the park ATM to get some cash to pay for my laundry (which I didn’t know was that expensive at the time). The ATM was out of service and I headed to the bird park across the street, but made a stop off to satiate my hunger with some semi-fast food of chicken, beets, vegetables, and French fries. While waiting, I heard loud noise just outside the door and walked out to see a helicopter starting up. The restaurant also ran helicopter tours over Iguazu for $70 for 10 minutes or $700 for 35 minutes. (I guess they didn’t see the 35 minute ride as equivalent to 3.5 ten minute rides). Had I been traveling with friends, it would have been well worth paying for the 10 minute tour. But traveling solo is more expensive and this was a reminder of that.

Somewhat miserable, yet full, I crossed the road to the bird park. At first, it seemed rather dull and interesting. I also felt handicapped by the wire cages that prevented me from easily taking photos. With some practice however, I was able to do it by butting the lens against the cage and using as much of the 200mm zoom as possible, thus narrowing the field of focus and eliminating or reducing the view of the wire. The first section was a mix of parakeets and other small birds. Next came the big boys–the large parrots and macaws. My favorite among these birds was the Hyacinth Macaw for its beautiful, majestic blue plumage. I couldn’t manage to eliminate the fence from its pictures, but still enjoyed seeing the extremely large bird. I then walked through a door into what I had been hoping to see, a large open area where one could walk alongside the birds with fencing only along the perimeter and some 30 feet above.

The open sections had flamingos, ducks, a peacock, iguanas, snakes, toucans, vultures, hummingbirds, butterflies, and several other species. The reptiles lived in confined areas, but everything else was open for viewing. I had never seen a hummingbird before and quickly realized where they got their name. It was incredible to be in there and hear them fly around. I couldn’t believe how small they were and could not get any pictures of them because of the amazing velocity with which they flapped their wings. Without any doubt, the highlight was seeing the Toco Toucan. The bird was so calm and not frightened by human presence. It made no noise and sat perched, almost motionless except for slowly swiveling its head. Never had I seen such a beautiful bird or imagined it could be that spectacular in person. I would have paid admission just to sit there and watch the toucan. Fortunately, a guy from Chicago was there with his mom and some Brazilian companions. I handed him my camera and he managed to get a shot of me relatively close to my new favorite bird.

That afternoon, Willy and I met by chance outside the park and went into town together to buy groceries for the next day. I quickly realized how much less a dollar was worth in Brazil than Argentina, but still felt fortunate to be paying less than the natives. It also hit me how difficult it was to understand Portuguese (something I would be reminded of continually). We returned to the hostel for supper and I left quite impressed with the Brazilian spread of rice, black beans, meat, chicken, and vegetables. (My goodness! Black beans! Argentines usually don’t even know what they are and I hadn’t eaten them in over a year. What a treat!). Willy loaned me his calling card and I let Valeria know I’d be arriving in Curitiba the following evening around 9:30. I then went to the kitchen to prepare my sandwiches for the following day. After really slicing my finger with a knife and then searching for someone who actually knew where the bandages were, I bandaged it up, prepared the food and went to bed.