1679 km Puerto Iguazu

I enjoyed a couple of days in Curitiba, where I stayed at the Mottel hostel which was quite nice. I walked around the city a bit. There are quite a few nice buildings to see from the colonial era. I also had a look at the botanical gardens which showcase some of the many plantspecies that call Brasil home. After a coupe of days rest though, it was time to hit the road again and head for the next target Foz. The terrain between Curitiba and Foz is quite hilly so i had a nice week ahead of me of climbing and decending. I managed to make quite long days and made the trip accross in just 6 days. Five cycling days and a restday in Laranjeiras do Sol. This is also where I got my first puncture of the trip. I was fairly lucky that the puncture occurred just 5 km before my planned stop, so I had the luxury of being able to fix it in the comfort of a hotelroom instead of on the road. It was a fairly small puncture as well so it probably would have been hard to spot it outside without any water nearby. The weather was good until Cascavel, where it took a turn for the worst. I don't think I have ever seen so much rain fall down on a single day. The rain was so dense I could hardly see 30 meters ahead of me. At some point I started wondering if I should be cycling or start building an arc. In Foz the weather stayed pretty bad, but at least I got lucky when I visited the waterfalls. I went there with two Austrian guys Dominique and Mathias and we were lucky that it was at least dry and not to clouded when we were there. Close to the waterfalls there is a birdpark as well, which was really worth the visit. Many beautifull Macaws and they even had butterflies and snakes as well. Just when I thought I would be making it all the way through Brasil without being robbed I got a surprise. I was carrying a plastic bag with three apples in it. Suddenly out of nowhere a coaty ran to me and jumped up and slashed the bag open. He managed to run off with one of the apples before I could prevent it. Apparently my anti-robbery senses have not been finetuned yet to deal with fruit stealing wildlife.....

Meanwhile I have crossed the border to Argentina to Puerto Iguazu. Of course I visited the waterfalls from the Argentina side as well. Where Brasil gives you nice panoramic views, you can get in much closer to the action from the Argentina side. I'm now preparing for the trip to Salto of about 870km. This will likely take somewhere between 8-10 days and there are no towns of significant size on the route. I will therefore need to make sure I have sufficient funds with me to cover the distance. 

The Brazilian part of this trip has now come to an end. I will miss the friendly people, the beautifull green landscapes and the delicious Brazilian breakfasts. Coffee, fresh fruit and cakes what is not to love about it. I will think back of Brasil with many fond memories.... Saudade

All the best for now, next update will likely from Salto

P.s: please note that travelpod will stop it's blogging service. I will therefore continue my blog on another website. As of next message you can read the updates and check pictures on: http://www.pfc.reislogger.nl. This is also where the pictures for this story are saved.