Iguazú Falls to Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon
Day 21: Foz do Iguaçu
Feb 17, 2025
It was a fairly effortless border crossing from Argentina to Brazil. Given that three countries share a border in this area (Brazil. Argentina and Paraguay) the immigration and customs stations were very efficient. We saw a change in colours from blue and white to green and gold painted on the bridge to show we had made into Brazil. Our first stop was the Parques das Aves which is a bird sanctuary founded by a British couple in the early 1990s. Its original aim was to rescue confiscated and abused birds which had been caught up in illegal animal trafficking. Today it is home to over 130 species of birds, and still over half are seized birds from illegal trafficking. It was a rainbow of colours and cacophony of sounds – absolutely spectacular birds, sadly too many of them on the endangered list. We spent a couple of hours walking through the vast aviaries, butterfly and hummingbird gardens. It is a highly recommended stop if you are visiting the Falls.
Foz do Iguazú was our next stop. The infrastructure and set up this side of the Falls was very different to the Argentinian side and was much less crowded as it was a Monday so none of the weekend visitors. We were driven in by our lovely guide, Neide and then meandered our way down a number of levels to get a very different perspective to what we had seen the day before . You get to see the vast breadth and height of the Falls and especially The Devil’s Throat which you see from below. Again, we were absolutely drenched because the humidity is off the chart and then the spray from the Falls as you get closer provides a welcome cooling relief. The vastness and power of the water is phenomenal and it is another one of those natural wonders which makes human beings feel very tiny and insignificant.
You are spoilt on this side as while you have to walk a few kilometres down to all the different lookouts, they have a lift to take you back to the top. We finished with the most outrageously priced buffet lunch (but what do you do when you’re a tourist trapped in these places!) and then got our lift to the airport for our next flight.
Days 22 – 25
Feb 18 – 21, 2025
Rio de Janeiro is one of those iconic locations that I never really thought I would visit. I was little nervous as you hear a lot about muggings and pickpockets as well as the craziness of Carnevale and Copacabana Beach. We took our guide’s advice seriously and put all valuables away (Apple Watches, jewellery etc) and just carried the bare basics when we went out. Although I did take my DSLR camera everywhere safely stowed in my cross body bag. Our first trip was an early morning cable car ride up to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. The queues were pretty long in the beating hot sun but once you got to the top it was an unexpectedly peaceful and shaded walk through the forested areas on the top level. It gave you a really good 360 degree orientation to the city and surrounds.
After a few hours up on the mountain we headed back to Copacabana Beach to while away the afternoon. The set up on the beach is great as every hotel has an area with chairs, umbrellas and cooling hoses to keep the hot sand bearable under your feet. The people watching was the best – so many fascinating beach goers, vendors selling racks of bikinis and beach bars making an endless stream of Caipirinhas.
The next day we went off to see Christ the Redeemer statue. You catch the Trem do Corcovado which is a small funicular which takes about 20 minutes to get to the top. You step off into absolute chaos with thousands of people crammed into the rather small platform at the bottom of the statue all trying to take selfies from a specific angle to make it look like they are there alone. The statue is beautiful and huge but I couldn’t wait to get away from the crowds and walk down to the lower level to see the other side of the city. There are some things you realise are definitely “tick and go” and this was one of them!
After Cristo we drove down to the Escadaria Selaron which I knew nothing about and actually thought our driver was saying St Laurent Steps, claiming the designer died here in mysterious circumstances which I knew wasn’t true. When we cleared that up we realised these steps were the making of a Chilean-born artist called Jorge Selaron who made it his mission to collect tiles from all over the world to decorate this staircase that leads up to the Santa Teresa neighbourhood. He did die in mysterious circumstances- either the victim of drug lords or self immolating; either way pretty grisly end to what seems like an amazing artistic feat. We found 4 of the 5 Australian themed tiles and then enjoyed watching everyone else taking selfies to again make it look like they weren’t there with thousands of other tourists!
Our final stop on the half day tour was the most disappointing- Santa Teresa neighbourhood. I had listened to a podcast and read lots of positive things about this area. It was supposed to be a bohemian, artsy and a very walkable barrio. Instead it was lifeless with only a handful of shops and cafes opened. Not at all walkable as everyone had 6 foot fences outside their homes and everything felt very enclosed. The famed streetcar went past a few times but it didn’t really add much colour to the place. Our driver explained that as it is right next to a notorious favela that nobody ventures out much. So we were happy to return to Copacabana Beach for more people watching and caipirinhas to while away the afternoon. Same again the next day!
Into the Amazonas
Day 25
Flight to Fortaleza and then to Manaus
It was a very long day of travel from Rio to Manaus. We arrived late to a godforsaken Novotel in the heart of the industrial district of this busy port town. It was a transactional experience as we had to be up very early the next morning for our journey into the Amazon.
One of the most fascinating things in the Amazon is seeing all the plants that are used for different purposes by the local indigenous Amazonas. Our guides showed us many fascinating things that the jungle is used for – both helpful and deadly. As well we spent an afternoon with a local family seeing how they farm and use the land.
Juma Amazon Lodge
Days 26 – 29
22 – 29 February 2025
Four days in the Amazon jungle! Who would have thought! All my knowledge of the Amazon is from wildlife documentaries and very scary 1970s TV shows where everyone gets eaten by an Anaconda, sucked into quicksand or shot by a poisoned blow dart. I am also not the bravest tool in the shed so if you had told me I would willingly go hiking and canoeing into dense Amazon jungle, I would have thought you were mad! But I did do all of these things and more. Juma Amazon Lodge was a picturesque, remote ecolodge where you got to sleep high above the river in a stilt hut. We ate so many wonderful local dishes breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every day there were multiple activities in the area and we lazed in the hammock watching the world and creatures go by on the Rio Juma, magnificent sunsets as bonus content.
Our first afternoon we were taken out on a small boat to go fishing for piranhas 😳 it was incredibly peaceful and although I proved to be the worst fisherperson the boat, it was a very serene experience. All piranhas were thrown back so didn’t become our dinner. Glenn actually caught one of the biggest piranhas of all but it was so big he couldn’t lift it into the boat – our guide said that was a once in a lifetime size that he almost got!
The next two days were spent doing morning hikes for a few hours into different parts of the jungle. So many interesting plants and insects. We got lots of insight into the important medicinal properties of lots of these plants and how they have ended up in every day products we use today. We had a magical sunrise hike to the top of an observation tower to see the vast canopy from above and watch the mist dissipate slowly as the sun broke through the clouds. We went out at nighttime to go cayman spotting and braved an afternoon downpour to canoe into the small tributaries that flow off the Rio Juma.
No Amazon trip would be without some fantastic creatures. We saw enormous Cayman swimming slowly by our balcony overlooking the Rio Juma. Capuchin monkeys were busy in the forest around the lodge, scrambling for juicy palmnuts, bananas and leaves. We were lucky enough to spot an elusive sloth high in the trees on our first day. Saw piranhas up close and personal. As well, an encounter with a pod of river dolphins, both pink and grey was a magical experience. The bird life was endlessly fascinating. Luckily no snakes were sighted!
