Standing on top of one of the world’s greatest waterfalls – watching the powerful force of millions of litres of rushing under your feet, drifting over the edge and crashing down with a mighty force is an exhilarating experience. We spent two fulls days walking around these wonderful unique forms of nature, one on the Brazilian side and one on the Argentinean. The Brazilian side which can’t be missed, showcases the grand overview, whilst the Argentinean side, with over 66% of falls, is more extensive and shows off more picturesque falls and guarantees your legs will be sore by the end of the day.
Whilst changing film on my Polaroid camera an Argentinean photographer (who’s job it is to take photos of tourists at the falls) struck up a conversation with me, reminiscing about learning the trade from his uncle. As he poured more hot water into his Mate (an South American tea that Argentineans are obsessed with) he got more excited with every word, not letting his poor English stop him from telling his story:
“In time ago, those cameras” pointing at my Polaroid with his mate straw “you get person…” He motions clicking of a camera “Bang, 10 pesos” before motioning miming the money into his pocket. “Another customer… Bang, another 10 pesos. One more, Bang, 10 pesos.” Each time miming the clicking and the money into the pocket. “My uncle… no poor. He um, he has ladies, any ones, they all want my uncle. Very rich man, photographer.”
Some friends have asked me if Iguazu is better than Victoria Falls – but I seriously can’t answer that question. They’re two vastly different falls. Victoria Falls is larger, pumps more water and is a larger sheet of water, but Iguazu sports more picturesque series of individual falls, an impressive network of walking tracks and you have to catch a miniature train to get there.
And with a bus trip overnight we had left one of the largest waterfalls of the world and entered one of the largest cities in the world, Sao Paulo. 21 million people call greater Sao Paulo home and one of them was called Gustavo Nakano. We had the good fortune of meeting Gus in Buenos Aires and he graciously offered us his couch in Sao Paulo, where we made our home for the next few days.
Gus was an amazing host, showing us where to go, which in a metropolis as crazy as Sao Paulo really comes in handy. On our first night we went to a party at a Church…a strange notion, but a wonderful night out. They had set up stalls selling local dishes, mulled wine and live music as well as Gus’ beautiful friends, drinking and gambling (Bingo!), so it wasn’t your usual Church fete.
Sao Paulo is considered the cultural capital of Brazil and Jon and I stumbled on a few galleries over our time in Bela Vista. We lost ourselves in great photojournalistic images by the worlds best photographers, whilst the exhibition on Serge Gainsbourg made ACMI look like an oversized toilet lobby. Whilst walking down a highway of funky skyscrapers I walked a few meters off the road to find myself lost in a park of dense forest.
Gus, always the host, always the ladies man, took us to a club where his friends were Djing. I felt like I was eighteen again, and I couldn’t help but laugh when two of his friends approached me and offered these handy tips; “If you talk to every girl in the club, one of them has to say yes.” and, “this is not Australia, this is Brazil. You don’t need to buy girls drinks, you just need to touch them”. Not surprisingly neither of them got lucky that night. Perhaps a little inappropriate, but anything goes in Sao Paulo.
-a-
JON’S FOOTNOTE: In Sao Paulo bars they give you a card that counts your drinks and then you pay when you leave. Iguazu made me need to pee constantly.
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