Check out the pic of the fals on the left! unfortunately i didnt take it but its still pretty good isn´t it! you will allpleased to hear however, that I did in fact take thousands of photos and will be uploading them as soon as possibole for you all to peruse at your leisure.

I have spent the last 4 days in Foz do Igacu (Brazil)/Puerto Igacu (Argentina) where these falls and the river divide the two countries. There is also a border with Paraguay nearby and its is not uncommon to find a signpost marked Argentina to the left and Paraguay to the right. There are also international buses which is not a usual sight. My first day was spent exploring Itaipu dam, one of the 7 modern wonders of the world and the largest hydroelectric powerstation in the world. I have to say i was very impressed with this achievement (as are the Brazilians given the corny intro videos proclaiming the many achievements of tha dam and its engineers). Firstly the dam provides an incredible amount of energy - 25% of all electricity used in Brazil and 90% of electricity used in Paraguay is provided by this one dam. Thats a healthy amount of green energy. Itaipu dam produces more energy than the 3 gorges dam being built in China and is 30 years old! (this is partly due to the 100m drop which provides the water with much more energy than a smaller drop at the 3 gorges). Secondly there has been extensive attempts to minimise the environmental effects of the dam. Over a million trees were planted to replace those destroyed by the reservior´s creation and a wildlife sanctory was also set up to home some of the animals whose natural habitats were destroyed. A channel was also created to allow the continuation of migratory fish routes. Thirdly, the dam itself is quite remarkable in its scale. For example, while being built the same amount of conctrete needed to build a 25 story building was poured during every hour of the dam´s construction. Finally a visit to the dam and sanctory is free! which is pretty good math in my book!

My second day was spent at the Brazilian side of the Igacu falls which provides a general overview of the area. The views are magnificent and I took many a photo (which I´m sure you´ll all rush of to enjoy after finishing reading this!). On our way home ther was a fantastic thunderstorm (welcome after the incredible humidity of the day) and a tree next to us was hit by lightning (v loud...)

Third day I lounged around and had a well earned break. Took a good bite out of my newly started Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (not nearly as good as Goblet of Fire)

Fourth and final day was spent at the Argentinian side which provides and upclose look at the falls (literally stading on the edge) and a fantastic view down the valley. After this I caught a 17 hour bus to Rosario in Argentina (where I am now), the bithplace of none other than Che Guevara. Its six in the morning and I think I´m going to sleep today!

 PS I swear the Isreali guy is following me as we have bumped into each other twice now since leaving Curitiba...