WEEK ELEVEN 

So Sunday night we left for an overnight bus to the town of Iguassu, where we arrived mid monday morning. We all agreed that we slept much better than expected, however we still weren't feeling overly energetic. Luckily we got to check in to our hotel early to freshen up after the 12 hour ride.
We left our hotel just after lunch where we made our way to Iguassu falls, the Brazilian side.  The six of us girls had signed up to do the 20 min helicopter ride over the iguassu falls first which gave us awesome views of both sides of the falls and what we would be up for later this afternoon! I think it was all of the girls first time in a helicopter so you can imagine the excitement and nervousness of all of them as we were waiting to get on board! They all loved it though - both the incredible views and the ride itself. 
We then did the walk along the cliff face and was absolutely astounded at its size and beauty - I was glad to have seen Victoria falls before coming here. Many many photos were taken and plenty of time was given to absorb it all. To add to the excitement, early into our arrival it began to BUCKET down! We were all very unprepared so just embraced the fact that we all looked like drowned rats and continued to enjoy the walk and the views. We spent a couple of hours here and by the end of it, we may as well have jumped into the falls because we were saturated from head to toe! It was so much fun and the views were breath taking. We were told that if we were in love with the falls now, to wait until tomorrow where we would be visiting the Argentinian side of the falls.
That evening, G took us to a little restaurant for an all you could eat buffet of hot food and salad, desert and various meats of the spit.. All for $10! We were in heaven - and even gave rabbit and chicken heart a go! 

Tuesday we left our hotel at 8 to cross the Brazilian- Argentinan border to see the other side of the falls. As soon as we arrived, we boarded an open vehicle that took us through the 'jungle' down to a little jetty. We were given the option to take a speed boat along the Iguassu river, across to the base of the falls. We all took this optional and came prepared with our bathers already on. We had a few photo opportunities only a few metres away from the falls before being warned to put all valuables away into waterproof bags, Because we were about to get drenched! And that we did! The boat driver took us right under the base of the falls so we could feel the power of the water, it was so much fun! 
For the rest of the day, we took several trails that took us to various viewing points along the falls. G was definitely right about the brazilian versus the Argentinan side, it was even more breath taking this side. The highlight was probably devils throat, the amount of water gushing through this was unbelievable; it looked like something out of a movie! Once again, it started to bucket down, but we came prepared this time with ponchos.. The rain was much much worse this time, to the point where it actually hurt us.
That night, we went to a friend of G's place for dinner/drinks/party! He had a really cool outdoors set up with a bar, wood fire oven, in ground pool and strobe lights. Another G-adventures tour joined us here where we drank these lethal cocktails and had a yummy BBQ dinner.. We all ended up in the pool in our clothes - ash (aka dolphin or flipper) was the first to go in, completely unintentionally but embraced it all the same! 

Wednesday was a quiet day due to some bad headaches.. So we spent the afternoon by the hotel pool and prepping for our 2nd and last overnight bus for Paraty. We got taken to the bus depot for a 645pm pick up. Unfortunately the bus wasn't as amazing as the first, however the recline was still decent and most of us managed to sleep on and off through the night. 

Thursday we continued a full day on the bus which got pretty painful by the end. We did a bus-swap in Sao Paulo and continued for Paraty, not arriving until About 730.. Making it a 27 hour journey! The last 2-3 hours were the real killer, because we were just itching to spread our legs, have a shower and sleep flat! We ended up going for a walk through the cobble stone streets and finding an amazing pizza place for a very late dinner. 

Friday morning we headed off to a cool watering hole/waterfall about 20 mins away from the main town of Paraty. The drive there was spectacular, the town is probably the prettiest place I've seen so far in south America.. We all instantly fell in love with the run down buildings, the cobble stone paths, the locals on their bicycles and the bright coloured painted doors and window sills. It was such a quaint little town with a lot of character. 
A few of the group went swimming in the waterfall, majority opted not to as it was still early morning and not very warm. We spent about an hour and half here before heading back to our hotel, getting changed and heading to the pier to catch a boat for the afternoon. We had to provide our own drinks, while a really yum lunch was included. The boat took us to 3 swimming spots (including a couple of islands) where we could jump off the side of the boat and into the crystal blue waters. It was a little overcast, but still hot enough to enjoy being in the water. 
That evening we had Thai (owned by a German, living in brazil!) and while we were eating we could hear a whole lot of Clapping, banging and singing.. So we ran out the front into the street and there were these oversized puppet-like characters being followed by a local band and a huge crowd of people through the 'old town'! So we joined in .. We later realized it was a pre-carnivale parade. It was so much fun getting involved in the culture! We later went to have a few drinks down 'bar street' and conveniently, there was a stage set up with bands and artists singing local tunes, with hundreds of locals singing and dancing along. It was a real fun night and Great to be amongst it all. 

Saturday morning we made our way to ilhe grande via a bus and a ferry. The island doesn't allow cars/vehicles whatsoever (except for 1 ambulance, police and fire truck), so locals get around on foot or by bike. We arrived mid afternoon so headed out for lunch and then kacey and I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping on the beach - it was overcast so we didn't get burnt or anything. We all came back in the late afternoon and passed out in bed for a good 2 or 3 hours! That evening G took us to an amazing seafood restaurant on the beach where Kace and I shared a seafood grill - fresh calamari, fish, prawns, mussels, and prawns. 

Sunday we were up and ready by 9am where G took us on a beautiful 3 hour hike to 3 beaches. We were extremely thankful for the overcast skies as at some peaks it was pretty muggy and thinner air. We were at our last beach by midday where we spent the rest of the day swimming in the wavey ocean and napping on the sand. A few people hired body boards and surf boards and the waves got pretty gnarly by mid afternoon! 
That night we went to a hostel near by that cooked us up a storm of sausage, steak and chicken with those lethal cocktails. Us 6 then headed off to a 'rocking' (absolutely dead!) hostel party and walked back in the pouring rain! 

Xx