The alarm woke us up early and we quickly got ready and went for breakfast. It was the standard bread and jam affair and after a couple of pieces we decided to make a move.

We headed up to the bus station which was only a few blocks away and luckily just caught the bus as it was leaving. After a 20 minute journey we were dropped off at the gates to the park. We bought our tickets and went inside. It was not that busy yet, save some big tourist buses.

In the park we bought tickets for the boat ride to the falls and a raft journey along the river. We then went over to the train station and boarded the train that would take us to the falls. The train was really full and on getting to the first stop we realised we were the only ones getting off as the tour groups were all being taken to the devils throat.

That made it really nice for us as we started off on the lower path pretty much on our own. We took our time walking down and saw a baby deer and raccoon like thing in the bushes. There were also lots of very colourful butterfly's around too. After a short walk we got our first glimpse of the falls. It was really amazing. As we walked round the views kept getting better as the view of the falls opened up.

We reached the bottom of the path where we would take the boat from and had to wait for it to open. We took some pictures under one of the falls and really felt the power and noise of it. After the path opened we walked down to the dock for the boat trip. There were actually 2 boat trips to do but the one to San Martin island was closed due to high water levels, which was a shame. It was now getting later and was getting really hot. We had to wait a while for our boat journey and as we watched we saw others taking it and getting soaked as the boat went right under the falls.

When our turn came we were not spared and after taking pictures were told to pack our things in the waterproof bags and were given a proper soaking. It was really cool and amazing to get so close to the falls.

On getting off we were really wet and took some time to dry off. The sun was really strong so it wouldn't take long. We then made our way back up the path to the top where we stopped for snacks and drinks. Shivani bought some crisps and headed outside but before she could even open them they were stolen by the raccoon like animals that were roaming around outside. This scared her, so we bought another pack and ate them inside. The animals were pretty aggressive and we watched them harassing other people outside while we ate safely inside.

After our snacks, we headed to the higher path. We thought we had seen everything on the lower path but the higher path was also spectacular offering a different angle and some great pictures too. This path was shorter and after completing it headed to the train to go up to the devils throat.

We had wait a while for the train and on reaching the top had a long walk out to get to the falls. It was now much busier too and it had definitely been worth getting up early to miss the crowds. It was still good though, as the close proximity really allowed us to feel the power and get a sense of the falls. We stayed there for a while taking pictures and enjoying the cool spray that rose up from the falls.

We then walked back to where we would take the raft trip back down the river. After a wait for our raft, we boarded and took what was a peaceful but uneventful journey. There wasn't really anything to see on the way and it was really hot too.

After the trip we decided to head back to the hostel and luckily just caught the bus as we came out of park. Getting back to the bus station we enquired about buses to the Brazilian side and found that there were still some leaving this afternoon. We thought it made sense to go tonight to save us the trouble tomorrow morning and getting back to the hostel asked if we could check out a day early. They luckily agreed to let us, so we quickly packed up and headed to the bus station.

At the bus station we didn't have to wait long for the bus to Brazil. After stopping twice, sorting out immigration and changing bus we found ourselves in Brazil. It was an hour ahead here and we now found ourselves with only two hours difference to the UK.

On arriving into Foz de Igacu, the bus went through the main town before dropping us at a random terminal on the edge of town. We had hoped to find a hostel near the bus station but this didn't look like the right one so we jumped in a taxi and headed to a place recommended in the book.

On getting there we found it was a hotel but it had a good location and wasn't too expensive so we took it. We checked in and I took a much needed shower. It was already late, we hadn't eaten all day and were hungry. We asked at reception and were recommended to a place a few blocks away. After taking some money out we headed over.

The place was nice and probably one of the better restaurants in the town. I had a really good steak with chimicuri sauce and Shivani a really mushroomy risotto, supplemented with Brazilian wine.

It had been a really long day and we had done a lot. We decided to head home and stopped on the way to pick up some water. We found a pharmacy, bought some suncream and water, and Shivani got chatting to a Brazilian girl who gave some advice on which beaches to visit and kindly gave us her email too. We were now tired so headed back to the hotel and went straight to bed.