Sunday in Brazil

Well I have been drafted by Madge to write today's entry. The day did not start off well as I got up a little after 1 am to read the play by play of the AU-LSU game and stuck with it to the bitter end. Then I slept a few hours and up at 7 for an excellent breakfast here, the best of the trip so far. As we got on the bus, it started raining, got really black with lots of thunder and lightening. We got to the Brazilian side of the falls and waited until the lightening calmed down and then started our hike to view the falls. Unfortunately, the wind and rain had not calmed down. We all looked like saran-wrapped packages in our plastic ponchos. Even in the storm, the falls were beautiful -- really prettier than from the Argentine side. After a few pictures, my camera got damp and would not work (it has since dried out and seems fine) so Madge and I were swapping her small camera and she dropped it onto the concrete path and broke it beyond repair, so we will have to rely on friends for pictures of the most spectacular part of the trip. (Guess what we are getting for Christmas??) Most of the wildlife had enough sense not to be out, but we did see groups of coati mundis a couple of times. Because of the weather, Max canceled the boat ride under the falls and the trip to Bird Land and we headed back to the hotel for lunch. Of course by the time lunch was over, the rain had stopped and the sun was peeking through. Madge and I walked around the grounds enjoying the beautiful tropical landscaping and the unusual birds. After a while, we decided the day was too nice to waste, so we got a cab back to Bird Land. It started off being a bit dinky, but got better and better. Some of the birds were caged, but there were several large aviary areas where the birds flew free as you walked through. The birds (and butterflies) were beautiful. Madge's favorite was the Mariposa (butterfly) house which also had lots of varieties of hummingbirds flying around enjoying the flowers. We saw several wild orchids too. Tonight we go to a folkloric dinner to enjoy folk dancing and folk music from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay since Iguassu is where the three countries meet. We also have to pack for the flight to Rio tomorrow. We are flying on GOL (a Brazilian airline) and they are supposed to be real sticklers about weights, so M. is more paranoid than usual, but I figure we will get there somehow even if we have to dump stuff from the suitcases out on the terminal floor.