On and off the beaten track in Brazil: Iguazu Falls and Bonito

After a few days relaxing in the beautiful colonial capital Quito and 5 weeks (not nearly enough) in the country Ecuador it was time to say bye to our new favourite South American country and hello Brazil and Iguazu Falls! Our flights took us on a random path via Panama, then overnighting in Lima Peru, but finally we arrived at one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.

The day started with a visit to a beautiful bird park opposite the falls where they rescue and rehabilitate injured birds. We are not big fans of birds kept in confined spaces but given the terrible alternative, this place really won us over. These beautiful birds had a safe environment with loads of space to be in whilst they recovered with the hope they will one day be well enough to be released into the wild. For an hour we strolled around looking at the magnificent birds with their bold and striking colours- The famous macaws and toucans were definitely a favourite.

Then it was off to see the famous Falls. Like everyone else, we were completely blown away by the sheer volume. It seemed endless and for those who don’t know, Iguazu falls is a combination of over 250 individual falls that just keep going and going and going and going. Absolutely amazing.

The down side: Crazy numbers of tourists, all pushing and shoving to position themselves for the perfect selfie. Not our scene at all, but we knew that would probably be the case. It was more of a tick off the must-see list. The more annoying part was the cost of all of the activities. We stupidly decided to spend 380 reis ($130USD) on a boat ride to the falls which lasted 20 minutes!!! We have not felt so ripped off in the whole 5 months we’ve been in South America. Just ridiculous. Then after seeing the falls, we thought we would spend an hour walking on one of the many trails. $40USD EACH for entry to a trail for a one hour walk. WTF???? Sorry, but that is madness. Paying the pricey entrance fee should surely include being able to walk around the park we just handed money over to get into?!?! The poor person at the entrance tried so hard to sell it to us. Clearly everyone else thought it was completely insane as well and the trail was pretty well deserted. So to sum up Iguazu Falls. The falls themselves: Spectacular. No regrets going at all. The visiting experience…not so much…

And from one water attraction in Brazil to another much lesser known one: Bonito.

We had never heard of Bonito until one day I saw a Brazilian friend’s post on Facebook with the most incredible pictures of this mystical place: Bonito. The idea was born and another place was added to our already jammed itinerary! We looked at the logistics and thankfully it was relatively close to the Pantanal which we were always planning to do. The lonely planet guide also raved about this place but added ‘there is no cheap way to visit Bonito, if you plan to go, be prepared to spend a lot of money’. Surprise surprise!
So from the Pantanal, (where we went after the Falls) we headed by mini-van for 4 hours to Bonito where our experience started with a visit to a gigantic sink hole about an hour from the town.

It was quite literally an enormous hole, with a lagoon at the bottom teeming with wildlife- Caimen, snakes and countless birds. It also happened to be the breeding ground for macaws. We were told that in the past it was close to being a rubbish dump and the animal and bird life had depleted to pretty much nothing. Someone bought the land and figured that he could make money off of it with tourism, and so the clean up began. Now it is a pristine wildlife wonderland and the birds and animals have returned.

In the afternoon we went to the Rio del Prata for the main event- swimming and snorkeling for two hours down a pristine river with incredibly vibrant fish swimming all around. In pools, around corners, and downstream through gentle rapids. It was amazing. Neither of us have ever seen such clear water in our lives. All carefully regulated and timed so that there was never more than a dozen people in at once. We were very impressed with the eco-tourism practices of Bonito! Words cannot describe the magical experience so I will simply let the pictures do the explaining.

After being in the water we were treated to a delicious buffet lunch. We ate and ate and ate. Finally, Devesh came back to the table with his last round- Dessert saying, ‘Sweetie, you wont believe how people are eating this Dulce du leche, they’re spooning piles of it onto their plate and eating it just like that!’ I couldn’t stop laughing, then he looked at my plate and mouth full of food and saw why…there was a pile of Dulce du leche on it and I was shoveling it in with a spoon telling him, ‘Just eat a spoon full of this and you’ll understand why!’

In the evening we walked into the main square and checked out the opening night of a local festival that just happened to be on while we were there. Live music, food stalls, an art gallery and fireworks. So cool! We wandered around and soaked it all up. Still full from lunch but we did manage to squeeze in a few little home made desserts. One day I am sure we will explode. But we have a motto: If the food is good, you have to eat it!

Day 2: Another early morning departure, this time to explore an amazing series of caves an hour away. To give an idea of the area. Yes we stayed in the town of Bonito, but in actual fact none of the main attractions are actually in or even very near the town. Each place is at least an hour drive away in various directions, down dirt roads, past farm land and cattle stations. It is really quite bizarre. You would never know any of these pristine rivers and wild life reserves and caves existed. We would drive through what appeared to be all farm land for an hour or more, then turn off somewhere bumping along dusty roads for several kilometers then appear at some random natural oasis! 
Our poor driver got lost finding the turn off to the cave and was so stressed out as we missed our 8:30am tour start time. In an attempt to make up for lost time he started hooning along the bumpy dirt roads at crazy speeds cursing in Portuguese. We were gripping the sides as our butts got airborne with every bump trying to tell him, don’t stress, it’s just a tour! Then to each other…please don’t crash..please don’t crash..please dont die…please dont die!
We did miss our start time, but it wasn’t a problem, they put us on for the 9:30am start instead. The only problem with that..the guide didn’t speak a word of English! Good practice for what was to come on our trip. We toured the cave. Unfortunately we can’t tell you anything about it, but it was pretty cool to look at!

In the afternoon it was swim time again, in the most pristine, spectacular swimming pools I’ve ever seen or been into in my life. From the farm house we were driven 10 minutes in the back of a truck to the start point then went on an hour long walk past a series of stunning pools and waterfalls. A short and sweet boat ride took us to the very end then as we made our way back we had the option to stop and swim at each pool along the way. The water was definitely very cold. I am not a fan of cold water, but to swim in a place like that, I was willing to take a squealing plunge into the picture perfect water or should I just say…heaven in the rainforest. We went to 7 different pools, each more beautiful than the last and hard to believe it was a real place at all even though we were seeing it with our own eyes. Definitely no filters needed for pics taken here!

Then Lunch: Another bloody buffet. My goodness. We are going to roll our way out of Brazil for sure. Our guide told us ‘It is illegal for anyone to have just one plate.’ Dude, you don’t need to tell us that!!!
Between the ridiculous amount of food combined with the incredible natural beauty. This might actually be our ultimate travel destination.

VIVA BRAZIL!!!