Meltdown in the Tropics.
Foz Do Iguacu (photo courtesy of Roisin Allen)
When travelling in new parts of the world it is probably appropriate to lower ones’ expectations and thus avoid disappointment. It is fair to say that many parts of South America have been struggling economically for many years. Add to that, three years of Covid induced chaos and the general mood of some places is despondent at best. Homeless people are common, there are beggars in the streets and shanty towns are on the fringes of all the bigger towns. Once proud institutions are slowly falling into disrepair and there is little money to maintain them.
In this light we have been pleasantly surprised by the overall standard of the accommodation and food provided by https://compassexpeditions.com/ in most instances.
The food and drink have been awesome.
However, given that it has been five years now since this trip was last undertaken it is inevitable some things won’t always be up to scratch so when three of the last four hotels we have checked in to have been significantly below expectation some of us could no longer hide our frustration. JC was very attuned to the situation however and immediately had the problem resolved to everyone’s complete satisfaction. We cannot tell you how grateful we are to the Compass crew for the no fuss way they resolve all kinds of sticky/tricky situations.
Anyway, enough of the negative stuff, we are on the trip of a lifetime here so let’s make the most it. We are in Brazil!! We got here on a motorcycle, our own motorcycle! How cool is that?! We left Buenos Aires a couple of days ago and headed north into a whole new landscape The wide open pampas slowly gave way to a more tropical savannah, then low hills appeared, the trees got bigger and more frequent and timber milling became the predominant industry (mercifully it is plantation timber, not old growth forest). The weather got quickly hotter and much more humid and so did the riders. The towns we pass through seem a little poorer and the red volcanic soil that should give the place prosperity only serves to cover everything in a thin film of red dust/mud. On leaving our hotel one morning we are approached by a filthy street urchin no more than 6 years old trying to sell us some limes in a plastic bag. Her younger brother forlornly holds out his hand in the begging pose looking for money. Such sights are not uncommon and we often give them a few Pesos but we know handouts are not the answer. This level of entrenched poverty cannot be resolved easily and we are almost powerless to do anything. We are struck by the inequality of a world where we are wearing motorcycle gear worth more than these people earn in a year.
There are Police check points at irregular intervals on all of the main highways in SA and they never give us a second glance…. except for the one time JC is riding on his own, stuck between two very slow trucks. One officer spots his Chilean plate and pulls him over to inspect his papers. Unfortunately the bike rego is in the support truck miles away. Amazingly the “fine” just happens to be the exact amount he has in his wallet! What a coincidence….
Waiting for customs to finish their lunch.
We skirt around Uruguay and ride up a narrow peninsula of land between Paraguay and Brasil and then boom, just like that we are in the very edge of the Amazon Rainforest.
The edge of the Amazon Rainforest
In the city of Foz do Iguacu, just over the border into Brazil we immediately notice an uptick in the mood of the people. There is relative stability and prosperity. There is also one of the worlds greatest tourist attractions; the Foz do Iguacu itself, the world’s biggest waterfall. Or more correctly 263 individual falls, each of them spectacular in it’s own right.
Combined they are perhaps the most awe inspiring vision nature has to offer. We spend two days getting over, under, in and around the Foz. At it’s very heart is the Garganta Del Diablo, the Devils Throat and a more appropriate name could not be imagined. Billions of tonnes of water plunge 80m into a white hell below. The sight, the sound the sheer fury is enough to give you chills.
While all of this is going on the Compass guys have been quietly working away at a fuel problem with the support truck. Finally they are able to find perhaps the only two suitable fuel filters in all of Brasil and bingo the truck is back to it’s old self. From Foz we will be heading east to the coast for picnics on the beach, boat tours around idyllic islands, catching up with old friends for Sally and then Rio de Janeiro. It’s a tough life isn’t it?!
