I`m not going to your hotel!

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Day 77: Foz de Igauzu, Brazil

Some people just don`t take rejection well. This guy was one of those people. In fact, he was so bad at taking rejection, he came within literally 2 inches of being smashed by the front of an indifferent city bus.

He was trying to sell us a room at a hotel he worked for, one far too expensive for us we found out, after politely listening to his spiel. We told him no thanks, we couldn´t afford his place and went on our way. But no, that just wouldn`t do. He shouted after us again something about a “dormitorio“ so we stopped briefly to hear the price and info. Still way out of our price range so we said thanks but no thanks again and were on our way. And that just didn`t sit well with this guy. He marched down the street after us, yelling prices and amenities calling us “amigo“ and telling us his name over and over again so we would go see the room and he would get a comission for selling it to us. He tried to take us across the street and kept pestering us. Our patience and politeness had worn thin. “We are not going to look at the room. We do not want it. Stop following us and go sell it to someone else. We don`t want it!!“ Saben firmly told him. The guy looked at him and said “Amigo, I`m trying to give you good deal, amigo. Come on now, amigo.“ But we would have no more of it and crossed the street into traffic that would separate us from this crazy tout. We no more than stepped onto the opposing curb when we saw the guy running after us. What was he thinking?! He didn`t say anything more but just followed us for several blocks til we ducked into a bakery for some breakfast. When we came back out he was nowhere to be seen. Whew. Having just stepped off a ridiculously unpleasant knee-crushing night bus, we were in no mood for crazy shananigans.

After coming out of the bakery, a sweet skinny stray dog looked up at us longingly and pranced happily behind us for several minutes. Anytime one of us would turn around to see if she was still there, she would stop dead in her tracks looking like we might yell or kick her at any second. She was frozen, just waiting to see what we would do. Of course, we didn`t mind but we didn`t have anything to give her besides company while we walked around the city trying to find accommodation for the night. When we disappeared inside a building, she would wait patiently outside until we reappeared and continue prancing along with us until we stopped at another hostel.

Finally we left her waiting a long time outside, having found ourselves a nice cheap place to stay. Desperately needing a shower and hoping to get to the falls today, we unpacked and got ready to leave. The receptionist pleasantly informed us that we needed to take the bus called “Aeropuerto“ (3 Brazilian Reals)and get off at the last stop, after the airport. The ride was 20-30 minutes and pretty crowded since many people and their large suitcases where heading to the airport.

At the last stop, the bus pulled up in front of the park entrance building where we bought our tickets (no student discount or anything…ouch!). The guards shooed us through the gate and onto a double decker shuttle bus. Once fully loaded, we pulled away listening to the ridiculous sounds of recorded birds and monkeys on the bus speakers. The ride was pleasant on the top airy deck but the recorded animal sounds and bilingual recorded tour guide was pretty cheesey.

(Note: the bus stops several times at various parts of the trail; you can check the map from the ticket office before you board the bus to decide where you want to get off). We spent 3 hours roaming the park, snapping photos of the gorgeous falls and the hungry coatimudis that swarmed the trail in search of food from tourists.

Coati in the park

There are so many butterflies everywhere in the park and near the falls of every imaginable color. Overlooking the lush greenest of green foliage surrounding the walkways, the falls roared and glistened under the hot sun. The air felt cool with the mist and spray floating from the rushing water. We came to the end of the walkway and stood, mesmerized under the spell of the twinkling water droplets. Truly an awesome sight.