Water, Water Everywhere

BEAUTIFUL AND MAJESTIC and AWE-INSPIRING...but enough about me (I mean the FAlls), I'll come back to that.

First let me fill you in on my day long excursion to get to there.

PENNY SAVED IS A DOLLAR HEADACHE

I woke up this morning after a good nights sleep in my $70 a night hotel (apparently the nicest hotel in the city (the vice-president of Paraguay is about to stay here tonight). I went downstairs to a VERY TASTY and FILLING buffet. And who should be there at a table near me...Elders Callan and Peterson and their wives. (I'm guessing regional rep and maybe a counselor, not sure). The first missionaries I've seen and they happen to be relatively big ones.

We didn't speak, they were pretty engrossed in their scrambled eggs and melons, but it did bring back memories.

So rather than fork out $100 for a taxi to the falls and back, I thought, I can do this with local buses...it will be an adventure.

That was an understatement.

I started out with a taxi ride to the local bus station here in The Eastern City, Paraguay. $15. From there, I took a bus that basically sat in a line to cross the bridge for over an hour. $1.50 While waiting for that bus to move, I asked if I could get off and look around, do some street vender shopping, and catch him further down the line. I knew I had about 45 minutes I could burn before he made it to the bridge, so that's what I did.

You know those street scenes of vendors selling everything and anything and NOTHING you want, well that was my case today. After winding through what this man found as TRASH, I found myself 30 minutes into it and all the way down the river. Trying my luck further, I thought, "why not get the border guard to stamp my visa?", so I could re-enter into Brasil with another 90 day visa.

Well, that was the plan...I'm lucky I still have my passport.

The guy at the window was basically a JERK. You can always spot them when you politely ask, "do you speak English?", and they snarl back with, "do you speak Spanish?". It wasn't pretty much downhill from there.

In the end, he agreed to stamp my visa but for a little bribe--$7o. Which later came down to $50 and then $30. I finally countered with $20, and he held firm--$30. Well, I did two, and luckily was able to grab my visa back before he held it hostage, and left. And lucky for me, just as my bus was approaching me and the bridge. I hope on and within a couple of minutes was back in Brasil. (It's a friendly border zone, so no visas needed as long as you stay within I think 30 KM from the border).

So far, I'm just up to $16.50.

Well, i think I misunderstood my directions, but was able to relay what I thought I wanted to the driver...45 minutes later I was at the Iguazu Falls Bus Terminal, only to find out I didn't want to go there...I wanted to go to the Central Bus Terminal OF Iguazu Falls, which would have cut 30 minutes off my commute.

I had to catch another bus back to the Central Bus Terminal ($1.50) and finally a bus that took me out to the Falls themselves. $1.50

Total travel time, about 3 hours. Total travel time back, About 1 1/2 hours...and another $4.50, so all together, my travel cost was $24 versus the $100 I would have used with the Taxi. And actually, figuring out the buses, and even taking a VERY LOCAL one on my last leg here (wow, that was an experience--riding in a 1940's style bus, jam packed, and me not sure where to get off, how to pay, or how to ask either in spanish.

But I made it.

IF THERE IS A GOD

Yes, if there is a God, he would have made the Falls of Iguazu. They are simply spectacular. Take Niagra falls and multiply their size and power, and scope and beauty by 10 fold. I took some pictures and will post here...but they really don't do it justice...you HAVE to see them in person. Or again, rent the film THE MISSION.

I'm SO glad I made it here...and witnessed their majesty myself. You know, about 32 years ago I almost made it here. When me and my MTC group, now in Brasil, were leaving the country after six months to renew our visas, Brasil decided they wouldn't play that game anymore with the church, and wouldn't renew them. So for a month we pretty much had a Mission vacation. We couldn't work here, because we didn't speak Spanish, and the Mission here didn't want us in their hair. So we site-saw and saw a lot of movies.

But what we wanted to do was come down from Assuncion and see the falls...and we probably could have but the Church was nervous about us crossing into Argentina...so close and yet so far away.

The Brasilians have done a good job of the site. There are some trails that actually take you out ONTO the water, where you can feel the spray and the power of the water cascading down near you, past you, and down more balls behind.

But one of the more beautiful things is that as you leave that spot, and look back, a perfect rainbow follows your every step and as move past the fall. It was very pretty.

I thought Brasil really has been my lucky pot...I found it here in Brasil this year.