Hotel Bender
Hotel Bender was run by a lovely older couple. As well as being a hotel, they ran a small mini type market next to the reception area. During breakfast we decided we should see what the had to offer. Dennis persuaded the wife to make us up a big kilo pot of natural yogurt. We also purchased cheese and lard! Yes, you read it right, lard. Apparently, now it is good for you! It is heated vegetable oils that aren’t good for you?
It was a very pleasant drive this morning. Small roads through agriculture (now nothing but maize as far as you can see) and small, neat towns. We did see a small amount of tobacco being grown.
Itaipu Dam
Once again we needed to shop for food. We found a large supermarket with undercover parking for Poki. It was another very hot day. I thought after shopping we could drive to the Itaipu Dam. It is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná river, located on the borders of Brazil and Paraguay and is jointly owned by the two countries. It is the third largest dam in the world, after the Three Gorges and Baihetan dams, both in China. It is the second largest producer of electricity, though.
Visiting this supermarket was a big mistake. It was busy and there were few checkouts manned. Plus everyone seems to do a monster shop. The trolleys are huge and most families seem to load them as high as possible. We were in the checkout queue for over an hour.
While we were queuing we talked to a gentleman next to us in the queue. He said he thought the dam wasn’t open to visitors on Sunday. I checked on Google, which said it closed at 4pm. It was already 2pm so we decided to visit the dam at another time.
Camping?
I had looked for a hotel in Foz do Iguacu on Booking.com. Everything was expensive. At least three times the price we have been paying. We thought about camping, as there are several camp sites and Dennis had checked tonight’s temperature, which was supposed to fall to 24 degrees.
We arrived at the camp we had chosen to find the gate closed. I tried calling and texting to no avail. It was very hot and we hadn’t had lunch, so we found a shady tree, had lunch and thought about what to do next.
We decided against camping and went to look for one of the cheapest hotels on Booking.com. It didn’t look very promising but there were several other, smarter hotels nearby. I tried two of them, only to be told they were fully booked. This seemed a bit of a concern. We set off to find another, which Booking.com said had rooms. Turning around, there was yet another property. There is no shortage of hotels here.
This time Dennis went to check it out and came back feeling very pleased with himself. Not only did they have a room, it was only 180 Reals, including breakfast and it had a swimming pool. So, we checked in and soon headed for the pool to cool down.
Tour to see the Falls
Back in our room, I set about organising a tour for tomorrow. We’re now being picked up at 7am for a tour to both the Brazilian and the Argentinian sides of the falls. It is easier than taking Poki across the border. It is an all day tour with an English speaking guide.
When we leave here we will cross into Paraguay. Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay all meet here. There is a Three Borders Marker in Foz do Iguacu where you can stand at the unique meeting point between the three countries. As the Iguazu River flows down from the Iguacu Falls it converges with the Parana River to form one of only a few places in the world where two rivers create a border between three nations.
Not much photography today, I’m afraid. Hopefully, there will be more tomorrow.
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Don’t want to be picky, but is this a tour of Brazilian hotels or an outdoor adventure like in ‘Boys Own’ where you rough it. You know, sleeping under the stars and all that? What you need bro, is a bit of good old aussie ‘roll out the swag’ and to hell with the snakes, or tarantatula’s or whatever. And, who told you that 37c is hot? Harden up that man, well you know what I mean.
Jeez…you are tough on an old bloke..:) Now what’s all this about hotels when you have one in tow! Don’t worry about picking up bowls trophies, just hit the trail and keep us posted..:)
Touche. Was just going to comment on my towing a hotel behind me. Agree with your thoughts re departure time, but might just keep an eye on expected heavy rain in our travel direction. A possible result of tropical cyclone about to hit S E Queensland, then travel down. We are ready to go.