The reason for taking this trip now became apparent over the last two days. We are not in the greatest of physical condition and it can only get tougher. Sure I could lose a few pounds but it is the hips and joints from all that climbing that is killing me. And Katy is suffering as well. Maybe the altitude had something to do with it.
The Rio airport is very modern with plenty of shopping and the people watching is fantastic. It is infrequent that we hear English spoken and unlike Lima, the announcements are not repeated in English.
The women’s apparel is much more revealing in style and the TAM uniforms are skin tight tops regardless of the body shape. Obesity is not a rampant issue here at least It has not shown itself here at the airport. High heels are the norm for women.
Security issues at both Lima and here are lax in comparison to ours. The shoes stay on, laptops stay in the carry ons and liquids are not checked. Prices seem reasonable for airport food and coffee and our dollar is about 2 Reas. A Burger combo at Big Bobs’ was 13 Reas for a diet coke, double cheeseburger and fries.
WiFi is limited in the airports as are 110 Volt plugs. Battery life becomes an issue. The Acer is acting better. It may have just been moisture.
The flight to Iguassu was aboard an A 319 with 6 across seating and all coach configuration. In keeping with my philosophy of no food shots I’ll try to demonstrate the the seat pitch some other way. If a US coach seat has 30”-31” as standard, we were packed in about 28” seat pitch. The napkin across the headrest on the seat in front advertised for PriceWaterhouseCooper and there was also an ad for Fiat on the underside of the tray table. Tomorrow I’ll ad the photos.
Hot and humid is the weather forecast and air-conditioning is limited. I found it strange that the men are all in long pants.
Enzo picked us up as planned at the airport for the 40 minute trip to the Sheraton Iguassu. His English was understandable and he gave us some info about the area. Iguazzu in Brazil is 400,000+ and in Argentina about 45K. From the bridge over the river you can see 3 countries, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. We’ll check it out on the way back.
Passport troubles again in Argentina. Some fool punched a hole in Katy’s passport in the Chicago passport office. Every country asks questions and we were delayed for probably 20 minutes at the Argentina border. I guess we’ll swing by the US Embassy when we get back to Rio. It’s 1500 kilometers to Buenos Aires, so we’ll pass on that option.
The Sheraton appears first rate and we were warmly welcomed. It is the Peso here which is about $1 US for 3.5 pesos. A steak sandwich was $40 Pesos. so about $13.00 US.
We can walk to the falls from here and will spend our time on the Argentina side only. We can get up close on this side and the Brazil side has more panoramic views. We’ll take it up close and personal.
Photos tomorrow.
The Falls. As you read this we will be in the National Park on the Argentina side at Iguassu Falls and will follow up with pictures tomorrow.
PS: A hearty Thank You to Andrew a regular reader and friend. He is from Thailand and is keeping us informed on the latest political developments there. His help is greatly appreciated. I guess we could start a poll on if we should go to Thailand or not. All of you please, keep us in mind. Thanks
