LAB: The Land of Rainbows

 

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

- Genesis 9 

Iguassu Falls

Iguassu Falls are absolutely massive. There are from 100-200 waterfalls depending on the water level. It's almost a paradise. There are trees and water everywhere. It felt close to what I imagine the Garden of Eden was like.

Probably the biggest rainbow I've ever seen

Rainbows. Everywhere. The mist generated from all the waterfalls makes rainbows show up everywhere. You basically can't take a photo without one showing up. The large falls in this picture, if you look from farther away, are actually making clouds.

More Falls

It's a lot of water.

WHOOOHOO!!!

We went on a raft boat trip under some of the waterfalls. You can't really see it in the picture, but we are getting pummeled with water. It was said by the local indigenous tribes that going under the falls could have a purifying and healing effect. So what'd I do? Obviously, I put my arms up to receive the waterfall's power! It was probably my favorite thing we did in Brazil.

It's not a real pineapple, but it counts

Itaipu Binacional

After the falls, we made our way to the Barragem de Itaipu (Itaipu Dam). Itaipu Binacional is a 50/50 owned company between Brazil and Paraguay. The dam was created as a source of hydroelectric power; it supplies 17% of Brazil's electricity (enough for about 30 million people). 

Barragem de Itaipu

The dam is massive. There are 20 white tubes that allow the water to pass through the turbine and each one is equal to about half the water passing through Iguassu's largest waterfall.

We crossed the dam, so we technically went into Paraguay for a few minutes.

Meeting of the Three Borders

The three lands in this photo are Argentina on the left, Paraguay on the right, and Brazil on the bottom. The building was a meeting place for commerce and political leaders between the three countries. It was abandoned by the government because they realized it would be to easy to have a sniper shoot from any of the three countries. 

Chocolate and strawberry crepe with tapioca batter

It's been a while since I've had a crepe so I tried out this Brazilian one. Tapioca is made from the mandioca root which is very popular in Latin America. It was cool to try, but still not as good as my mom's :/

Ballet: A Lenda das Cataratas

At the meeting of the three borders we got to see a two hour dance show. The photo is of a ballet telling the story of the legend behind the Iguassu Falls.

Many of the early civilizations in the Americas would sacrifice women and children in hopes that the gods would bless the people with fertility and new life. The legend goes that the most beautiful woman in the tribe was set to be sacrificed, but a man from another tribe loved her. She decided to run away before she was sacrificed so she got in a canoe with her lover. 

The snake god was to receive the sacrificed woman and was offended when she decided to runaway. As the couple reached halfway across the river, the god rose up as a giant snake and raised the river. The woman at the top of the falls was turned into a palm tree and the man at the bottom was turned into a rock. Thus, they could never be together.
I can imagine the tribal elders threatening little tribal girls to be good or else they would be turned into palm trees 😂. And the little boys would be turned into rocks.

European Waltz

Similar to the wealthy barons in Manaus, most wealthy people in Brazil wanted to imitate the European culture.

Three Countries, One show

There were maybe 15 types of dance from three country's culture. We saw tap, ballroom, latin, slave, and everything in-between. There was one dance couple that were basically flying across the patio. I was in shock as I watched this woman in high heels speed step with her partner.

Weird Cylinder in Rio de Janeiro Airport

The airport in Rio had tons of these metal hollow cylinders all over the terminal. They have nothing in then and are about 12 ft tall. My google image search returned 2 results, neither of which explained what they are or their purpose. 

If you happen to know what these are, feel free to let me know in the comments👌.

Don't step on the toilet! 

In case anyone was wondering, there's no squatting on the toilets. I actually had several bathroom pics to choose from, but this one made me laugh the most.

Also, in case you didn't know, many places in Latin America do not flush toilet paper, but use a wastebasket instead. It's not my favorite thing.