Iguazu Falls Trip: Brazil (3/3)

This is the third and last post on our trip to Iguazu Falls. After brief visits to Argentina and Paraguay, we now turned to Brazil. We were actually staying in Foz do Iguaçu, but had yet to visit the parks on the Brazilian side.

First up was the Parque das Aves, or Bird Park.
Needless to say, there were TONS of birds, particularly of the tropical variety like macaws and toucans. Many were located in aviaries so you could walk among them. You could also try and touch them, but I saw a toucan bite a little kid, so you should probably keep your fingers to yourself.

A tantalizing Toco Toucan taking to the skies.

Another Toco Toucan, in a second aviary 

A Green-billed Toucan

A Golden Parakeet, preening its feathers

A Scarlet Macaw (I think, though some had a few yellow and others had a few green feathers) and unidentified green parrot

A Blue-and-Yellow Macaw

Of course, birds weren't the only attraction. You also have some reptiles:

Turtles and alligators

I also took a picture with a small boa constrictor around my neck.

The last aviary was full of macaws and parrots. Here's a very short video I made there:

After the bird park was the Iguazu Falls again, but this time on the Brazillian side. We had heard, many times, that the Brazillian side of the falls was better. After Day 1, we found that hard to believe. Surely nothing could compare to the majestic views we saw in Argentina? Well, we were proven wrong. As before, you can click on any image to see it larger. You can also see more panoramic views in this Picasa Album.

Part of the Iguazu Falls

Another part of the falls

Yet another (and really impressive) part of the falls

The Absolute Best View of the Iguazu Falls you can get. This is the view into the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). You get to see part of it from above in Argentina, but Brazil does get the better view.

I also took some videos, but these are already incorporated in the compilation video I created here:

So in the end: Brazil or Argentina? The answer is... both! You really need to see both sides of the waterfalls to appreciate the scope. As they say: in Brazil you see the falls, in Argentina you live them. This was a marvelous trip and it is probably the most magnificent place on Earth I have ever visited. Despite being often compared to Niagara Falls (which I have visited), Iguazu Falls is far more impressive. Being amidst a subtropical jungle also gives it a more natural and primal feel. If you are ever in South America for an extended time, you should definitely take a few days and visit this place. One last picture I just have to post, since it's related to astronomy:

Sunset! Venus! Jupiter! The Moon! A great shot, in my opinion, while traveling back from Foz do Iguaçu to Montevideo (hence, we are probably seeing an Argentinian city on the bottom).

The EarthSky website had an article about this alignment. If the sky had been darker, I would have also captured the Pleiades a bit beyond Venus in this picture.