The Iguaçu Falls

Day: 98
Temp: 21
Location: Argentina, Puerto Iguacu

As Catararas do Iguacu (Iguazu in Spanish) are the most overwhelming and spectacular waterfalls in South America. They consist of a sub tropical rainforest park covering 170,000 ha, 275 separate falls, a 28-km gorge and bridges connecting the Brazilian city of Foz de Iguaçu with the Argentine town of Puerto Iguacu and the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este. And if that doesn't wet your taste buds enough. There's plenty more on offer :a daily deluge of international snap-happy tourists, camouflaged ornithologists, ground breaking scientists, friendly raccoons, white ear opossums and poisonous red and black heliconius butterflies, five members of the toucan family, black-capped screech owls, shy jaguars and fearsome pumas, yellow-billed cardinals, red-crested finches and a whole load of other land, water and air creatures which would probably need a National Geographic, Lonely Planet or British Encyclopedia to name.

The Falls are a fifteen hour bus journey or a one and a half hour flight from Sao Paulo. Myself and my recently arrived good friend Una Kearns went for the latter and more comfortable option. The flight landed us on the Brazilian side of the falls (around 80% of the falls lie in Argentina, but there are national parks on both sides). We decided to make our way straight to the park at 4pm in the evening to take in as much of the park as we could before it closed at 6pm. Fortunately, it was more than enough time to take the 2km trek to see the sites. Afterwards, we got out passports stamped and went across the border to the highly recommended Holiday Inn hostel. Without doubt, the coolest hostel i`ve ever been in. Huge. With really friendly, informative staff, excellent food and a brilliantly designed reception area including pool tables, hanging chair hammocks, countless books, giant couches and unsually carved towering wooden chairs(watched Zidane and co drop a few tears in their European Cup and had a couple of the local beers while there).

Day 2 was a full day which started off at 12am with the excellent safaris adventuras tour company and a 8km jungle tour which brought us along the edge of the park and into the rain forest. The excellent trilingual guide warned us to take care not to be stung by the giant acidic innocuous looking netal leafs that cover the forest floor and hypnotised us when teaching us about the very tasty heart of the palm fruit tree, which takes six years to ripen before being ready to be eaten (the plant is a protected specious in Argentina but not in Brazil, were it grows more freely). Next we caught a speed boat with twenty others tourists taking a 2km ride along the Iguazu river and into the rapids. The boat journey was fast and furious and brought us through a valley with scores of various sized waterfalls on each side of us which seemed to playfully join in the singing of the boats engines and peoples screams. The river then split into a fork and we got a glimpse from the river base of the awesome Guarganta del Diablo (Devil`s Throat, have a look at the link above and snaps). This is a jaw drop, must see, spectacle. Viewed from below, the rolling, thundering, crashing water is truly beautiful in a setting of orchids, ferns and palms. And incredibly, above the impact of the water, upon basalt rock formations hangs a 30m pall of clouds and mist which makes it impossible to see the base of the falls. In comparison, the Niagara Falls look like a piddle Eusebius or Brutos would take on the side of the road. A true beast of nature. To be respected, revered and marvelled at. Extremely aggressive, frighteningly powerful. There was no chance of going up to see it by boat. Far too dangerous. The only way to look at in the face was afterwards from the top of the park. On the other side of the fork in the river was a paradisiacal enclave spectacle with a colasseum of over twenty waterfalls and one other stand alone monster, the second most powerful fall in the park, called San Martin. This was the one accessible by boat. Thankfully, we were blessed to have a rainbow at the periphery of the plummeting water. And our captain was bold enough to take us into it and drench us. I've never been inside a rainbow before. It felt like I was being baptised for the second time. It is something I will not forget for a long time. Hopefully, the camcorder footage I managed to perilously sneak in will do it justice on screen. After a good old soaking we climbed a little up the side of a cliff and took a really small wodden train to the top of the park to get a better glimpse of the Devil. From the top, standing out on a man made platform, in my opinion, the view was better than from the base of the river. It's kind of funny when you see it. When you look to the right of the fall you have a pond like river with hardly a ripple in it. Looks like a place you could row a little one man boat, chill out, hang a line over board, take a nap and wait for your catch, a couple of hundred feet away is one of the most powerful waterfalls on the planet. If you go over the top of this one there simply is no coming back.We spent 6 hours on the Argentinean side. More than enough.

The experience in the park can be easily taken in one and a half days. For us we spent half a day on the Brazilian side of the falls and the second on the Argentinean. Overall, the Falls are very impressive and highly recommended. A quick in and out is definitely worth the trip.

Next stop the marsh wetlands of the Panthanel!

The Competition Has Begun: Daisy Chain Lost-Monday

Location: Sao Paulo
Temp: 28

Today Eusebius walked up to me, handed me a jar full of daisies and a piece of toilet paper with a big long web address on it in blue ink. Ì`ve put it up here for you to look at: Monday

http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/bc/40578f0f_af21/bc/Daisy+Chain+Lost+Script/
Daisy+Chain+Lost+Monday.doc?bfvbK2AB5TZBS4CE

He then told me that he had by and large finished his script but needed a few more days before he handed up the whole thing. He needs the days to fine tune a few bits and pieces. Not sure what exactly, he didn’t say. He pointed to the crumpled piece of paper and said that what he had given me was simply the first instalment. He knows that I have never read a screenplay before so he gave me the quickest tutorial known to man on what to watch out for. As best I can remember it went something like this:

“First and foremost Master remember that reading a screenplay is completely different to reading a Keats poem, a Casey play, a Crichton book, Beano, Buster, Dandy or that awful Sunday Independent you seem to have time for. It’s all about the big screen. It’s TV. It’s film. Its popcorn and coke. Its wine gums and ice cream. You know what I mean? Stop me if you’re loosing me. It’s a form of writing designed specifically for the camera, the director, for the actor……. Why are you looking at me like that?........ Alright, you got me, i agree, the scriptwriter does part of the directing. I’ll give you that, fair enough, BUT, and don’t make this mistake, because it’s a common one, how the text comes to the screen is the job of the director: artistic responsibility. My job is: plot, character, dialogue, structure, exposition.

When reading bear this in mind please, it’s important. When you read it you are afforded the privilege of being all these people rolled into one. To a large degree you decide on the setting, the look, the feel. There’s more, I’m tired so I’ll keep this short, if you want me to elaborate or recommend some web sites or books send me a mail and I’ll sort you out. Right, lead on MacDuff and damn be him who first cry hold enough. Sorry about that, artistic license. Here are a few other things you have to know:

1.The industry standard is Courier, 10pt font. I’ve used it.
2.Scripts are in the active tense. You don’t say he went, he got, he will get, he used to get. It’s all about describing what you see in the NOW, THE PRESENT, e.g we see Mr x getting, Mr x lifts up an axe and swings it violently at the poodle, Mr x is wearing nothing but a ripped pair of Speedos two sizes to small for him. Get it! Good. It’s all about describing what is on the screen NOW. Want me to say that again. It’s all about describing what is on the screen………N…..
3.At the start of scenes you see in capitals INT. or EXT. This means the scene is being conducted internally, maybe inside a room or hallway. EXT. means that the scene is external, maybe in a field or on a road. Usually followed after these terms is a little more detail where the scene is happening and whether it is day or night. Or occasionally what time it is.
4.If you see in brackets letters like V.O that means voice over. Remember Mike Hammer, or that other detective that looked like Hammer, but had a flash wheels and lived on a cool beach, MAGNUM PI I think was his name, yeah; okay you should have it now.
5.The odd time you’ll come with camera terms like, FADE TO, CUT TO, DOLLY PASS, PAN THROUGH. These aren’t scientific notations on the guiding system for a Scud missile. There simple terms that are largely self explanatory. Just think of the camera moving slowly, focusing in, pulling back, or switching to a new scene.
6.There usually is a title sequence like you see in the flicks. I’ve gone for a montage or a serious of images. I think they work. But you can be the judge of that. I was going to select music as well but on this occasion decided not to. You can do that yourself if you want.
7.The first time a character appears in a script he is in capitals and then he usually goes to lower case. If words are in capitals it usually means the camera is zooming in on it. I do it most of the time. It's hard to keep track of sometimes. If I make the odd mistake, please let me know.

Okay, I think that’s it. I can’t remember anything else. I pulled a Kerouac on it i.e. without the stimulants. I’m tired, or as some of the other dogs down here would growl: eu estou com muinto sono. I’ve been at it now non stop for three weeks. I’m pretty slow at this thing but I’m nearly there. Will take a few days off and then get back to the last bits and pieces. On yeah, you’re supposed to finish the sentence of a passage of dialogue for an actor on the same page. If you need to continue on the next page you should write (cont’d). I haven’t bothered with it but that’s alright it’s not as if it’s going to be landing on an agents table or anything.”

That was kind of it. Before he left he simply said, “Okay, got to go get some kip in the kennel Master. You can kill the puppy now.” He looked really tired. I reckon he’s going to sleep for at least two days. He’s got my ears cocked though. That bulldog is smarter than Eusebius thought. Well, we’ll see. I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve read the full piece. Think I’ll have a little peak at it now though. My eyes are kind of itchy for some reason and my fingers feel a little twitchy!!!

Campos do Jordão

Just back in Sao Paulo after four action packed days in mountains of Campos do Jordão. The Paulistians do a strange thing this time of year. During the June bank holiday they converge in their thousands on a small mountain village 3 hours away by car ride. The village looks like something straight out of a Swiss ski resort. With the exceptions of snow and ski slopes they have the rest. Everyone goes around as if its Christmas eve. The trees are adorned in lights, everyone has a heavy coat on, and the majority of people are wearing scarfs and gloves. It`s kind of strange to see it in Brazil It`s not exactly something you hear a lot about. I had the pleasure of staying for 4 days with 20 lunatics in a lodge that was set beside a river on the side of a forested mountain. Most of the days were spent eating excellent food (stroganoof and the quintessential Brazilian, pacanha barbecue being my favourite); sitting out in a grassy expanse talking and relaxing, and, mostly, dancing, drinking and jumping up and down inside the big cabin to the eccletic beats of our resident DJ, NASDAQ (AKA Aconcanda). This was the longest period of time I`ve spend talking nearly completely Portuguese. It was a great help for me. After almost 3 months its now beginning to sink in a little. As ever I spoke much better with a healthy helping of cerveja in the stomach.

This week so far has been quiet, and presently working on my itinery for the next two months of traveling. As of this Wednesdaymy good friend Una is coming down to join the vagabond and the dogs for a spot of rambling. First stop will be the Falls the Iguacu, after checking them out from the Brazilian and Argentinean side we'll head to the swamp lands of The Panthanel to check out the wide variety of wild life and fauna. From there the one i`m looking forward to, a six hour flight to beach city of Natal in the extreme North East. Will spend a week there before taking another flight to Salvador and then a road trip, picking off little beaches before heading back to Rio, and then Sao Paulo, to meet my good mates Kevin and Jim who are coming down on the 15th of July. Will spend four days in Sao Paulo with them before we hit Rio for four days, probably Natal again and then onto Fortaleza for a week or so. Well that's the plan so far. I`m spending a lot of time at the moment checking out hotels, posadas (B&Bs) and hotels. Also i`m trying to get myself a Brazilian airpass for about 7/8 flights but its seems to be impossible. Everywhere i`ve tried has come up blank. It seems to be that you can only buy the tickets from abroad, but only when your not in Brazil. Strange system. They need a Ryan Air down here big time......

Gotta run, trying to keep an eye on the European Championships. Everyone down here keeps asking me why Ireland aren`t in them. I keep shaking my head and reciting the sleeping giants analogy.

I`ve put up some of the photos for you to check out. Also took a lot of camcorder footage but as of yet haven`t been able to find a free streaming server that can host the footage for me. Will keep working on it. If anyone else has any experience of this type of thing let me know.

Is Thor a bad influence on Eusebius?

Day: 76
Location: Sao Paulo
Temp: 24
Book: Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck

I haven't mentioned the dogs for a while. Thankfully, the peace is still in tact. Despite the fact that I did see Brutos bark angrily a few times at Eusebius when he told him he had forgot to bring a torch and candles on the recent Diamond Highlands hike. Brutos forgot to bring toilet paper so Eusebius got the opportunity to do a little barking of his own. That was it. Evens. I asked Brutos how his writing has been going for the competition. Unsuprisingly, he didn't give much away. He told me that the Q;A;Z keys on his laptop were not working so he has being using the /;[;] symbols instead and then hitting edit>replace to sort it out. Bit of a pain but so be it. I know he's been working hard on it though. He's taking the thing very serious. I'm very surprised. Wonder what he's going to come up with?? I've never read a screenplay before so it will be interesting just looking at the format, even if the story isn't the best. Crazy dog, could be about anything!! Eusebius on the other hand doesn't seem to be doing any preparation for the competition. I'm sensing a small bit of arrogance coming from him. He's keeping his writing all on the Q.T. I'm constantly seeing Brutos reading or writing, but Eusebius, never. Maybe, he's been writing it at night. It's kind of ironic though, ever since they agreed to compete he's become more like Brutos. He's been hanging around with a pack of Brazilian dogs that have been taking him out drinking and partying constantly. One of his mates is a dog called "Thor", by all accounts he is absolutely bonkers and a great dog for the bitches. Supposedly, the complete party animal. A purported magician on the social scene. He seems to be Zinedine Zindane of fun, a nine dan black belt in love, with an unparalleled genius for conjuring up parties in the dullest of kennels. He's also got the special power to get other dogs to come to these gatherings at all hours of the night. Consequently, for the first time in years Eusebius seems to be lightening up. Paradoxically, while Brutos is still doing his fair share of going out. He's not doing as much as he did at the start. He seems to be reading loads, from a wide range of writers, and on a eclectic range of topics, in particular, he seems to be reading a lot of Kerouac and Bewskosky. He's also playing around with poetry; I caught him reading the Windhover by Gerald Manley Hopkins, but he's denying it, and he's constantly carrying around a jar of daisies with him. He won't let it out of his sight. Even when he's eating he has it around him. He also is buying pens off all the poor people selling them on the streets. I saw him bury some of them yesterday near a bus shelter. He's kind of becoming more like Eusebius with everyday. Not too sure when they are going to get me their respective pieces of work but I'm kind of looking forward to them now. I hope they explain their curios changes in personality these last few weeks.

On another note, had my friend Ben, his brother Dan and their traveling amigeo Forest in Sao Paulo for the last few days. To all, the vagabond salutes you and wishes you well on your travels.

Also the Vagabond has taken up new residence in a cool part of town called Perdizes, Rue Apiacas, 720, Apt 24. I'm sharing a two bedroom apartment with a lovely woman called Frida. Hopefully, the days there will be good. I think she doesn't mind the dogs. There on their best behaviour at the moment so all is well. A big thank you to the very warm and generous Marcel for putting up with us the last couple of months. With heads bowed, silent barks, v shaped fingers and paws in the air, and chest banging: we salute you.

Chapada Diamantina (The Diamond Highlands)

I’m just back from an action packed week of hiking in the National Park of Chapada Diamantina, or the Diamond Highlands as they are known in English. It was the best experience I’ve had on my travels to date.

The Diamond Highlands are located in the very centre of Bahia State, about four hundred kilometres from Salvador. They are famous for their raw beauty and for the huge reserves of diamonds and gold that they possessed (most mining has stopped now days). The park spreads for fifteen thousand squared miles, is larger than Holland or Belgium, and is more of a high plateau, averaging about thousand meters, than a true mountain range. It took a 2.5 hour flight from Sao Paulo to Salvador and then another one hour flight on a tiny jet plane to get to our pousada (or B&B), in the village of Lencois. The landscape in the area is one of rolling mountains (consisting of a variety of geologies but mainly limestone), deep valleys completely covered in trees, scrubs, flowers, open high plains and shady canyons. Intertwined with these sculptured rocks and grasslands are almost uncountable clean, cold, drinkable mountain streams, spectacular waterfalls, and deep natural swimming pools, two of which I had the pleasure of swimming in, in my birthday suit. To add to this you have a wide variety of animals that roam the landscape. Unfortunately, the number of species is smaller than it was before the miners came and started hunting but none the less it’s still impressive. The list ranges from black howler monkies, collared anteaters, yellow armadillos and vampire bats to caimans, rattlesnakes, boa constrictors and a wide variety of rodents, foxes and lizards. There are 250 species of birds and God knows how many different types of butterflies, snails, spiders and mosquitoes, some of which had the pleasure of feeding on mine and the dogs’ blood. And rumour has it that there is still the odd jaguar roaming the highlands and attacking some of the local farmer’s deers and cows. While on this trip I didn’t have the chance to see it I did however get to see some of the rare tiny, red, daisy, inconspicuous looking delicate flowers that are carnivorous.

To try describe in complete and utter detail the things I saw, did and experienced in Chapada would take too much time and would be absurd. Almost as absurd as two Nobel laureates meeting for the first time over lunch and having nothing to talk about. Or as absurd as being introduced to every grain of sand on a beach, by name, by the ocean, and then been asked to repeat their names in order. There is simply too much. As such, I’ll give you the truncated version.

The first day in Lencois was spent going to two caves that had blue lagoon water inside. It took a little bit of effort to descend into the caverns but it was worth it. Especially, the second one where we all had an opportunity to do a little snorkelling. Day 2 I set off with my good friend Carlos on a two night three day hike to the 360m free falling waterfall of Fumasa. The hike covered 24km of a wide variety of terrain and was very much like the experience I had a few years ago when trekking to Machu pichu. The group I set off with consisted of 5 people. Lucia, our excellent guide and cook. Myself and Carlos. And a Swiss couple, Bengy and Carolina. Great company. Most of the days consisted of walking and climbing with constant stops for short water breaks, food and photos. We woke at 7am and went to sleep at 8pm under a blanket of the brightest, clearest, most resplendent stars I have ever seen. On the hike we got an opportunity to see some wild fruit, a nest of bees that produce a rare wax like municipal substance called proion, wild orchids, five foot snakes the name of which I can’t remember and small nimble frightening looking spiders that design intricate web systems. Beautiful. Wild. Different. On the last day after tentatively peering over the edge of the cliff to see the waterfall’s cascading turret I descended bare foot down the mountain with my guide for 7km through, mud, water, forest, grass and rock. My knees were shaking when I got to the end and amazingly I managed not to cut or scrap myself. I’ve never felt the souls of my feet so alive in all my life. Highly recommended. Day 5 was spent taking another trek but this time it wasn’t on land. It was a 2.5 hour 4km trek into a cave system called, Torrinha, or little tower. Inside there was an exceptional collection of exotic limestone formations consisting of thousands and thousands of strange looking stalactites and stalagmites. Only 3 of us went inside. Myself, my friend Lincoln, and our guide. To see we had a gas lamp that shun about 8 feet, the rest was pitch black hole black. It was a strange experience. I’ve never gone for so long, so deep, under ground. It was a strange feeling. At one point the guide turned off the light and we stayed silent for a minute in a chamber 85 meters below the surface. It was a surreal sensation. Clostaphobic. Black. Silent. Cold. Alien. Also, during that day we got the chance to swim in a near by cave again. This time a dark cave pregnant with a multitude of fish. We had the use of underwater torches so we got the opportunity to startle a few fish and crabs with the lights as they tried to go about their everyday lives. The last day consisted of a trip to the famous Pai Inacio mountain to take in the crimson sun set beside the huge metal cross at the peak. The view from the top was majestic. And the vegetation on the rocky peak was a natural garden of orchids, bromeliads, cactus, and lots of other local beauties you’ve never seen or even heard of.

Overall a welcome break from the urban jungle and a brief but unforgettable glimpse into some of the beauty of the interior of Brazil.

PS:I've put some photos up in my Brazilian folder if you want to check them out.