We arrived in Foz do Iguacu (Iguassu Falls) from the night bus a little bleary eyed and after a quick check-in to the hotel we were staying at, which turned out to be full, so we moved across the street to another one (much shabbier), we headed to the Falls. The largest in the world they have 285 falls, covering 3km and are an incredible site. Having been to Niagara, which I thought was impressive this place dwarfs it and is wildly majestic. The first day we visited the Brazilian side, which enables you to take in the beauty of the falls and appreciate its vast size. The walkways follow the river in the rainforest and pop out every so often to a different view and take on the falls, and you spot something new each time. There is a lot of animals around, including lizards and Quito, racoon type creatures, that hardly notive you as they sniff around with their long brown noses along the pathway.

On the Argentinian side, which we visited the next day (and we even get a stamp in our passports!) you get appreciate the power of the falls . It enables you greater access to the water, metal walkways take you over the upper river right to the very edge of the Devil´s throat. As you walk an older, very damaged walkway can be seen, which was apprently mostly washed away during a storm in 1992. The pathways are very busy wioth tourists and school children and you can hardly believe you are allowed to get right to the edge.  I am sure there must be a few suicides there, as it would be pretty easy to fall in. The spray from the falls is huge too and you have to be careful with cameras, you get totally drenched but it is more than worth it - you are at the largest waterfalls in the world!

After a lovely walk though other parts of the falls, the walkways turn and pass through lots of other areas, each more enchanting then the next, we head down to pick up a speed boat to take us into the falls themselves. Julie was frightened to death when it took off like a rocket, swinging and sliding through the white water, drenching everything in site and we hadn´t even made it to the falls yet . A thunderstorm was brewing in the distance as we moved in close to the falls. The sound and the power of the water is overwhelming and really quite hairy, we were just feet from where the falls were landing and the spray blinded you, people screamed, others swore in enjoyment. It was intense, Julie was gripping the chair in front like she was on a theme park ride. We dodged back and forth a few times, the violence of the falls trying to catch us out. A fantastic experience. The heavens opened on our way back but we didn´t care, we were already as wetas we could possible get.

The following day we headed into Paraguay for a spot of shoping for the afternoon. Three days and three different countries, although this time we didn´t stop for a stamp at the border, more of a covert visit. The place was crazy, it was so dusty and polluted. The city was packed with people, buses and cars, and there were no traffic lights, a total free for all. It is like Delhi but without the random cows that roam around in the central reservations . In the town there seemed to be five types of shops and market stalls: electrics (and there were hundreds of these selling all the latest stuff - flat screens, ipods, tom toms), underwear market shops (again a lot of them and some didn´t leave much to the imagination), DVD shops (rip-offs), Blanket stores (despite the heat) and pharmacies. There was many people selling football shirts and shavers out of hand, the shaving guys kept trying to give me a demonstration on my face and arm, perhaps they were trying to tell me something.

The shops were all a bit random as well, one pharmacy also sold snooker cues and one of the electric shops sold guns and catapults too, all strange, pretty much every shop also sold Pringles too.... I am sure there is a heck of a lot more to Paraguay and it was funny to spend a few hours there.