Iguazu Falls

I have always wanted to see Iguazu Falls and another dream as come true!

We got Friday off for Thanksgiving so my friend Susan and I headed off to the falls.  We flew in the morning and went straight to the national park (they had lockers to keep our luggage) and we hiked to see the falls.  We had gorgeous views and it was a magnificent warm, sunny day.

This is the calm water right before it hits the falls

Rainbow!!!

At the end of the day, we went to bird park that is near the entrance.  We saw so many cool birds! 

We took the bus across the Argentina border and stayed at a great hotel - Loi Suites (we got a great deal!) and it was super lovely.

everything blended in with the environment

bridge to our room

lobby

hiking trails at the hotel

Saturday's weather was not great - pouring, thunder, lighting.  It was miserable.  I was fortunate to have a plastic poncho so I didn't get completely soaked like Susan did.  Sadly we weren't able to much of the falls at Devil's Throat due to the weather.

The weather let up later in the day and we got to hike and see some great falls.

We headed back over to Brazil on Sunday.  It was a nice quick trip and the falls were spectacular!!!!

Ouro Preto

We had a 4 day weekend and Carrie and I decided to go to Ouro Preto - a mining town in the state of Minas Gerais.  My first time out of the state of Sao Paulo!  and my first student free trip out of the city of Sao Paulo.

Carrie and I went to the airport separately and that is where I realised my cell phone had been cut off so I couldn't communicate with her.  I managed to navigate the airport by myself and we took the very short flight to Belo Horizonte.  It cost about $4 to take a bus 45 minutes to a big bus station and then we took a $20 bus two hours to Ouro Preto.  During our bus ticket buying, I realised my debit card no longer worked!!! Thank goodness I was not alone!  I had no money and couldn't use my phone for Uber, directions, or Google translate!

Successfully on the bus!!

Our Pousada (Mirante) was really cute and about a 10 minute walk into the sites.  It was right next to a Favela so it was loud, but it didn't feel dangerous. We spent a lot of time Thursday afternoon walking around the town and getting the lay of the land. The town was super cute with really steep cobble stone streets. I will put a lot more pictures on Facebook.

We went to Mino do Chico Rei - they gave us a helmet and let us go in the mine/caves by ourselves!

Ouro Preto is known for its churches and museums so we spend all day Friday exploring.  It was interesting that almost all of the churches were the same shape and similar inside.  Unfortunately, we could only take pictures in one church, it will give you an idea of what the others looked like.

Igreja de São Francisco de Assis

Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Brancos

Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Brancos

Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Brancos The alters in every church looked like this.  There is an inner alter with carvings etc. 

Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Brancos

Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Brancos

We went to several museums and the Museu Do Oratorio was pretty interesting. There were tons of mini alters that people had in their homes or carried around.  Some of them were hundreds of years old.

Museu Do Oratorio

Museu Do Oratorio

Museu Do Oratorio

Museu Do Oratorio

On Saturday, we went to parque das Andorinhas which has a lot of waterfalls (Cashoeiras), rock formations and trees.  It was a beautiful (although hot) day and we really enjoyed the quietness of the place.

I didn't go down here, but Carrie said it was like the Goonies!

It was a great first experience traveling in Brazil.  I know that although it can be a struggle at times, I CAN navigate the airport etc. by myself.  I got to see a state that is very different than mine, the food is amazing, and eventually my cell phone and debit card problems got solved!