I wrote a bit about the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls in another post, but quite frankly I'm allowing myself to post a separate entry, because I was in Brazil for a short time, even if I don't have a passport stamp, and it's worth celebrating.
I don't know if it's all the yellow football tops, big smiles, or skimpy clothing, or if indeed it was all in my head, but Brazil did feel different, sexier, hotter, steamier, than anywhere else I'd been in South America. One thing's certainly different: the idioma. Portugese is spoken here, so all the signs and posters have subtle but confusing differences, like using 'e' instead of 'y' (both meaning 'and'). I'd planned to spend a bit longer in Brazil, going to Rio and the beaches, but eventually I couldn't get the flight sorted, so it'll have to wait. I've since heard pretty negative things about the place, the cities at least, but you can never tell until you get there.
Anyway. We were there for the Falls, and went to the visitor centre, a splendid edifice, very posh, a bit pricey, and very cool. They're employed a seriously talented graphic artist to spruce the place up, and now the open-top buses are resplendant with stylised beasts - butterflies, coatis, toucans, monkeys - animals that you can find all around you as you walk through the lush jungle. The coatis are brilliant things, a cross between a cat and a raccoon, they sniff at your lunch and threaten cutely.
It's also very commercial, of course. You can ride jetboats, you can get an amphibious vehicle intop the water, you can hike and trek. We did none of these. Instead, we just gaped in awe at the falls. And gaped some more. And then wandered into the visitor centre and I thought, fuck it, even if I'm not here for long I'm sending some postcards from Brazil. And I'm going to buy myself something.
If anyone can tell me of a better souvenir from Brazil than a pair of gaudy green-and-yellow flip-flops with Ronaldinho's number 10 shirt printed on them, I'll eat a coati.
No comments:
Post a Comment