The Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls was at least as impressive as the Argentinian one and staying in Foz do Iguazu already gave as an idea of the wildness we would encounter in Brazil: a stunning variety of people and animals - some friendly and tame, others dangerous and wild.
Thus we waited for more than two hours (instead of 20 minutes) for our bus at the Brazilian border and we ended up living in a neighbourhood of houses surrounded by high walls and electric fences (apparently they fear each other more than we do). However, we dared to leave our fort and once again explored the beauty of the falls, this time surrounded by thousands of butterflies.
Somehow similar were our experiences when we travelled on to Campo Grande, the gateway to the Pantanal. Our bus broke down, we had to change bus twice and we finally arrived four hours late. Once there, we were warned that the bus station is no place to hang around at night, but also the hassle from dubious travel agents during the day persuaded many travellers of leaving the place on the same day they arrived and most of them moved straight on to the wetlands of the Pantanal. Unfortunately, our tour company pretty much offered the opposite of what they had promised, but nature made up for all the trouble. There's so much wildlife in the Pantanal that you can see some rare, some dangerous, some pretty and some irritating animals when simply lying in a hammock, walking along a lake, watching the sunrise or sleeping under a mosquito net that is more holes than net. It's weird how fast you get used to it, though, and after two days walking past a group of caimans is no big thing anymore.
Rio de Janeiro lacks the variety of wildlife of the Pantanal, but life is wild when gangs shoot each other in favelas and people party from dust till dawn. However, standing on Pão do Açúcar (Sugar Loaf) or at Christo Redentor's feet you will forget about anything frightening and simply appreciate Rio's spectacular setting, the view of its morros (bigger than a hill, smaller than a mountain) and its beaches. Indeed, from a distance favelas seem to be the prettiest parts of Rio and they sure do have the best views!
In Rio rich and poor people live side by side (of course, many of the rich make sure there is a high electric fence guarded by cameras and security personnel around their villas), between black and white and so do all the colors in. Thus the atmosphere in (most parts of) Rio is great and you can easily spend a week on sightseeing, shopping and sunbathing. Unfortunately, we had quite some rain, but after twelve months of summer we will not even think about complaining. You can not control wilderness.
Michi
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