July 6, 2016 – This past Friday, we finished our first week of work in Viñas Cue. Our group had been anticipating an exciting break from our work for a change of scenery and a chance to relax over the weekend. After a chill day on Saturday, we got in the van early on Sunday, left Asuncion, and drove five hours to Ciudad Del Este, a city close to the border of Paraguay and Brazil. On Monday, we woke up bright and early to venture to Iguazu Falls in Brazil. It was a short drive from where we were staying in Ciudad Del Este. As we crossed over the border, I found it interesting that we drove in without any border control. To my disappointment, we did not even get our passports stamped!
In Brazil, we picked up a tour guide and he gave us some some information about the park. Once we were at the park, we hopped on a bus, which took us to a trail, so we could look at the waterfalls. I had huge expectations for what these waterfalls would look like, and they exceeded all of them. The falls are near where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil meet. At the first view point there were these animals, which looked very similar to raccoons and coatis and they would grab onto anything or anyone with food. As we walked down the path, each viewpoint showed different waterfalls, and they were all incredible. When we got to the bottom of the path there was an extension that took us out right next to a waterfall and in between two rainbows. As I walked out, I felt like I was in a dream, it was so spectacular. Before we walked down, we were told that we would get sprayed by the waterfalls, and they were not kidding. However, this was almost nothing compared to the boat ride later that afternoon.
On the way to the boat, we took a short boat ride through the forest, followed by a hike. There was an option to for a wet boat ride, or a dry one and the whole group chose the wet one. The boat took us down the the Iguazu River and not much water got on me, but as we approached the waterfalls, the boat took us right next to one. The boat continued to circle the waterfall until everyone was completely soaked. At this point it was time to leave the park and end our excursion, so we all piled into our undersized van and drove back to Asuncion. Although I was sad to leave this beautiful park, I had gotten a chance to recharge and was excited to begin our second week of service with the San Clemente Maria school and the community center in Santa Ana.
Hannah T., George Mason High School