Lots of Amazing Places

  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Hot, spicy, energetic, Rio de Janeiro (city pop 6.5 million; greater metro area 13 million in 2024)!  The Marvelous City, as natives call it!  We got to know this amazing city during our brief, four day visit here.  We took a very interesting city tour (riosambabus.com.bz), explored our Copacabana neighborhood on foot, joined a guided tour of the Tijuca National Park, and visited a few other city highlights via Uber COPACABANA Copacabana from a Tijuca viewpoint With our delightful BnB host, Samanta Copacabana Beach Linda celebrating the surf at Copacabana Beach At Copacabana Beach Making music in Copacabana Video:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/xHFDAsm33R2Mz1AL7 Dinner with Melly and Linda at Joaquina's in Copacabana.  Mel and I met on the Patagonian tour BOTAFOGO, a neighborhood near Copacabana Sugarloaf Mountain from Botafogo Cristo Redentor from Botafogo The harbor at Botafogo ESCADARIA SELARON in the Rio Centro neighborhood Es...

  Iguazu / Iguaçu Falls The Iguazu / Iguaçu National Parks in Argentina and Brazil: Amazing places that protect and display the Simply Spectacular Iguazu Falls!   Iguazu Falls consists of a two layer cascade that is almost 2.5 km / 1.5 mi long, about 80 meters / 270 feet of total vertical drop (Niagara is about 170 feet) and has roughly 275 individual waterfalls in the waterfall system. Combined, Argentina and Brazil received a shared international UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.  From the original award, UNESCO noted:  "Made up of many cascades producing vast sprays of water, it is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The surrounding subtropical rainforest has over 2,000 species of vascular plants and is home to the typical wildlife of the region: tapirs, giant anteaters, howler monkeys, ocelots, jaguars and caymans." We spent a day in Argentina's National Park, hiking all three trails (about 10 km / 6 miles) and getting up close and per...