São Paulo and Iguacu Falls

São Paulo didn’t offer much in the way of tourist attractions but we did manage to enjoy the few days we spent in the financial capital of Brazil. Most of our time centered around a visit to Japantown, a neighborhood in the downtown area created by a large number of immigrants, especially following World War 2. We feasted on traditional Japanese dishes and enjoyed window shopping. 

The other major sight was going up what was once the tallest building the city and what has now been converted into several art gallery floors in addition to office space. One cool exhibit combines art with technology: you can color in a flower pattern and project it into the art display, where electronic versions of your flower will grow and disperse dynamically. As the building was once a bank, the basement vault is now a trendy bar that we were able to check out at the suggestion of our friends Rodrigo and Paula, who were the real highlight when visiting this city.

Our final stop in Brazil was to the infamous Iguacu Falls. With the family we explored the Brazilian side to the fullest, enjoying the nature and getting properly soaked by both the falls and the weather! Me and Raj also enjoyed a final night of churrasca complete with grilled pineapple at the end.

Due to visa issues I was the only one eligible to view the Argentina side of the falls but I did my best to take full advantage of it by viewing during both day and night. The full moon tour allows visitors to board the train up to the Devil’s Throat and walk the boardwalks to the end without aid of any artificial lighting. This provides a completely unique view and the rush of water in the dark is thrilling. Daytime was also beautiful, being able to view the falls from above and below.

Finally, we spent our last day at Itapu Dam, the largest hydroelectric project in South America and shared between Brazil and Paraguay. My mom reminded me that the last time she was here as a child, the dam was under construction and my grandpa got a special tour inside to see progress and ask all his questions as an engineer. It’s now finished and quite impressive, a real marvel of diplomacy and engineering.