IGUAZU FALLS RESTAURANT & TROPICAL HOTEL
BRAZIL TRAVELOGUE - DAY 2 - IGUASSU FALLS NATIONAL PARK

Porto Canoas Restaurant, at the edge of Iguassu Falls	PORTO CANOAS RESTAURANT - IGUAZU FALLS BRAZIL After the Macuco Boat Safari, we hop the Iguassu National Park bus (free) up to the top of the park, where the Porto Canoas restaurant is located. There is also a gift shop, a tour desk, and a cafeteria here. The restaurant was $35BR per person for a buffet lunch (overpriced), but you can sit outside on the patio right next to the Iguassu River which makes it worth it for us. We sit out and sip Brazilian Wine (yes, there is wine made in Brazil - we liked Miolo the best) and Capirinhas while we're swarmed by bees in the beautiful bright sunshine, enjoying the magnificent scenery of the waterfalls in the distance.

Inside, throngs of South American tour groups full of teenagers scream and yell like teenagers do when they're having a good time.

THE COATIS RUN AMUCK After lunch, we head over to the gift shop (not too impressive), walk back down the path, taking in the glory of the falls again. The rainbows are no longer present, but the falls are still spectacular. The park has filled with tour groups now, so walking against the tide is a bit of a trial. Coati Mundi run in packs up and down the trail, not paying much attention to the tourists gawking at them and photographing them, as Iguanas and other lizards sun themselves on rocks beside the path. We pass the guy who takes photos of you for money and ask a fellow American tourist to take a photo of us (free) instead, then just sit on the steps and gaze at the falls as Coatis run amuck.	Coati Mundi run amuck throughout Iguacu Falls

One lady laid down her purse to have her photo taken, and a Coati ran over, opened the purse, and stuck its long snout inside and started pulling things out. The lady quickly screamed at it and chased it off - we were laughing as she chased it down the path.

Having coffee at the Tropical Cataratas Hotel	TROPICAL CATARATAS HOTEL When I finally started to get too sunburned, we headed across the street to the Tropical Hotel, right across from the Argentinean side of Iguassu Falls. The hotel is pink (interesting), but looks nice enough. You can't really see the falls from the hotel - if you want that, you have to go over to the Sheraton on the Argentinean side. We head for the bar where we have some miniature, but very good, espresso and cappuccino as we watch and listen to black and red birds building dozens of nests in the palm tree nearby - quite a wonderful setting in the bright afternoon sun. The hotel inside seems relatively unimpressive, however - not much different than our much cheaper hotel just down the road.

Maybe the rooms were much nicer, or maybe you just pay more because it's right across the street from the path to Iguassu Falls.

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