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The Único Rechargeable Bus Card for Tourists: feel like the locals

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Image from Agência Comtato Attention all Free Independent Travelers (FIT) and whomever likes to use local transportation and see the city like the locals. More and more cities in Brazil are addhering to the system of Bus, Subway and Metropolitan Train Card Ticketing that will promote a money-free environment in buses. In some cities it is beginning to be difficult to pay cash for your urban bus ticket. The card shown in the picture above is the Foz do Iguaçu Único Card for Tourists. There are five other types of cards: for worker transportation paid in advance by employers, cards for senior citizens, Citizen Card that can be bought by residents, students and those exempt due to sickness.  A bus ride in Foz do Iguaçu costs R$ 3.20. It seems that the .20 has been put there to make change difficult. So what you can do is get your card as soon as get to the city. The address is Rua Men de Sá, 449 , the street is to the right of the Urban Bus Terminal (TTU) if you are on Av
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Today I prepared a tasty de luxe reviro, a staple that came from poverty days

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 l woke up today to find out that I had nothing to eat. I normally keep some tapioca (the manioc flour) which I use to make either tapioca or beiju (mandioc or cassava bread). After checking my food supply I found there on the cor ner a pakage of wheat flour which immediately sent me the message: bye bye hunger.  I got the manioc flour and decided to make a "reviro" a fantastic food tracing back its existence to Jesuit Missions time and revived during the hierba mate (erva mate) exploration period. Give and take we are talking about 400 years.  I put two hands full of wheat flour in a small pot. Threw in one egg. Mixed it with flour, salt and added some milk until it reached the consistency to go to the frying pan. This is the de luxe version. Since it is a staple that orginated from the wisdom of poverty, my previous reviros were made with just wheat, water and salt and sometimes I forgot the salt. I share the photo of this beautiful reviro I am talking about. P.S.: I do thi
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Waterfalls huge, sizable and small in the Iguassu Falls Area

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IGUAÇU / IGUAZU, YGUAZU, YGUASU, IGUASSU Check here about the different Iguazu spellings Devil's Throat - Iguassu Falls  Let me first introduce you to the world of waterfalls in the Iguassu Falls Area. Iguassu Falls is by far the largest. MOCONÁ Boat trip at Moconá Falls About 300 km from Iguassu Falls lies Moconá Falls. It is known as the world's largest longitudinal waterfalls in the Americas. As you know every river has two banks. This longitudinal story only means that the water falls just along one bank.  The Moconá Falls lies on a border. Like the Iguassu Falls it lies on the Argentina-Brazil border siuth of Iguassu Falls. The water happens to fall from the Aegentinean side. The Brazilian side happens to be dry for nearly 50% of the days of the year. When iit's not dry, it's underwater. Located at the town of El Soberbio, Argentina  MONDAY Saltos del Monday - Monday Falls Monday here has nothing to do with the day of the week. "Monda" means steal and &q
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Exploring San Ignacio Guazu, the heart of the Guarani Jesuit Missions

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The Iguassu Falls' Area Guru is happy to bring to you this first official posting about the Jesuit Misions legacy in South America with a focus at this moment on the 30 Guarani-speaking Mission Villages spread in what now is Paraguay, Brasil, Argentina and Uruguay. This video was shot during my visit to San Ignacio Guazu in an efort to collect nformation on the rurak distrivt of Tañarandy whwre a procession is held every Easter Friday. The Holy Friday this year is just five days away. I will be there.  In the meantime I will share some photographs of San Ignacio Guazu   The Diocesan Museum  Sun Watch           Office of the Cattle Raisers Association   Offical Jesuit Church office  Police Station The Jesuit Cross    The Yvagarape or Way to Heaven - where the processions happens on Easter Friday City Museum dedicated to the Chaco and the Triple Alliance Wars   
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What does the Iguazu Falls look like? There are as many shapes as there are eyes willing to see

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  Not easy to photograph the 275-cataract-strong Iguassu Falls  Click on all photos to enlarge What shape is this by the way? Iguaçu National Park Photo "It is misleading to say that the Iguaçu Falls have the shape of an inverted "U" with a left leg much shorter than the right one. The left side of this "U" corresponds to  what is conventionally called the Brazilian Side or Brazilian Falls.   Some say the format is an inverted "J". In fact, if you have the chance to take a closer look, preferably aboard a helicopter you will see that the figure is much more complex than a simple "U" letter. It might be a "U" with many internal ramifications. Likewise, it has little to do with the inverted "J" figure" (Transcript of a paragraph of my book being translated to or rewritten in English. Portuguese name: 7 Arcos 3 Degraus - Tudo que você ainda não sabe sobre as Cataratas do Iguaçu. Kindle Edition ) The photos below were ta
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Where are the Three-Frontier Marks along the Brazil-Argentina border? Dive into the Universe of Border Marks

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The Border (0belisk) Mark at the Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay Triple Border or Tri-Junction: easily accessible. Dedicated in 1903  By Jackson Lima Three Frontier Mark is the name given to places where three countries meet. In Portuguese they are called Marco das Três fronteiras. In Spanish they are Hito de las Três Fronteras. In English they are additionally called "border marks". The Uruguay River marks most of the border between Argentina and Brazil. This border starts at a point where Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay meet at he mouth of the Quaraí River. It is the Three-Frontier Mark number one between the two countries. The border between Argentina and Brazil is 1200 kilometers long. But this posting will concentrate on the stretch of border that was settled only after the intermediation of US president Cleveland in 1895.  It is the part that begins at the mouth of the Pequeri-Guasu River where the Frontier-Mark number two happens to be. The border will follow this small rive
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Which of the Gorgeous World-famous waterfalls you think is the most beautiful? May be there is nothing like that. Check facts in the video below

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The world's largest waterfalls compared   I once had the privilege of spending half an hour talking to Sir Anthony Hopkins just past the end of the trail on the Brazilian side of Iguassu Falls. Sir Anthony Hopkins was waiting for his friend and former US president Bill Clinton. As a local journalist I had been trying to ask the president a question or two as he walked down the trail. His security men were able to detect me and were far more than able to kick me out of the trail. As soon as I saw myself out on the asfalt road I ran as fast as I could to the area where the president and entourage were about to board their cars back to the airport.  That's how I found this marvelous person, Sir Hopkins waiting for Mr. Clinton. I greeted him and identified myself as a journalist. He then said: "you are trying to talk to Mr. Clinton. Stay here with me. He'll will have to stop by". That's how I used this precious time to talk to Sir Anthony Hopkins about films, Holl
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Introduction to the Foz do Iguaçu Chen Tien Buddhist Temple

Buddhism has three major world schools: Theravada, Vajrayana and Mahayana. The Chen Tien Buddhist Temple in Foz do Iguaçu belongs to the Mahayana school of Buddhism. Within Mahayana Buddhism, the Chen Tien Buddhist Temple of Foz do Iguaçu belongs to the Pure Land Buddhism. Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy? It is both. It is a religion with its own sacred writings, rituals and ceremonies. It is also a life philosophy based on the Four Truths and on the Noble Eightfold Path.         The Noble Eightfold Path Right View Right resolve Right Speech Right Conduct Right Livelihood Right Effort Right Mindfulness Right Concentration     What does Ten Chien mean? It means Heavenly Temple   
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