The Iguassu Falls Area Guru

Index to postings Secrets to Bus in the Triple Border - TTU Bus to Três Lagoas via Rodoviária Bus Rodoviaria via INSS, IML and Police Quarter Bus to Brazil-Paraguay Amizade Bridge The Universitária Line Bus to Morumbi and Greater S.Francisco Area Theme-Street Bairros – Portal da Foz and Morumbi Bus to the Iguaçu National Park (INP) Bus to INP / Argentina Intersection Bus to INP Brazil’s Shortest Highway – BR 469 Bus to INP Price Democracy or Discriminatory Mess ? Bus to the Vilas of Itaipu Bus to Três Bandeiras, Libra and Lote Grande Bus to Vila “A” skipping the INSS-IML Bus to Vila “C” and Bela Vista Biological Refuge Bus to the Three Border Stone Mark (Wait for this) Non-Integrated Local Bus - Interbairros City Tour Non-Integrated Metro Bus – Bus to Santa Terezinha Non-Integrated Metro Bus – Bus to S. Miguel Non-Integrated Metro Buses – Tips on a trend Non-integrated Intl Metro Bus/ to Puerto Iguazu Non-integrated Intl Metro Bus / to Paraguayan cities Non-Integrat’d Intl Metro...

Sign on JK Avenue telling pedestrians not to get into the TTU through here (Author's photo) Moving around by public bus in the Triple Border Area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay The secret of moving around by bus in Foz do Iguaçu is to understand how the – Pedro Antonio de Nadai Urban Transport Terminal or just TTU works. The TTU occupies a sizeable area in downtown Foz do Iguaçu between Avenida Juscelino Kubitscheck (JK) – running roughly South-North, and the Rua Tarobá where the Bosque Guarani Municipal Zoo is located. On an East-West course, the TTU is squeezed between the Travessa Luiz Gama and the Rua (Street) Mem de Sá. If you remember that millions of Brazilians survive on a minimal monthly misery wage that only now, after hundreds of years of struggle, has just bordered on the USD 150 mark, paying R$ 2.00 for a bus ride in town to be taken to and from work, twice a day, is a lot of money (some people say it is a theft). The TTU has been created as a way to cut down par...

PLATAFORM ONE / SIDE ONE Bus to Três Lagoas via Rodoviária The TTU has three driveways and four plataforms. The platform on the Rua Mem de Sá is the one with the greatest amount of bus services offered – some of them of interest to the international public. Starting from the stop closest to the JK Avenue, there are buses that serve the regions of Tres Lagoas (Three Lagoons), Gleba Guarani and Jardim Dourado. At least two of these buses will either stop at the Rodoviaria Internacional de Foz do Iguaçu (International Bus Station)or stop pretty close to it. These are bus lines used by the population of these highly populous “bairros” or neighborhoods of Foz do Iguaçu. But besides the local population, these busses are very popular with backpackers of all kinds (Australians, New Zealanders, Israelis, Germans, Canadians, Americans, Japanese). They are also popular with Brazilian tourists, Argentineans and Paraguayans returning from Brazilian beaches and many more. Since these buses have be...

Bus to Brazil-Paraguay Friendship Bridge Back to the living world of the TTU, following this platform you will see signs announcing buses that will go to the Ponte da Amizade (Puente de la Amistad or Friendship Bridge), Jardim America and Jardim Itaipu. There are a few numbered lines: 110/ 125/ 130/ 325/ 355. Where will they go? Mostly to neighborhoods that you may not have the time or interest to see – right now. Buses going to the Ponte da Amizade (Bridge) are very important to the city. They are the physical conection between Foz do Iguaçu (Brazilian) and Ciudad del Este (Paraguayan). They are also the link between the Brazilian State of Paraná and the Paraguayan Departamento (Department like the French) of Alto Paraná. Needless to say that he Bridge is above all a bridge between Brazil and Paraguay. Most of the buses stopping at this “Bus Stop” come from areas like Porto Meira (that is where the Three Borders’ Landmark, Jardim das Flores (Flower fo Gardens) and Profilurb, all in th...

INSS, IML and Police Quarter Foto of IML / INSS  As far as buses to Três Lagoas are concerned there is still one going to the Praias (Beaches). Beaches? Sure, artificial beaches created by man on the shores of the Itaipu Lake (Reservoir). The bus going to the “Praias” or “Prainha” (little Beach) will also go to the Rodoviaria if there is a sign saying that the route is via Rodoviaria and the INSS. If you are not Brazilian it’s possible that you will have a hard time trying to translate what INSS stands for. It’s simple: Instituto Nacional de Seguridade Social (Social Security National Institute).  In this case INSS is a bulding where poor and weary iguassuans spend long hours on never-ending lines, waiting. People line up for retirement papers, to get different benefits, pregnancy benefits, death benefits, to see an INSS doctor, to get certifiicates of all kinds besides getting various precious stamps. The INSS has another special characteristic: it is always on strike. I don’...

The University Line Another interesting bus line created by the former Foz do Iguaçu’s mayor, Samis da Silva, the son of ex-mayor and today’s state congressman Dobrandino Gustavo da Silva, is the “Universitária Line”. This proposal is interesting. This bus will drive by and stop at or near schools, high schools and colleges in and across town. From the TTU the bus will go to what is called the "University Zone" or District in the area of influence of Itaipu Binational. Side by side are the Foz do Iguaçu Campus of the Unioeste (Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná - West Paraná State University) – Foz do Iguaçu’s alma mater par excellence and the – privately owned Universidade União das Américas - Uniamérica , responsible for bringing courses in the medical area on the Brazilian side (the Paraguayan side has pioneered medical courses in several areas – including medicine proper). This is the final stop and you will have to get off the bus which means that the “integrated...

On to Morumbi and the Greater São Francisco Area The last bus stop at this platform offers transportation to neighborhoods like Morumbi, Primeiro de Maio (First of May) and Portal da Foz (Doorway to Foz). Suppose you would tell your guide that you would like to see the Morumbi, he woud probably tell you to be very careful or to skip that idea. He may be both right and partly prejudiced. These are areas “under construction” and of humble beginnings. This complex of neighborhoods is referred to as the Greater São (San) Francisco Area and its population descend from the workers that helped build Itaipu – the Largest Hydroelectrical Project in the world and bla-bla-bla. The truth is that these areas are a living reminder of the debt Itaipu still has with this people despite all that talk of social responsibility and so on. These are not tourist attractions in the sense that this word is used (somehow and very often linked to a lot of stupidity). But people looking to see the real Foz shoul...

Theme Streets The neighborhood of Portal da Foz (Doorway to Foz), once very violent mainly because of a small favela is also undergoing changes. What I find interesting about the Portal is that all of its streets have been named after a bird of the Braziian fauna – or at least as Brazilian as possible. Main street is called Beija-Flor (hummingbird) and it has intersections with the Sanhaço (Sayaca) Street, Pica-pau (Woodpecker) Street, Thrush (Sabiá) and even Swann Street among others. I used to live in the Pica-pau (Woodpecker) street a few years ago and I did bring people from several nationalities to my house there. One of my enjoyments was to show my guests that, at the time (maybe today), we coud see real woodpeckers mainly flickers in the Woodpecker street. The Hummingbird street will run into the Morumbi that also happens to be a theme-street neighborhood. But unlike the Portal da Foz, the subject in the Morumbi is football called soccer by Americans and caccio by Italians. Exem...

PLATFORM ONE / SIDE TWO Park's Entrance Complex You will get off here > Iguacu National Park's Visitor's Center The Iguaçu International Park Bus The first stop on Side Two of Plataform One is possibly Brazil’s best internationally known local bus service and even though there is no statistic about it, it is curious to think that people from most of the world’s countries have used this simple, common, important service. It is one of the few lines in Brazil where you can board and pay in US dollars, Brazilian Reais (plural of Real (R$), Argentine Pesos (AP$)or Paraguayan Guaranies (G$), though it is possibly illegal. It is the bus that connects the TTU to the Iguassu National Park’s Visitor’s Center via the Foz do Iguaçu-Cataratas International Airport (I have a story about this Aiport's name). The line departs the TTU, travels along the Avenida JK, into Avenida Jorge Schimmelpfeng and past the intersection of Avenida Jorge Schimmelpfeng and Avenida Paraná....

Trevo da Argentina or Argentina’s Intersection Right ahead of this rather active and short area of the city-controlled part of the Avenida das Cataratas, there is a road intersection with traffic going separate ways. If you go right, at the intersection, you will go to Avenida Mercosul (Avenue) and to Argentina. The Federal Police, Customs, Animal and Plant Sanitary Control Complex is right ahead. Beyond that will come the International Tancredo Neves Bridge (Fraternity Bridge) over the Iguassu (Iguaçu / Iguazú) River between Brazil and Argentina or Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazú. Across the Bridge, all passengers will have to go through the Argentine Migration. Customs, Animal and Plant Health Control Complex – called simply Aduana Argentina (by now far tougher than its Brazilian counterpart, fortunately and gracias Argentina!). Backpackers do a few exercises at this intersection. Operation One: coming from the Iguaçu National Park (Brazil) stop at this intersection in order to catc...

Price Democracy or Discriminatory Mess As of today the bus fare from the TTU to the Visitor’s Center costs R$ 2.00 for everyone – black, rich, poor, ugly, handsome, famous and the anonymous. Inside the Park things are more modern and discriminatory. There are different prices for those residing in Foz do Iguaçu and other 15 little cities bordering on the Iguassu National Park. There is a price for Brazilian from the rest of Brazil. Prices for the citizens of Mercosul countries excluding Brazil (What?). There are also prices for Brazilian Children, Mercosul Children, Mercosul Senior Citizens, Brazilian Seniors, no Price for European, American or Other Seniors. That is something you have to check with a travel agent because they have the patience that I do not have to deal with this kind of thing. All I can say is that such varied discriminantion is not foreseeable by the Brazilian Constitution and this kind of things only continues because no one has taken this case to Court. The Iguaçu...

Bus To Vila "C" Via Rodoviária (Intl. Bus Terminal) Top photo show a typical arched,tin-roofed,warehouselike dwelling now turned into neighborhood business offering narbecue on weekends Still Platform One / Side Two The Vilas of Itaipu The second bus stop on Platform One / Side Two is also interesting for the international traveler. It is the stop for the buses going to Vila “C”. Vila is not in the sense you know like an Italian Villa in Tuscany etc. Vila is nearly the same is “bairro”, a neighborhood. Vila “C” was one of three “Vilas” built to house Itaipu Construction workers. The others were Vila “B” and Vila “A”. Vila “B” was built for the white-collared administrators, engineers and skilled professionals, mostly called Doctors. Each house in vila “B” is a little mansion. Vila “A” was built for the blue-collared worker, administration clerk and bureaucrats. The Vila “A” neighborhood can be easily seen today, streets are tree-shaded and spacious, there are plenty of child...

Still Platform One / Side Two Três Bandeiras (Three Flags), Libra and Lote Grande The next bus stops on this side of Platform One will go to the bairros of Três Bandeiras, Conjunto Libra and Lote Grande. Três Bandeiras is part of the Greater Três Lgoas area of Foz do Iguaçu. It is a populous area that also originated from the rising housing demand after the Dam was finished. Access to the Três Bandeiras area is via (Brazilian Highway) BR 277, after the Rafain Palace and Hotel Muffato. So this bus can be used by guests of these two hotels. The Conjunto Libra is a housing project that started with the construction of State Government-financed houses. Houses then were democratically-made-pidegon-hole-type habitations. Today, with the passing of years the area is growing to occupy its place in the heart of the city’s middle class. The neighborhood is interesting, has churches, restaurants and its mains street is called Pôr do Sol (Sunset). Access to the Conjunto Libra is by the ...

PLATFORM TWO / ONLY SIDE Bus to Vila “A” skipping the INSS-IML Once more I will start describing the bus stops on Plartform Two beginning with the stop closer to the JK Avenue. Here is the stop for buses going to Vila “A”, one of Itaipu Vilas. Vila “A” has already been mentioned under the Vilas of Itaipu. The difference here is that this bus will go to Vila “A” via the Juscelino Kubitschek Avenue or Avenida JK, for short. The other buses mentioned goes to Vila “A” by way of the INSS and the IML, the Customs-Tax Authority office and even around the corner where the Brazilian Federal Police Headquerters for the entire border area has been built. The Jardim Paraná / 335 Bus, on bus stop two, will also go the area of Vila “A”. The third bus stop on this platform will go to Vila “C” North. This is the bus that will go to the Bella Vista Biological Refuge of Itaipu – also mentioned under the same before in relation to the normal Vila “C” bus. Note on the Biological Refuge: As check and rewr...

NON-INTEGRATED BUSES (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH DESINTEGRATED BUSES) INTERBAIRROS – As far as I can remember the “Interbairros” line is the only Iguaçuan line that is not part of the integrated system. Bairro means neighborhood and this is a trans-neighborhood or interborough line since it nearly crosses the whole town – with the exception of the “centro”, the city center area. The yellow-white-and black-striped buses belongs to Viação Itaipu (Viação is the name given to bus companies) runs from Vila “C” Norte to Porto Meira – roughly from the Itaipu Dam area to Porto Meira – a short distance from the Marco das Três Fronteiras (Three-Frontiere Mark / Three-Border Mark or Dreiländereckmeilenstein, roughly. I recommend a ride on this line since it is equivalent to a pretty good and cheap City Tour. Whatever Foz do Iguaçu has to show it will show in this tour. (The “interbairros” idea was copied from Curitiba’s Interbairro buses. The idea is that interbairros will connect several city co...

Sign with timetable for the Foz do Iguaçu - São Miguel Metropolitan Bus (Author's photo) METROPOLITAN Recently the Government of Paraná has been intent on creating metropolitan areas with an eye on improving administration. Foz do Iguaçu is a candidate to be decared a metropolitan are for a number of cities mainly those bordering on the Reservoir of Itaipu. This has been the flag of local politicians. The problem is that the Government saw things otherwise and had planned to put Foz do Iguaçu under the umbrella of Cascavel. How that will end is something to wait and see. In the practical side of life what has alredy been seen is the formation of a network of metropolitan bus lines. The neo-metropolitan bus lines when compared to old experiments like the STI bus line. You can take metropolitan buses to San Miguel do Iguaçu and Santa Helena from the stop at Rua Mem de Sá, by the TTU Terminal in Foz do Iguaçu. Again these buses are not integrated so they do not enter the TTU. But the...

SANTA TEREZINHA DE ITAIPU – Santa Terezinha de Itaipu (Terezinha pronounced as Tahy-rahy-zeen’ nyah) is a free, autonomous, independent and young city of 25,000 souls liberated from or gotten rid of Foz do Iguaçu in 1984. So STI, for short, is a city that share the same history, aspirations and cultural profile as Foz do Iguaçu. The main difference is that while Foz do Iguaçu tend to be into the third sector and services, STI is actively an agricultural land with some factories, business and, I think, three hotels (Hotel Tamburi, Hotel Praia Sol and Hotel Mucuri). All the hotels of STI face the BR (Brazilian Highway) 277. The city has what they call Tourism Terminal which is made up of the City’s artificial beach (far better kept than the one in Foz do Iguaçu) with bikini-clad beauties (also men), camping area, barbecue area, resuarnt bar, activities mainly in the summer months when the Government of Paraná offers programs like Viver Verão (live Summer) and so on. STI is also a dormito...

TO PUERTO IGUAZÚ – ARGENTINA The terminal for buses coming from Puerto Iguazú (to Foz do Iguaçu) is around the area of the International Friendship Bridge. When they leave the Bridge Area they stop and can be boarded at any of the bus stops along the Avenida JK. Important for people in hotels along the avenue like the Lider Palace Hotel. The bus stops by the TTU on Rua Mem de Sá right beside the Lanchonete Corujão (Big Owl). Do not forget that to go to Puerto Iguazu you will need to carry your passport and have the right visas in case citizens of your country needs visa. If you are Brazilian, only official documents are accepted, i.e. RG (Carteira de Identidade) or Passport. No other. No kind of professional document like Lawyers’ (OAB) ID, Military Papers, Politicians’ Identification. Nothing. Just RG or Passport. I have seen Argentina’s Migration Agents turning down Brazilian Ministers, Deputados (Congresmen), and even the Paraná State Secretary of Segurança (Security) was sent back ...

METROPOLITAN BUSES TIPS ON A TREND Knowing how to use the Metropolitan Buses it is possible to travel a lot and ow a lot of those out-of-the-track places. The area is increasingly being covered by metropolitan buses. Cascavel has lines fanning into many cities allowing those who want to have a glimpse of life in the West of Paraná in places like Capitão Leônidas Marques (Eucatur), Medianeira, Toledo etc. More on this soon!!

BUS TO PARAGUAY Three Paraguayan cities are served by the International Urban Transportation system: Ciudad del Este, Hernandárias and Ciudad Presidente Franco. The companies involved are Celeste and Irmãos Rafagnin from Foz do Iguaçu, Rápido Yguazu S.A. (RYSA) and Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (NSA),Chaco Boreal and Trans Paranaense (From Paraguay). The first four travel between Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este (CDE) and basically cross the downtown area of both cities including the business/shopping area. The Ciudad del Este – Foz do Iguaçu - Ciudad del Este line offers two different routes. The first links the CDE’s International Bus Terminal to the Foz do Iguaçu International Bus Terminal. The second links the CDE’s Bus Terminal to the Vila Iolanda area of Foz do Iguaçu near the Restaurant China, Churrascaria Rafain and the like. Chaco Boreal only goes to Hernadarias (the seat of Itaipu Dam, Paraguayan side) and the Trans Paranaense goes to Ciudad President Manuel Franco. Franco ...

BUS TO PARAGUAY FROM PUERTO IGUAZU An Argentine company called Transporte El Rapido travels from Puerto Iguazú to Ciudad del Este via Foz do Iguaçu. If you have that illusion of three countries in one morning idea, this is the bus line to take. This is the true International Circular Urban Transport bus. The El Rapido bus leaves the International Bus Terminal of Puerto Iguazú (Argentina) to the International Bus Teminal of Ciudad del Este (Paraguay). The problem connected to this dream is the nightmare that triple-border-two-bridge-six-checkpoint crossing may mean. That is why the line is not popular with tourists. Can be tried though. This bus can not pick up or leave passengers anywhere in Foz do Iguaçu.

BUS IN PUERTO IGUAZU Like every city in the world, (not so) tiny Puerto Iguazu, Province of Misiones, in the land of Argentina also has urban local buses that transport thousands of iguazuenses from their many and increasing neighborhoods to downtown Iguazu to work, study and to do only-God-knows-what. At the moment I do not feel so free to talk about the Puerto Iguazu Transportation System but, since I do not want to be called a bad borderland dweller, I wil just mention the most famous of Puerto Iguazu’s bus line. It is the one that travels from Puerto Iguazu’s International Bus Terminal to the Cataratas (Falls). The company that operates this servive is the same as the one linking Puerto Iguazu to Ciudad del Este. The name is El Rapido. I am working on this fom Curitiba and its Metroplitan Area, so a complete report on the Puerto Igazu’s bus services will have to wait until I go back.

A VERY SPECIAL LINE This can not be called a local bus line or even be said to be part of the Tiple Border area. I am talking a bus that leaves the Puerto Iguazu’s International Bus Terminal, at 9 a.m. everyday and goes to a place called San Pedro by way of Andresito and Bernardo Irigoyen. From Puerto Iguazu to Andresito the bus travels on dirt road across part of the Iguazu National Park. Lots of beautiful things can be seen. Also sad things can be see. While within Park limits you can see part of the forest, the trees and have fun for being able to see what you see. But as soon as the bus gets out of Park’s limit the signs of progress in the form of non-sustainable agricultural activities and lumber exploitation. The Province of Misiones is for Argentina what the Amazone is for Brazil. A friend that teaches at the University of Misiones says that the Province’s jungle is being substituted by pinus and eucalyptus silence forests. From Andresito onward the road is paved and is part o...

Is there a little price war here? Photos show the cheap end of motels. Motel – Love Hotel. A motel in Brazil is not a roadside cheap hotel. It is a legal tax-paying business establishment with duties and rights, normally secluded, well hidden, surrounded by gardens, offering apartments for couples who need a quiet place to make love. It is not a whorehouse. Husbands take their wives to motels when they want to please them or celebrate something. A motel apartment is charged by the hour and the good ones offer double rooms with round beds, mirrored ceiling, different kinds of lighting, music, jacuzzis, pools, drinks, breakfast, lunch and even souvenirs. It is also a place where many a married man will take their girlfriends, married women will take their lovers and sometimes, accidentally, couples meet there – than normally there is a scene but you know how it is, it is all part of modern living. There are all kinds of motels, though. Some are so bad that they are used simply as “mata...

Ciudad President Franco , formerly Puerto President Franco and today just Puerto Franco for short, is one of the Triple Border's cities along with Ciudad del Este,Hernandarias and Mingá Gazu (where the Guarani International Airport is located). With the exception of Ciudad del Este all are little known outside Paraguay. Even as far as the Triple Border locals are concerned, Puerto Franco is little known. But Franco - an even shorter form - is the home of the Saltos Monday (Falls) on the Monday River and is also the home of the Moses Bertoni Scientific Monument - a category in the Paraguayan National Park Administration. Franco is also the Paraguayan counterpart on the Three Border Stone Marks monuments standing at the tri-junction of the three countries. The Paraguayan Stone Mark is in Franco. So I really do not understand how it has been possible to keep President Franco excluded from whatever benefit tourism may bring or might have brought to the Tri-country,two-river-area. If we...