The Iguassu Falls Area Guru

I was born in Northeastern Brazil, in the State of Alagoas to be exact and stayed there till I was 20. Then after having spent some months in São Paulo and worked in odd jobs, including digging holes to install telephone and electricity lines in a multinational Swedish factory, I decidied I had had it and then moved on to Paraguay. My purpose when I arrived in this landlocked, South American neighboring country was to serve God - or then I thought - where the need for workers was greater. So I saw myself living with a nice Paraguayan family in the outskirts of Asunción and listening to Paraguayan stories and history. It was then that I learned about the existence of the Guayaki Indians a word modern-day Paraguayans pronounced with a mix of admiration, hatred and fear. Admiration because the Guayaki were somehow envied for their fierceness and warring spirit. They were seen as the undisputed owners of the Eastern Paraguayan then dense jungles. Hatred because, as they said, the Guayaki

This trail in the Iguazu National Park is normally closed for normal tourism. It is used mostly by researchers, scientists and ornitholgists with the possibility of allowing small birdwatching groups and at rare occasins to allow selected mountain bikers to travel the trail. The two photographs above show two bikers during one of this trail-checking exercise. As far as identification is concerned, the black guy on the yellow bike is me. The other biker is travel agent Ruth Sanchez. As you can see, we took binoculars and as birdwatchers did part of our obligation of reporting our sightings and letting park authorities of whatever irregularities we found.

I am sure that there is no better location for a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses than this in Foz do Iguaçu / Iguassu Falls Brazil. The Kingdom Hall - that is how Jehovah's Witnesses call their meeting and worship place - is located on Cataratas Avenue, on the way between the Aiport and downtown Foz do Iguaçu, "Foz" for short. Meetings are held here on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. There are, in addition, weekly meetings in LIBRAS - the Brazilian Sign Language. The Kingdom Hall is known as the International Congregation of JWs in Foz. The place's identification signs are seen in Portuguese (Salão do Reino das Testemunhas de Jeová), Spanish (Salón del Reino de los Testigos de Jehová) and English. I think that three different congregations share the Kingdom Hall above. The Vila Yolanda Congregation with meetings on Tuesday 8:00 pm, Thursday 7:30 pm and Sunday 7:00 pm. The Central Congregation with meetings held on Tuesday, Friday 7:30 and Sunday 8:30 am. And

Mosé Giacomo Bertoni (Moises Santiago Bertoni) was born 1857 in the Valley of Blenio, Ticino, Switzerland. He died in Foz do Iguaçu in 1929, in the house shown in the picture. Bertoni, a complex man, was a coloniser a scientist a political figure. As he researched on plants and wildlife he also learned Guarani and wrote about the language. I like his book: Guarani-Latin glosaary of Plants, where he compared the native Guarani and the scientific name-giving methods. He also studided the Guarani people and even wrote a book called the Guarani Civilization. He is known all over Paraguay as "Bertoni, the wise". When he died, Foz do Iguaçu declared a holiday, the bishop of Foz do Iguaçu, Monsignore Guilherme Maria Thiletzek went to Porto Bertoni by boat to say mass. The Brazilian Riverport Authority sent a river boat to take the people and Bertoni's body downriver to his last dwelling. A man had died, a myth had been born. More to come!!!!

The picture above is of man named Antonio Mamerto de la Cruz Gil Núñez. Little Gaucho Gil is what Gauchito Gil stands for. Gauchito Gil was killed by the Police of the Province of Corrientes, Argentina, in the last years of the 19th century or sometime in the early years of the 20th century. For police forces of Corrientes and other provinces Gil was a bandit, a normal outlaw, thief, hooligan. Today, Gil is a seen as a saint, a heroe and as a kind of neotropical Robin Hood who stole from the rich farmers and landowners and gave to the poor. Gil spent years fleeing and miraculously avoidng being caught by authorities. But one day, there was no escape. Gil fell victim of a bullets shot by a police man. As he fell, the legend goes, he looked his killer straighit in the eye and said that the officer's son whom the father had left dying at home, would be at the door to receive him. Then Gil died. The policeman did his job, carried Gil's body to the police headquarters and w

Found in Argentina only in Capillitas, Province of Catamarca, the rhodochrosite has been consacrated as Argentina's National Stone and Mineral. It is also known as the Rosa del Inca - The Inca's Rose. There is a national industry of Rhodochrosite jewels, carving, arts and handicraft. IN Puerto Iguazu the national stone of Argentina can be found nealry everywhere from top notch tourist traps to de luxe hotels. But also by smaller outfits found in not so commonly visited areas of town and mainly hardly visited by international tourists. Two places that I have in mind right now are the Joyeria Artesenal on Avenida Costanera (Avenue) and Tres Fronteras and mainly a place called Piedras Nativas on the Tres Fronteras Avenue. I will be going back to to Puerto Iguazú these days and will see whether things changed. See you soon!

I will be back later today for more on this