visitors normally have to choose which side to see, and although the entire falls can be seen from either side, the views differ. Viviana and I chose to walk along the complex of boardwalks on the Argentine side, offering a much more personal experience with the waterfall, although forfeiting the all encompassing view of the Brazilian side. The height of the action takes place in the Devils Throat, where the wall of falling water wraps around in a U-shape, concentrating its hydrolic power onto the rocks below. After walking every boardwalk possible and filling the camera with photos that dont come close to capturing the immensity of the place, we finished the day with a walk through the jungle. The area surrounding the falls was also impressive in its display of wildlife, and over the course of the day we saw a large black and yellow snake, coatis, guatusas, plush crested jays, and a local species of deer. The next day we made a last minute rush to finish our visa applications and once we procured the $135 stamp we headed off towards Rio de Janeiro.Rio de Janeiro is a city that defies description. From its photogenic contrast of modern structures set in rugged natural beauty to its gorgeous posh beaches surrounded by crumbling favelas, it is very difficult not to be pulled into the intrigue of the exceptional metropolis. Unfortunately, knowing that it would also be
the most expensive destination of our trip, we did not have too much time to explore and we quickly set off to see the sights. Our first destination was Christ the Redeemer, the iconic statue of Jesus opening his arms to the world, as if saying ´What?? You want a little of this? I didnt think so.´ The view from the top is truly incredible, and the photos came out even sweeter after having to battle our way through the crowd just to peek over the railing. The next day was reserved for the beach. We set out our towels on the ´beautiful people´ section of Ipanema and watched the parade of nicely rounded body parts pass by in front of our face. We passed the day putting down cachaça (sugar cane liquour) and coke as I accused every muscle bound man that passed of using steroids and Viviana blamed every top heavy woman of surgery. Of course there are 
many parts of Rio that are better enjoyed when the night sets in, so it wasnt long before we set out looking for a party. The most popular spot in the city is called Lapa, a bar lined avenue that fills with street vendors, tourists, wealthy locals and even some from the favelas, all looking to toss back some caipirinhas and get loose. We were too broke to go into any of the upscale clubs, so we were able to properly enjoy the street scene, meeting a collection of interesting characters and chatting the night away until the sun came up. Of course the next day was uneventful, involving a series of blurry dreams about mosaic staircases and drunken irish people. We awoke late in the afternoon and decided that no visit to Rio would be complete without taking in a soccer game. We signed up with a group of tourists from the hostel and set out to see Botafogo play Vasco, two teams that I had never heard of in my life, but are apparently some of the top contenders in Rio. Even though our arbitrarily chosen team (Botafogo) lost badly, the game was a blast and I finally got to see the fury of flying toilet paper rolls and even help hold up a giant view-impeding banner for a while. The last day we awoke at a more reasonable hour with the intention of going back to the beach, but had to change our plans when the sky clouded over and the sky started sweating on us. Instead we went to the botanical garden, which turned out to be a good decision as we strolled through the amazing variety of plant life. The highlights of the garden were the carnivorous plant greenhouse and a curious family of wild monkeys that had climbed down from the surrounding jungle. To finish up our visit to the worlds most picturesque city we climbed up Morro Urca, the smaller brother of the famous Sugarloaf Mountain featured on every postcard. Urca gave us almost exactly the same view, at a savings of $22, and even threw in a spotting of a hideous tropical opossum on the trail along the way. The final morning we woke up early and caught a bus... but then we got off the bus. Finally, unfortunately, and cheerfuly our cohesion with the land was to be broken, and we boarded a plane bound for Salvador da Bahia.In Salvador we had arranged for another bout of couchsurfing, this time with a university graduate student named Fabio. We showed up at his house and he immediately made us feel welcome by offering us lunch in his comfortable apartment. When he returned to class, we set out to see the historic section of town and to take in the vibrant afro-brazilian culture all around us. Our taste buds reveled in the local flavors of acarajé (bread and shrimp fried in palm oil and covered with spicy sauces) and açai (a smoothie made from a healthy and delicious red berry) while our ears and eyes feasted on the dancing and music from a local parade celebrating international water day. That night we returned to Fabios and started preparing to celebrate his friends birthday at a nearby bar. He drove us down to ´Bohemia Bar´ and we said our congratulations in our broken Portuñol (Spanish spoken with a Portuguese accent). After we had finished off a couple beers our host suggested that we make a move on the bottle of vodka that had remained practically untouched in the center of the
table. ´Dont worry,´ he said ´I need to be home by 11:00.´ One drink turned into four and by midnight we were feeling pretty toasty, laughing at the musician/entertainer as he covered classic Portuguese songs to the accompaniment of everyone else in the bar besides Viviana and I. As we reached the bottom of the bottle I found out that I was not to be left out of the action. When the singer asked for volunteers from the crowd for his next number all the fingers at the table pointed at the gringo, and I was hustled up in front of the crowd with 3 other unlucky souls as we were outfitted with bandanas and forced to do our own personal rendition of Menudo. As my shame faded into the night we heard the sound of rain trickling on the roof... then it started trickling on the floor, the bar, the stage, and everything else. The whole bar was soon covered in water from the leaky roof and we decided it was time to call it a night. By this point it was 3AM and our host Fabio was having some communication problems as we asked how to get back. His roommated offered to drive and after I helped navigate with the aid of Vivianas headlamp and a very blurry map that seemed to have printed everything in double. We finally made it home and spent the next day recovering and preparing for our trip to Lençois, a paradise of waterfalls and caves 6 hours towards the interior of the country.We came to Lençois on the suggestion of our mutual friend Melanie from Tucson, who was coming in a few days to live there. We had done very little research on what the town had, and had zero expectations. Only when we arrived in the small diamond mining town with cobblestone streets and brightly colored walls did we really start getting excited. After checking into a campsite we headed up to the first of several amazing and unique waterfalls we were to see in the area. This one was called Cachoeia Serrano, and consisted of a giant sloping rock hillside with numerous small chasms where the water swirled around, pouring from one to the other. In addition to the unusual rock formation the water itself was completely new to us. In Serrano and many of the other swimming holes around Lençois the water is completely black, forbidding us from seeing more than a foot under the water. The color is said to be due to decaying plant matter in the water, but leaves no odor or foul taste, only an odd sense of mystery. The following day we set off towards our next waterfall, Ribeiro do Meio. This one involved a half hour walk through the forest, and a close call with a coral snake sleeping in the trail. Like Serrano, this swimming hole also has a large flat rock, but this time it leads down into a large deep pool at the bottom. When we
arrived no one was in the water, so we were a little hesitant to hop into the large pool that looked liked it was filled with Guinness stout. Soon some locals came to my rescue, and as they showed me which rock to jump off, they also led me up the hillside a bit and showed me what sets Ribeiro do Meio apart from the other falls. With a running start the locals went sliding down the large slab of rock on their feet, skating down the face into the pool below. When it was my turn I tried to show my confidence from years of skateboarding and snowboarding. Before I could even reached the take off spot I slipped and started flying down the rock on my hands and butt. I flopped over a fissure in the rock and splashed into the pool at the bottom, missing a bit of back skin but ready for another go. That night we recovered and used our well-honed haggling skills to arrange a tour of some of the surrounding area for the next day. We visited a cave with multi-colored stalagmites, a section of the national park filled with striking table-top mountains, and another swimming hole called the Devil´s Pool. By the time Melanie arrived that night we were already fully convinced of the beauty of her new and former home. Since we had done the main circuit of waterfalls it was Melanies job to show us the culture and lifestyle of a small Brazilian mountain town, and she did it with style. The first day she showed us how to properly relax in the Bahia style, 
which involves lying on the rocks in the sun between dips in the river. At night she gave us the cachaça tour, a sampling of 9 different types of infusions, liquers, and batidos (smoothie-style) using various local fruits and herbs. The fine liquors were follwed by fine foods the next day, as Katia, a local Lençoisen, prepared us a number of delicious dishes made from local ingredients like cactus and tapioca flour. By the time we left Lençois we were feeling quite refreshed, prepared for the final mad dash up north. We now have just over 2 weeks left on the continent, and a few important appointments before we leave, so our next bit of rest (and probably my next post) wont come until we are back on US soil.
