Tag Archives: paraguay

Both the inside and outside view – of the impossibly immense Itaipu!

As promised, I turn now to the Itaipu Dam – the third-largest hydroelectric power plant in the world. It sits on the border between Brazil and Paraguay next to the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu, which is also famous for the nearby Iguaçu Falls.

So let’s go for a walk inside the power plant – where they actually run excursions!…

A monumentally massive structure! The main part of the dam, where the machine hall, the turbines, and all the other key stuff is, runs to nearly 900 meters long!

Read on…

Iguazu by chopper – it’s only proper.

While at the waterfalls called Iguazu, taking a helicopter ride is a must-do!

A flight up above the falls is not only wholly informative, it’s also thoroughly meditative – just how I like it. Oki-doki… off we chopper…

Here’s the Iguazu River downstream of the falls:

Here’s where the Iguazu (river) meets the Parana – the second longest South American river (after the Amazon, of course:). It’s also a spot where three countries’ borders meet: Paraguay to the right, Argentina – top left, Brazil – bottom left. The differences in the quality of housing and roads are quite marked between the three countries (see the photos further below) – highlighting their different levels of economic development:

Read on: Left of the river – Paraguay, right – Brazil…