Visitor, Beco do Batman, Celebrations Around the World, and Iguazu

Peter's good friend Ben got to come visit us a few weeks back. He was here for work and extended so we could hang out with him on the weekend. I think you could say the girls were smitten :). 

While he was here, we went to a place called Beco do Batman. It is a section of alleys that are painted by street artists, and they are all so interesting to look at! Street art is a big thing here--you rarely drive and don't see something either graffitied or painted. Some is actually art, and some is just terrible graffiti. But this section is definitely worth visiting. It is also in a "hipster" area of town.

The next weekend while Peter was out of town, my American friends took the girls and I to the big PTA fundraiser at their school called "Celebrations Around the World." This was at the American school that is amazing! It costs a fortune, but the campus is huge and has two different playgrounds. Only problem is that it is not close to where we live. Anyway, about the fundraiser, about 26 countries were represented with a booth and food. There was also live music, bouncy houses, and a raffle. This is Charlotte with her little friend Nellie.

 Shaking her booty on stage with the Salsa dancer. These salsa girls were so great!

The girls have been best friends lately and they both love to snuggle. 

Finally, last weekend we took a trip to Iguacu Falls. It borders Argentina and Brazil. They are one of the 7 wonders of the world, and I personally think they earn that title. We started our trip on the Brazil side and walked onto this neat pathway that takes you right toward the heart of some of the most gushing waterfalls. It is called The Devil's Throat. We got soaked!

Lucky Clara spent most of the weekend in this, and managed to stay pretty dry.

This is the view from a tower that overlooks almost where we were standing. There were waterfalls visible from all different angles.

Another view from the lookout where we got soaked. It was so loud! 

A funny thing about this area is this animal--it is called a quati. It looks like a mix between a raccoon and an anteater. They are fearless and will jump on you to get whatever food you have. Which is too bad, considering they have these gigantic long claws! The kids really loved seeing them everywhere. 

Here is a view further down the path towards the end of the falls. They just go on and on!

That day we also took a boat, called the Macuco Safari, that takes you right into the rapids and under the falls! Charlotte loved it.

Clara not as much. But she was a trooper! They were some of the youngest kids at the falls and they really were spectacularly easy. 

This is what our boat looked like. The rapids were huge and I was so surprised at how it went through the waves with barely a bump. 

Can you tell Clara was a little wary of the whole boat situation? Haha. 

That evening we went to Parque das Aves (a bird park). They had hundreds of species of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen. It was really fun and the girls loved it!

 A few different parts of the park were cages that you could walk through. The birds would land right next to you and just sit there. Can I just say, the picture does not do this toucan justice. It was one of the coolest looking birds.

 Charlotte was so tired by the end of the day she got to have a turn in the backpack too.

The next morning we hopped on a bus to take us to the Argentina side. While at the falls, one side is Brazil and the other Argentina and they are a whole 50 yards of walking away from each other, the entrance to the Argentina park is a little further. So on the way to the entrance of that park, the bus took us to a tourist site where you can see Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil.

Charlotte was not super stoked about this stop. 

 We could not get Charlotte to smile for these pictures and the whole tour bus that came with us was laughing at the situation.

She cheered up a little on the next hike--it was also called Devil's Throat. It took us to the top of the falls where there was the greatest water flow. It made me a little nervous and I held on to the kids really tight!

 We went on a few more hikes that day that took us along the wall of waterfalls.

Our day was full of hiking and we were pretty exhausted by the end. I took over Clara duty for a little while and showed her the art of taking selfies. :)

There wasn't too much else to do in the area and we flew home the next day. It was an amazing trip and we feel so lucky that our little companions are so easy!