Itaipu Dam spillway. It was dry in Paraguay at the time of our visit and only a trickle of water ran down these spillways.

View from the lower face of the dam.

We were allowed to visit the viewing area to see the top of the turbines. There are 18 turbines at Itaipu. One turbine generated enough power to meet most of Paraguay's electrical needs - the electricity from the other turbines is sold to Brazil.

Guarani Earth Museum

When the Itiapu Dam was built, thousands of acres of land were submerged by the lake formed at the top of the dam. This was part of an important ancestral area for the Guarani, the predominant tribe of native people in Paraguay. The company that built the dam funded the development of the Guarani Earth Museum and Zoo to preserve the history and culture of the Guarani in eastern Paraguay.
I don't have photos of the museum, however if you are ever in Hernandarios, Paraguay, be sure to plan on spending several hours there - it is an impressive collection of Guarani cultural artifacts and natural history of the area.

Ostriches at the zoo.

One of Gary's desires on this trip was to see a Jaguar. There were several in the zoo.

A closer view of a jaguar.

Iguazú Falls

The largest waterfalls in the world is actually over 250 separate cataracts tumbling over the rocky cliffs of the Iguazú River on the border of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. We traveled to Brazil to view the falls, and visit the National Park. It is impossible to describe the beauty and the impressive water power of this place.

Check out http://www.IguassuFallsTour.com for even more information.

These racoon like creatures are everywhere in the falls area.

Panorama of most of the falls.

A view of the falls as we hiked down toward the river.

The Macuco Safari takes you down to the river through a rain forest. Then you board a rubber raft for a trip to and under the falls. What a rush! And there is no way to stay dry.

We visited on a beautiful, sunny day and enjoyed rainbows from every direction.