This unusual tree, with the scientific name Couroupita guianensis, is noteworthy because it flowers so profusely. There can be up to 1000 blooms per day on just one tree. The fruit, which resembles a cannonball, measures up to 25 centimeters wide. Most trees get up to 150 fruits in a season.
The flowers in the garden were unusual and colorful. There was something different around every corner.
All of the amazing flowers at the botanical garden attracted a wonderful variety of butterflies.
The Catedral de Sao Sebastiao was built between 1964 and 1979. It has a capacity of 20,000 people. The building is cone shaped with floor to ceiling stained glass windows on the four walls that are 64 meters tall.
This is the government building where the legislature meets. We were unable to go inside because there were demonstrators filling the square and lining the steps of the building.
The opera house was a beautiful building modeled after the French opera house.
We enjoyed walking down the narrow pedestrian streets with sidewalk cafes and interesting storefront windows.
Favela means shanty town in Portuguese. It is considered slum housing in Rio. These houses are densely packed together and cover the hills on the outskirts of town.
Iguazu Falls was our next destination. We flew in from Rio and settled into the Loi Suites Hotel. It was nestled into the forest and had suspension bridges connecting the main building to the outer buildings.
We began our visit to Iguazu Falls on the Argentinean side. We walked along trails and catwalks to various overviews. The sound of the rushing water created a background noise that filled the air with excitement. The air was also filled with a thick mist from the falls and we quickly became very wet.
There are between 150 and 300 separate waterfalls that span the nearly 2 mile length of the falls. The height for each falls varies from 200 to 269 feet. No matter where we looked, the view was stunning and the falls were spectacular.
