Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Morning run from Foz do Iguacu, heading south in the general direction of the Brazilian 'three frontiers' monument, where three countries meet at the junction of the Parana and Iguacu Rivers. I wasn't sure how far it was, but when I got a possible turnaround point I could see it wasn't too far away and decided to go to it, making this a slightly longer run than planned. Not the worst of settings for it; along a main road for much of the way out of the centre but not one with a lot of traffic (at 7am anyway), rolling hills, getting into poorer but not unsavoury suburbs, before in the last kilometre at the far end getting beyond the town limits and into an area which at that time of day was the domain of fishermen and learner drivers - the smugglers presumably having cleared out before sunrise (they would probably pick more obscure river access points in any case).

Quite a decent run, if a little slow, at its best around the middle. Started to fade a bit in the last 20 minutes and Achilles also a little sore towards the end, which often happens if my calves have been without a massage for a while. Whether I can do anything about this depends on whether I can find somewhere where I can make it understood in a foreign language that I want a massage and not a "massage". (Bariloche, which is a ski and outdoors resort, may offer potential in that respect).

With the run done, it was on to the main business of the day, which was to see the falls, preferably from both sides. The logistics of this are modestly challenging but not insurmountable (of course you could go on a tour rather than use regular public transport, but where's the fun in that?). The mission was accomplished, and the falls were every bit as awe-inspiring as expected, even if what is supposed to be the best viewpoint of all (the overlook of the "Devil's Throat" from the Argentine side) is still closed because of damage from the June floods. Brazil has the best panoramas but Argentina many more opportunities to get close to individual falls (of which there are 70-odd). There was thundery rain for much of the afternoon, but if it was going to happen it was probably better that it happened while I was on the Argentine side where most of the photos are at closer range. Reasonable number of people around without being oppressively crowded; I get the impression this is low season around here, and in the absence of any tour groups staying here I'd say my hotel is at most 20% full (which is why I got such a good deal on it, though apparently it's booked out this weekend).

I was not surprised to see a number of other people who were clearly orienteers (although no-one I knew personally). I was rather more surprised to encounter Simon Rouse in a downtown street, if only because the last time I'd spoken to him his plans for this week involved being somewhere about 1000km vway from here (said plans were amended at the last minute).

Notes on the logistics of the day: the Brazilians didn't bother to look at my passport either leaving or returning (neither or both are OK, one out of two would have been a problem as it would have meant an exit stamp without an entry one or vice versa), and I did my first two unofficial Argentine currency deals, one with the bus driver (not a great rate but meant I was able to offload some Brazilian reais that would have been difficult to exchange otherwise) and one by paying for lunch in US$ and getting the change in pesos.

My watch has acquired the disconcerting habit of spontaneously resetting itself every week or two (most recently yesterday). Should I feel so inclined, I could probably pick up a "Rolex" in Ciudad del Este tomorrow for less than the price of a decent splits watch at home, but I don't so I won't.