Well worth visiting. Stay for coffee or drinks.

Fort Copacabana is a military base at the south end of the beach that defines the district of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. The base is open to the public and contains the Museu Histórico do Exército (Museum of the History of the Army) and a coastal defense fort that is the actual Fort Copacabana.

…  At the entrance to the base there is a guard in the uniform that was current when the fort was opened in 1914.

For the 2016 Summer Olympics, the fort is scheduled to host the cycling road race (start and finish), marathon swimming and triathlon events.

The museum is only in Portuguese. Up top on Canon’s Dome was my favourite part.

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What do you do in Copacabana when the weather is lousy?

Walk to the end of Leme beach to visit one of the two forts.

Here’s how it looks from the air.

I was the only tourist there late in the afternoon.

Young people pay a small entrance fee for the military base. Then it’s about a 20min climb up to the gates of the historic fort.

It reminded me of Fort Worden, Port Townsend, Washington.

There’s the cablecar to Sugarloaf.

Good views back down to the beach.

And to the Babylon favela where I’m staying.

Just beside famed Iguazu Falls is Parque das Aves.

50% are rescue birds. The noisy parrots reminded me of the World Parrot Refuge in Coombs, B.C.

43% were born in the Park.

It’s not Jurong Bird Park in Singapore, but Parque das Aves is bloody good. The best bird park in Latin America.

It poured rain while I was there. I walked briskly between exhibits to keep warm. Sadly my own photos turned out wet & blurry.

Read Trip Advisor reviews.

Having visited Victoria Falls in 2014 – and rafting the Zambezi below the Falls – I was quite sure Iguazu could not compete.

Happily I was wrong.

Iguazu is even better for the tourist. Though both Falls are astonishingly otherworldly, you get closer in Brazil.

Unhappily it poured tropical rain. I was soaked, cold and wind blown. I had to keep moving just to stay warm.

The highlight here is walking out into the middle of the Falls.

Yes those walkways have been washed out in the past.

Here’s how it look on a sunny day.

I wished I’d been here in the early days of tourism. 🙂

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If you haven’t been to Iguazu, put it on your Bucket List 🙂

Visit both sides. When I tried to cross the border into Argentina officials insisted I needed to pay a special $90+ visa – in advance – printed and in hand – for a visit of just a few hours. No exceptions.

I walked back across the bridge into Brazil. 😦

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