Did you know…
Paraguay and Brazil share the largest hydro-electric plant in the world?
It is called Itaipu, which means “the singing rock” in the Guarani tongue. It was built in the 70’s during the Strossner dictatorship, flooding thousands of hectares of land and relocating many people from their homes, but also promising huge economic advantages. The dam has 20 turbines, of which only one is needed to provide 95% of Paraguay’s electricity. The output from the other nine is sold to Paraguay in order to pay their debt to the Brazilian government which funded the whole project, or eaten up by government officials or others at the top of the ladder with the right connections. In some ways Itaipu is a bit of a sore spot for many Paraguayans, or at least the ones who recognize that the whole country could be greatly profiting from the dam, but because of the corruption are instead paying outrageous monthly electricity bills.
Itaipu, one of the seven wonders of the modern world, was only one of the places we visited this past weekend on a field trip ninth and tenth grade classes. We also saw Yguasu “big water” waterfalls. There is a story that Woodrow Wilson (my brother thinks it was him, may have been a different president), upon seeing these falls, remarked “poor Niagara.” It is indeed quite a sight, even with the small amount of water, because of the quantity of falls arranged in a beautiful landscape and all the big rocks and lush tropical growth. I was even more impressed by Salto Monday (pronounced mon-dai-ew, with a really nasally accent on the “ew”, meaning “neighbourhood river”), which is an extremely powerful, fast-moving waterfall, I think it said it had the most output per second of any waterfall in South America. There used to be another waterfall even higher and more powerful than Monday, but it was flooded with the building of the dam.
Two of the nights we slept on the bus, but one night we stayed at a most beautiful campground…completely free! In addition to the kitchens and BBQ spits and cabins furnished with mattresses, there was even bike riding, horseback riding and wagon rides the next morning. What made me a little sad that it was one of six nature reservations built by the Itaipu corporation, which when one thinks about the amount of money that is running through their hands, the free camping is like giving away penny candies, an obvious attempt to win favour with the people that they have hoodwinked.
Another important place is the tres fronteras, where the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet and each has built a large monument displaying the colours of its flag. The first day we visited the Brazilian side, well-kempt and complete with a gift shop, fancy restaurant, and special tourist photo spots. Across the river you could see the large luxurious hotels in Argentina. The second day we went to the Paraguayan landmark, and I was struck by the obvious difference in the sites, which were supposed to represent unity and friendship between the countries. The Paraguayan one didn’t even have a road leading up to it, just a path cut through the trees. I would have been nervous had I not been with such a large group, for it seemed such an abandoned place, the run-down structure with graffiti all over it. Furthermore, the stairs were falling apart and at one point would lead an unobservant visitor straight over the steep edge. But once we got down to the river, I realized that out of the three, I would choose the Paraguayan side any day. There were no touristy gimmicks to distract, and the lack of boundaries really allowed us to enjoy the beauty of the grand rivers. At the same time, it makes me sad that Paraguay really doesn’t get a lot of credit for its beauty, and the people are not benefiting from the resources with which the country has been blessed.
It was definitely a very interesting school trip…I learned a lot about political history, upcoming elections, contraband, average income, the cost of electricity, and the working hours of the ladies who sell chipa, and favourite Paraguayan snack. I only hope the students learned as much as I did.
# posted by Ellen @ 8:48 PM
