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We are out of Foz
Well, it has been a wild four days here in Foz do Iguacu. This is the social and travel entry, with KDE and FTF related ones to follow. First off, it was fun to see old friends again — Helio in particular, and a belated congratulations to him for joining Collabora. Met many new friends, from Python Brasil, from KDE MG (not the racing car, but Minas Gerais). Heard from Ane Cecilia about her GSOC work on Plasma, watched some Gluon games, saw a bit of Rocs, and had James Italiano explain Fluid to me. All very impressive pieces of technology or innovation. Anne-Marie Mahfouf was here as well, on vacation, and we just kept having to say to various KDE-BR folk “you need to go to Akademy.” Good times.
As for the Iguacu Falls themselves, Eleanor Roosevelt was right. Four of us — Sandro, James, Anne-Marie and myself — went on saturday afternoon. There had been a heavy rain and wind storm in the morning, so there were trees down all over Foz; however, mere rain doesn’t get you nearly as wet as the swollen river thundering over the falls into the Devil’s Throat. Advice: wear sandals and short shorts, and buy the raincoat.
Going to Paraguay for shopping is a popular pastime here, so I joined in an expedition this morning. Expedition is the wrong word, since it’s a ten minute taxi ride across the Friendship Bridge. However, shopping in an area crushed by poverty feels very wrong. The contrast between the two sides of Foz is striking and uncomfortable. The Brasilian side of Foz is relatively clean and neat, and — although I have very little material for comparison — feels safe and somewhat welcoming. I know I’ll be planning for next year.