Saturday 28 April 2007
As the water was probably still rising, and things were probably still closed up, we decided not to go back to the falls today, but to visit a different local attraction instead. About an hour away from Puerto Iguazu is the tiny town of Wanda, which boasts a semi-precious stone mine. It yields amythyst, crystals, topaz, and 110 different colors of agate, and it gives tours! So, we trekked out there (almost getting detained by the national guard for not having our passports on us) to take the tour.
We got dropped off about four kilometers away from the mine itself, and walked the last bit along a deep red dirt road. Along the sides of the road you could see crystals and low-quality amythysts in the dirt, amid the stones. Quite a few children came up and gave us "presents" of larger stones, trying to entice us into giving them a few coins. Our pockets were full by the time we arrived.
Unfortunately, as it was Saturday, we couldn't see any of the miners or cutters or polishers in action, but it was still neat. This picture is a butterfly drinking at a pool within an exposed geode.
No comments:
Post a Comment