Foz do Iguaçu Shopping

For everyone who thinks of government as a nightmare and for those who pray to the bible of Laisser-faire, Ciudade del Este is a paradise. The fifty years old city of Ciudad del Este grew much during the construction of the huge nearby hydroelectric project, and now survives by being Argentina´s and Brazil´s shopping center for all sorts of illegaly imported goods.
When arriving first time to Ciudad del Este, you will have the impression of being in a place that cannot exist. Motorcycles run crazily in the streets, there is no place in the sidewalks to walk, and still more you will be surrounded by groups of vendors at every step you give in the streets. They will go offer to you everything from stockings, panties through 'viagra', to car tools or DVD's.
And there is plenty to choose from. Lots of new technology, mountains of watches etc. Huge 5-story buildings and more street stalls than you can possibly explore. Real Gucci in slick in air-conditioned stores and fake Gucci right outside on the street.

What to buy: Everything, what you need or do not need!

What to pay: Things are very cheap here, but I really do not know why.

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In this shop you can buy the finest linen and lace, tablecloths, napkins, blouses, and so on.
But I do not know, whether the items are hand-made or not. Brazil is not famous for its lace-making industry.

What to buy: Linen and lace.

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The shop offers everything you ever considered picking up but didn't!!!
You can find things here, from all regions of Brazil: T-shirts, carvings, carpets, hats, hides, semiprecious stones, precious stone and much more.
The Três Fronteiras Artesanatos is one of the largest craft stores of the Latin America, with more than 4000 differentiated items of several parts of the country and made in the most several types of materials.

What to buy: Precious and semiprecious stones.

What to pay: The prices are low here.

This is a make shift outfit designed to meet the needs of the tourists for authentic aboriginal crafts. All sorts of paraphernalia is available and bargaining is alive unlike most of the other shopping venues in Brazil.
The most attractive thing is the fact that you are exchanging value with a true Guarani, just like the Spanish and Portuguese explorers did several centuries ago. The authenticity of the background is almost intact and there is no danger of being killed and eaten alive (actually the Guarani people have never been that violent if we are to believe the American movies).

What to buy: The specials on sale include pan flutes, bags for girls and other trinkets.

What to pay: The usual fare is about 5 Reais, but dollars are also gladly accepted. Generosity is a virtue here as well with the added plus of helping maintain kind of lifestyle that is under a lot of pressure to change.

There were lots of souvenis shops around as usual at touristic places and everyone was buying buying anything they could find with the name of the place on it..

What to buy: Was tempted to buy a t-shirt with Iguassu written on it then changed my mind ,not interested letting my friends know I been there...

What to pay: All you got.

Having been dropped off in downtown Foz by our tour group, and not having understood a word of what they had told us in Spanish (other than the fact we had about one hour free time, which eventually stretched into 90 minutes) we did not wander too far from where the bus was parked.

After finding a washroom in a restaurant, we then walked past a nice-looking internet cafe, offering a chance to catch up on our news. Since we had arrived unexpectedly in Brazil this day, I paid with a small US$ bill and received some change back in Brazilian currency.

What to buy: It was getting close to noon by now, and we were feeling hungry. While standing on the street looking like tourists, a member of the roaming Foz 'tourist help' walked up and asked if she could be of assistance. It was very nice of her to point us to where we might be able to get something quick to eat. However, in the end, we ran out of time and I had limited funds for Brazil, so we bought a couple of very nice chocolate-covered ice cream bars and headed back to the mini-bus!

This duty free shop is it not located at Foz, but at the Argentine Custom, wich is situated few kilometers far from Foz.

Este centro comercial libre de impuestos no está situado en Foz, sino en la Aduana argentina, que está situada a pocos kilómetros de Foz.

What to buy: Whisky, vodka, wine, cigarettes, chocolates, perfumes, makeup, clothes, toys, jewellery, watches...

Whisky, vodka, vino, cigarrillos, chocolates, perfumes, cosméticos, ropa, juguetes, joyas, relojes...

What to pay: It is a duty free shop...!

Es un comercio libre de impuestos...!

I never expected to find a gift shop at a dam, but Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant there is a cosy shop where you can find different kind of stuff.

Nunca esperé encontrar una tienda de regalos en una represa, pero en la Central Hidroeléctrica de Itaipú hay una tiendita acogedora en donde encontrarán todo tipo de objetos.

What to buy: What do you want? T-shirts, coffee cups, hats, magnets, toys... The picture shows a couple of little motorbikes.

¿Qué desean? Camisetas, tazas par café, sombreros, imanes, juguetes... La foto muestra un par de pequeñas motocicletas.

What to pay: Of course, these gifts are more expensive here, but they are quite original.

Claro está, estos regalos son más caros aquí, pero también son bastante originales.