Saturday 2nd September 2006: ITAIPU DAM: Foz Do Iguazú, Brasil

The only other place to visit in Foz Do Iguazú after Cataratas Do Iguacu is the Itaipu Dam, one of the seven modern wonders of the world.

Located on the border between Brasil and Paraguay, along the Paraná river, it is the largest (in power output) hydro electric dam in the world. Even after China´s Three Gorges Dam is completed Itaipu will still provide the most electricity. Standing at 196 metres high (equivalent to a 50 storey building) it took thirteen years for the first turbines to start working in 1984; in 1991 all eighteen turbines were fully operational. The amount of concrete used to build the Itaipu Dam would be enough to build 210 football stadiums the size of the Maracana and the amount of iron and steel used would build 380 Eiffel Towers! With eighteen turbines (two more are currently under construction) Itaipu Power Plant provides 95% of the energy consumed in Paraguay and 25% of that consumed by Brasil.

It was a cold night (our coldest yet at 9oC!) when we went to see the illumination of the Dam. We stood around shivering whilst we watched the short video showing pictures of the entire plant whilst listening to the two comperes explain the video. Finally (we were frozen by this time!) they switched on the lights which was accompanied with the theme tune from the film '2001 ' which was so cheesy. However, when the dam was fully illuminated there were lots of gasps of 'wow!' from the crowd - us included! Our tour ended with a drive up close to the Dam and around the power plant which allowed us to enjoy in warmth this amazing feat of engineering.

Itaipu Dam