The Ghostly Shipwreck of the Yacht “Mar Sem Fim”

Mar Sem Fim is also called Endless Sea is a Brazilian yacht that was sunk and afterward got frozen in ice in Maxwell Bay of Ardley Cove, Antarctica, about 1,200 kilometers south of tip of South America, in April 7, 2012. The yacht that belonged to the famous Brazilian journalist and entrepreneur João Lara Mesquita, was crewed by four peoples who were filming a documentary off the Antarctic coast when the boat overturned. Strong winds in excess of 100-kilometer per hour had tossed the boat from one side to the other “like a bucking bronco in a rodeo,” according to one crew member.

With their vessel trapped in ice, the crew radioed for assistance and was received by the Chilean navy in the base in Bahia Fildes, in Antarctica. All four investigators were finally rescued but bad weather delayed the process by couple of days. João Lara Mesquita says who was also in the yacht then with strong winds and high waves, the boat Frei came to us. Our evacuation was extremely ambitious waves of more than 1.5 meters and winds over 40 knots made the boat jump from one side to another, just like a bucking bronco. When it got close, each of us threw ourselves into the arms of three Chilean crew members. Fortunately all went safely. Mar Sem Fim, however, couldn’t be rescued. The nearby freezing water that had been tossed over the ship was later frozen and then split the hull when it expanded. This phenomenon is called complete compression, and is what was later determined to have been the final blow to the hull of the Mar Sem Fim, sending her to the bottom of the shallow bay.

The boat lay in about 30 feet of water, preserved and can be seen from above, for almost a year, until rescue in early 2013. Owner João Lara Mesquita managed to return to the site and when the weather fully cooperated sent divers who wrapped strong lines under the hull and attached them to inflated buoys on either side. The buoys were incessantly inflated, gradually raising the vessel that had been underwater for almost a year. Once the vessel was surfaced, and then it was towed back to the shore where the researchers recovered their equipment and the Mar Sem Fim will most likely head for salvage. The ship was though insured for $700,000, nevertheless, the breached hull and damage from being submerged for ten months would seem to indicate the vessel is beyond repair.

Source: Amusing Planet 

Iguazù Falls By Erwin Olmos

I took this footage's on a trip to the Iguazû Falls (Argentina and Brazil). This small video can not shows its magnificence. I'd like to encourage all the people should pay a once life time visit  to this amazing natural world heritage. It's really a breathtaking scenery. You'd enjoy a lot to see real nature.
Hope you like it.!!!!!
Gear: Canon 7D with 70-200mm, 50mm and 15-85 lens. Manfrotto tripod and a small badly slider.

Iguazù Falls from Erwin Olmos on Vimeo.

Enchanted Well at Chapada Diamantina in Bahia, Brazil

The Enchanted Well also called “Poco Encantado” located in Chapada Diamantina National Park in Bahia, Brazil approximately 400 kilometres inland from Salvador, the capital town of Bahia. The inspiring feature of well consist of crystal clear water, even pebbles and tree stumps can clearly be seen. This monster sunken pool water is more than 120 feet deep, even though you can still see the bottom. The gorgeous “well” was actually formed through erosion of an underground river in surrounding limestone environment.

Moreover when the sun is just right, light comes through a gap and creates a blue reflection on the water, which is really worth watch view. A small crevice allows the infiltration of sunlight at certain times; causing a magnificent waterfall of pale blue light. Lovely isn’t it? The sunlight ray reflected by minerals in the water, exclusively magnesium, conceives a unique azure sight interior the clear waters in the darkness of the cave. It normally in-between April and September there happen the alignment occurrence, in such a way that the rays hit the deep ground of the azure well interior the cave. However on full moon nights between October and stride you have the indistinguishable exquisite scene under the moonlight. Access to this pond is highly controlled for environmental protection of its rare and delicate ecosystem.

The glowing blue beauty of Enchanted Well water is so transparent that sometimes it’s tough to identify the roof of the cave reflected on the water from the bottom of the lake. A direct sunlight illuminates the pond through a natural hole in the cave wall. The afternoon sun reaches down to the Blue Cave-a small pool hidden under a deep rock ledge, behind a curtain of aerial roots-giving it an electric-blue tone, resulting in strikingly gorgeous view. To put an end enchanted well has great speleological value, including very rare stalagmite formations. It is really a fascinating place and you can explore lot of other things.

Guairá Falls Brazil, Paraguay

About 20 KM north of the astonishing Iguazu Falls, there’s another natural wonder even more stunning than the Iguazu falls. This is so called Guaira Falls or Seven Falls or Sete Quedas in Portuguese along the border between Brazil and Paraguay. This was a beautiful series of 18 massive waterfalls on the Paraná River situated at a point where the river was forced through a narrow gorge. Moreover at the head of falls, the river becomes narrowed abruptly from a width of about 380 meters to 60 meters, creating one of the most potent waterfalls on earth with a flow rate double that of the Niagara Falls.

The whipping water formed a deafening noise that could be heard from 30 kilometer away. For several years, it was a popular tourist attraction and a favorite place among the locals, until 1982 when the Brazilian military blew away the rocks over which the water fell to create a lake for the newly constructed Itaipu Dam. The Itaipu Dam is the biggest operating hydroelectric plant in terms of annual energy generation, generating approximately 100 TWh of power each year that accounts for 75% of the electricity consumed by Paraguay and 17% of that consumed by Brazil. To construct such a gigantic dam some sacrifices had to be made, and one of them was to flood the Guaíra Falls. Amazingly a months before the great flood, thousands of sightseers flocked to the area to see the falls for the last time.

When a group of excited visitors walked over a miserable maintained suspended footbridge, it collapsed immensely under the weight resulting in the death toll of more than 80 people. Therefore as the waters starts to rise, hundreds of people congregated to participate in a guarup, an indigenous ritual in memory of the falls. The inundation took only 14 days, happening during the rainy season when the level of the Paraná River was high. Then on October 27, 1982, the reservoir was fully shaped and the falls had vanished. The Brazilian government later dynamited the submerged rock face of the falls, to encourage safer navigation on the river. The director of the company that built the dam, later issued a statement saying, "We're not destroying Seven Falls. We're just going to transfer it to Itaipu Dam, whose spillway will be a substitute for [the falls'] beauty" however apparently it is impossible to take pictures of the Guairá Falls these days, I’ve collected below pictures from different websites.

Angra Dos Reis Islands of Brazil

If you’re looking for a peaceful calm place to relish your summer vacation then you should plan your journey to Angra Dos Reis, convenient yet exclusive destination to relax. These islands are the most prominent tourist attraction in Brazil for local and global visitors. Lush vegetation and the emerald waters can be explored with your private boat. Building on the raw and unmatched potential of these islands to seduce, it is Blue Parallel which makes the experience memorable with our closely unlimited capability to deliver luxuries, activities, amenities, and local guides; all designed and planned exactly for you. Apart from the town, Angra dos Reis is well comprised of 365 beautiful islands and two thousand beaches filled with natural beauty, legends and social events. To know very well this part of the Fluminense Green Coast, one should be travel by boat, being able to understand the crystalline waters, and the mansions of the rich and famed, erected on private islands.