In the war of the waterfalls the clear victor is Iguazu. Speaking with the “voz” of experience, Iguazu takes down Niagara like Rocky took down Apollo Creed.
You see, Apollo had a terrifying punch, it was uber powerful. But Rocky…
Rocky just punched and punched and punched again. Relentless. He wears you down until you are near dead and convulsing on the mat. Then, as the crowd cheers, you thank him for punching you! Curious.
Such is Iguazu Falls.
The chasm between Iguazu and Niagara is vast. Sure, Niagara looks taller and because of its shear breadth takes your breath away. Iguazu however cannot be grasped. Over 270 waterfalls combine to put the visitor in sensory overload. Cranial Mayhem! Some falls are seemingly as wide as Niagara, others only six to twelve inches wide but falling into deep chasms before coming out into the river. This staggering beauty is breathtaking. I thought to myself;
“Only God paints this well.”
Once you arrive, you can take a train into the park where the trailheads begin. There are three trails from the Argentinian side of the falls. These trails are either paved or grated iron which makes the ascents and descents quite easy. The uppermost trail is under construction so that leaves the rim and river trails to explore. The top trail simply brings you to the top of what is called the Devil’s Throat which is a spectacular horseshoe of water, caving in on itself from all directions and spewing an eternal mist out of its mouth and skyward. I didn’t feel like I missed anything by not having access considering I took a boat into the devil’s mouth to the point I am surprised the pilot could retain his bearings to get us out. We were so far down the Devil’s Throat that the cascade actually fell directly into the boat. You are quite literally blinded by the force of the spray and many who were not wearing glasses regretted their inability to open their eyes. Glad I brought mine though it was still blinding. I felt like that stupid teenager that tells his buddy to power wash his face. For a moment I thought things were going south because the boat was filling with water. Roughest shower I ever had. Pleased to report though, I am alive… and by the way, exceedingly clean!
Back to the trails.
I walked the upper path first. It allows you to peer over the edge of several of the falls and takes you to a vantage point that looks to the most photographed vista. It is beautiful. Here, unlike the Devil’s Throat, you can get great pictures because the mist does not destroy your camera or fill the lens with those accursed water spots that always seem to place themselves directly over your face or causes your head to look like it has a bowling ball sized tumor coming out of it. The upper trail was beautiful but there is nothing like the view of a waterfall from the bottom.
The lower trail cuts through the jungle in a way that you don’t see anything until you see everything. Like walking in on someone in the shower… One minute nothing, then everything! You turn the corner, clear the tree, pass the boulder, and Bam! Huge, amazing, roaring whitewater goodness. Hello!
The cool part of walking the trails could be a sport called “The Dodging of the Coatís.” A coatí is cat sized mammalian breed of freaky striped anteater looking timidity that must be part rabbit because that little dude has babies everywhere. Oh did I mention how cute the babies are. Very!
After walking to the end of the lower trail, which really is not at river level, but more like mid-to-lower falls, you can continue on to the boat ride which I spoke of earlier. For a reasonable fee about $32 you can ride a powerboat to experience the falls. I’ll post that one on YouTube!
Needless to say, it’s one more adventure in the life of this very privileged man. Besides the most important things; God’s gift of a godly woman and mother, and two incredible kids that I could not be more proud of, he continues to bless me with the experiences of a lifetime. Earlier I said;
“Only God paints this well.”
For the record, I intend to visit every gallery that I can in this wonderful museum of His, until the day I meet him face to face.
Blessings!
December 2014
Here’s the Video