Iguazú

“You might get a little wet,” a stout Argentinian tour guide yelled in broken English, over the roar of a boat engine. “These waves get a little crazy!” As the tour boat flew down the canyon filled steam in Iguazú, the water glistened and rose into the faces of the passengers. On either side of the river were two humongous walls of tropical green moss and bright red rocks. On the left side was Brazil. On the right was Argentina.

“Everybody get ready!” the man yelled as the boat neared a corner. Suddenly, as the boat turned the corner, a humongous waterfall jumped into sight. As the boat set course and headed straight for the momentous falls, tourists started yelling in excitement and grabbed their cameras to take some pictures.

“You might wanna cover your cameras,” he yelled. The boat neared closer and closer to the forceful waterfall. 300 feet. 200 feet. 100 feet. 50 feet. Much to our surprise, the boat just continued on towards the waterfall without stopping. As we stopped nearly under the fall, the boat got drenched with water, as pounds of water fell upon our heads. We were immersed in the fall. Hidden under the forceful hand of nature, everyone started laughing in nervous excitement.

We then pulled out of the fall, and looked back at it as it gracefully and beautifully fell in the distance. As we got off of the boat, in the small trail nearby, we were drenched in water and ecstatic from the adrenaline-filled boat ride. After rinsing our clothes and taking a quick breath, we then began our voyage to the top of the waterfall. After about 20 minutes of zig-zagging through the Jurassic park – like trail, we reached the top of the waterfall.

I recall looking down at the wilderness from this high viewpoint. I imagined what it must have been like for the indigenous explorers who first saw this place centuries ago. I could imagine them walking upon this paradise, before it had built in walkways and fat tourists with cameras. I could imagine the way they looked down the waterfall, and saw the abundant power of nature’s streams. Standing above the waterfall, in the same place as they once stood, I could understand why people believed and still do believe in god.

After taking in the beauty, we then took a trolley to the most famous waterfall in Iguazú, called la Garganta del Diablo. This site was astonishing. This waterfall was a large oval canyon where water fell down from every direction. The entire area was full of rising white mist, due to the pressure of the water. Looking at the magnificent hole in the ground, I felt as if humans were very small weak.

The next day, my group ventured out to the sub-tropical jungle. The characteristic of this trip that jumped out at me first was the bright red soil that lined all the paths in this area. As we drove down the path towards the jungle, we passed various Indigenous communities. Outside of the small, impoverished homes were families sitting outside in the warm weather, eating, drinking, and fighting off the heat.

Once we reached the woods, the first stop was a Zip Lining course. As I walked up the wooden stairwell and stood under the metallic line, I felt my hear pounding and my nerves growing. I looked down at the large drop to the ground, and felt my head start to shake. I suddenly felt as if I had forgotten how to stand, and thought I would undoubtedly fall over myself if I tried to walk. But my legs stood strong. Suddenly it was my turn. The guide took my harness and attached it the line.

“Estás listo,” he said.

“Pienso que sí,” I responded.

“OK,” he nodded. And then he pushed me off. A wave of excitement hit me as I started to glide across the wire.

“HOOOOLLLLLLYYYYY SHIIIIIITTTTT,” I yelled as I passed over hundreds of trees. “I AM THE CHAMPION!”

After stopping after the first round of zip lining, I then began the second. On this trip, I took a moment to look out at the wilderness that surrounded me. As far as my eyes could see was the jungle. I felt like I was on the island in “Lost.” It was amazing to be in such a different place than I had ever seen.

When the zip lining was finished, we continued on the trail towards a running river, which lead to a small waterfall in the jungle. It was in this environment, where we did some propelling. Connected to a harness, we slowly climbed down the waterfall, jumping from rock to rock, trying not to slip on the smooth, wet rocks, and avoiding the water as best as we could. Not surprisingly, we all got pretty wet, and the guide holding us up with the rope got a good work out.

We then headed home, tired from a long voyage, and content with the new experience. As I sat down in the van to go home, I closed my eyes and thought back to the great sites I had seen. I put in my headphones, and relaxed as “Welcome to the Jungle” played in my ears.