Cheers to the Universe

3:30 in the morning, my alarm was boinging as I tried to remember why on earth I was getting up so early. And then I remember, one of the most beautiful places of the earth was waiting for me. So I rubbed the crusties off my eyes, grabbed my backpack, and took a taxi to the ISA office. We were supposed to meet there at 4:30, and surprising, no one (of the 50 something students) was late. I guess seeing a new wonder of the world is a pretty good reason to get out of bed.

After an hour and half bus ride to the airport, we walked through the rain to the check-in station. And this is where it goes downhill (or maybe it started with the rain)…  For some unknown reason, the airport’s check in system was down—some computer issue. So there were already long lines formed, for flights that were supposed to have left around 6. Besides wait, there was nothing we could do. We popped a squat on the airport floor and waited. And waited. And waited. Everything is harder in Argentina. I kept thinking, this would never happen in an international airport in the States. But then I had to remind myself that this isn’t the US (and I’m quite glad it’s not), and that things work differently in different places. I was going to be mad if a fluke in the airport system meant my waterfall time was cut short. But after a 4 hour delay, and then another delay on the plane, we were in the air and on our way to Iguazu.

When we got close to landing, the pilot came on the speaker and said we would be flying over the falls soon. It was pretty obvious they do this just to please the tourists, but it was amazing. Even from the air, the falls were significant. It surprised me that the land was so flat around the falls. There was a marsh/lagoon/lake, but not a river like I was expecting. The water literally just fell off into the canyon.

Fortunately, we had the flexibility in our itinerary to change our plans for the first day with the second. Unfortunately, it still didn’t work out. We were supposed to do some jungle trekking and see this indigenous tribe. But it had rained too much and the bus couldn’t make it through the mud. It was hard to keep everyone’s spirits up after a long day of doing nothing but waiting and getting our hopes crushed.

We did manage to go see the point where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. The countries are separated by a river, so we couldn’t physically be in them all at once, but it was cool to see different countries. It made me think about what a border truly means. When I went to Mexico the first time to build a house, I couldn’t believe the difference a boarder made. We went to Juarez, which was just south of El Paso, TX. We went from developed houses and businesses to shacks made of cardboard and rundown corner gas stations. So, looking out over the river to Paraguay and Brazil made me think, would the differences be that drastic? I doubt it would rival my experience in Mexico vs the US, but it’s funny to think that an invisible line can make such a big difference. The landscape may be similar, and the wild animals can’t tell the difference, but the people speak a different language, have varying customs, and use special money…

Anyway, we had lunch at a good restaurant and I was happy that it was cheaper than in Buenos Aires. The waiter was really friendly and patient with our obvious tourist-ness. That afternoon we had free so I spend some time taking pictures and exploring the tropical plants. It reminded me a lot of Thailand, at least in its terrain. Then we went swimming in the pool. I hadn’t brought my swim suit (in retrospect, that would have been a great idea), so I went in a sports bra and boy shorts. Yup, I was that girl. But I felt good about it. A couple years ago, I would have never, never ever, done that. Now I’m more comfortable with my body and put having fun higher than worrying about what other people think.

After a pizza dinner, we headed to bed in our nice, air conditioned hotel room. Breakfast in the morning was probably the best food (at least the best breakfast food) I’ve had since being here. They had scrambled eggs with cheese, tons of breads and pastries, juice, tea, fruit, and medialunas (sweet croissants, probably my favorite food of Argentina, along with dulce de leche).

After breakfast, we were finally on our way to the waterfalls. Our tour guide was telling us all of the different kinds of plants and animals to look for. We saw all sorts of birds and insects, including the lucky 88 butterfly. We also came across a giant spider, about the size of my palm. I took a quick picture, and then was on my merry way. There were also a lot of raccoon-like creatures (I’ll try to figure out the Spanish name for them) that were fond of the tourist’s food and would get really close if they thought you would feed them.

We heard the falls before we could see them. When the waterfalls first came into sight, I was amazed. Speechless. Awestruck. I had seen pictures online, but being there in person is so different. The water keeps coming down, seemingly from nowhere. I think that’s what struck me the most, was how eternal the falls are. They’ve been around since some sort of volcanic or tectonic occurrence who knows how long ago, when the canyon separated the land in just the right way so that by some odd happenstance the water could simply fall down and be so completely, utterly, unbelievably beautiful. It made me think that there has to be some sort of design to this life, because nothing that magnificent can be an accident (although accidents can be beautiful too).

We took the upper trail first, so that we could look down other the falls and get a better view of the falls off in the distance. We walked over several bridges that led us over some of the biggest falls. To have something so powerful, literally under my feet, was very moving. Again, I was surprised by how calm the water was before falling and becoming part of an ever-changing yet always-constant entity. Depending on the rain, the falls change and morph. If it rains a lot, it will stir up the red soil from the volcanic deposits and add color to the falls. If it doesn’t rain very much, it exposes parts of the rock that have been polished and stained by moving water. You can go back to the same spot everyday and never see the same sights.

The lower circuit was just as amazing, if not more, because it showed the height of the falls while still offering a panoramic view. I smiled every time the wind would mist me with the escaping water, knowing that part of something magical touched me just before it disappeared. Thinking about the sheer amount of water that passed through the falls in just one day made me appreciate the resources of the earth, how vast but precious they are.

We then hiked down to the bottom of the canyon, where we got to take a speed boat even closer to the falls. Decked out in life jackets and wet bags, we were prepared for a boat ride, but I don’t think any of us could anticipate the feeling. They took us down the canyon to see the other side of the falls better, and then we went speeding into the mouth of one of the biggest falls. I was soaked within seconds, but it was a liberating experience. The water washed over my doubts and insecurities, and replaced them with pure and powerful energy. Nothing can replace that feeling.

The boat ride was also a bonding experience full of camaraderie as we chanted “otro, otro, otro!” to get the driver to go back another time. He did, and it was just as good the second time. When the boat took us back to shore, I had a new respect for the water falls. While I enjoyed our controlled attempt to touch the falls, I realized how powerful, vicious, and fierce the falls are. I would not want to be on their bad side because there is nothing quite as intimidating as a roaring ball of blazing white water. It’s really an odd beauty, but we tend to find beauty in danger too.

And that was just the morning. We had lunch at the cafeteria place inside the national park and had just enough time to become a little less soggy. After lunch, we took a train to the other side of the park where we could access the “garganta del Diablo,” or the Devil’s Throat. I definitely see where they got the name. This is the biggest fall, at least on the Argentine side, and we got to see the mouth (quite literally) of water that just fell into a hole. Since there was so much mist and spray, we couldn’t see the bottom of the falls, so it really could have been falling into eternity. It certainly felt like it. At this point, the sun had come out and the heat was really intense, which made me even more grateful for the spray. This was our last waterfall, so I was sad to leave the falls to my back as I walked back across the lagoon/lake. I really wanted to visit the Brazil side, but since that requires a visa and another day, I was content with my memories and pictures.

I still can’t believe I was there, standing in the glory, and soaking in one of the “new natural wonders of the world” (as of 2011). It is something I will not forget.

After the falls, we drove for 4 hours to our new hotel. On the way, we watched “The Mission,” a movie about the place we were going to next. Sadly, napping took a priority over watching the movie, or else I would have had a better idea about the history of the Ruins of San Ignacio (our tour was entirely in Spanish. While I understood a lot, I still can’t comprehend locals when they speak so fast).The ruins were pretty cool, and I think they are a UNESCO world heritage site. From what I gathered of the history (but don’t quote me on this, a lot is lost in translation), this was one of the first missions of the Jesuits that were colonizing Argentina. In general, I like the idea of ruins and seeing something so old with such history. These people had to put a lot more effort into building something 400 years ago, meaning they have to care a lot about whatever it is they’re creating. Even without knowing the story very well, the ruins were fascinating because I felt the energy and the passion of people who had walked before me.

After the ruins, we went to an estancia, or farm. It was a luxury resort type of place and there was a pool, hammocks, plenty of sporting equipment including a ping pong table (yes, I’m still undefeated in South American), and way too much good food. They greeted us with empanadas and lemonade. Then we toured the mate factory where they harvest and dry the leaves to make mate. It smelled really good there. After that we had lunch. I had a delicious salad, grilled squash, and pasta with an onion and carrot sauce (their version of spaghetti). They also served asada, which is supposed to be the best beef in the world. I did try a bite of it, but in my opinion it was nothing special. Pasta is way better. They served tea afterwards and we had the afternoon free to relax and have fun. I really enjoyed myself. I played ping pong, played in the water, played with the puppies… it was nice to let everything else go and just play.

They didn’t let us leave with trying mate with lemonade. It was delicious and very refreshing. I’m not a huge fan of mate by itself, but the lemon added the perfect touch.  We also had these sopapia things that were probably one of the most amazing things I’ve eaten. They were fresh off of the wood stove and I watched the women roll out the dough. Then we put sugar on them while trying not to burn our fingers. Soo good.

It was finally time to head out to the airport. So we drove another hour to get there, waited two hours to check in (of course our flight was delayed again), waited longer after security, but finally got on the plane back to Buenos Aires. I tried to use the extra waiting time to study Spanish, but that attempt failed.

We arrived late at night and it was raining (of course it was raining. It wouldn’t have been right if we finished our trip on an easy note). But I liked the rain. It reminded me of the mist from Iguazu falls, and how the water everywhere is all a part of the water everywhere else. It doesn’t really matter where you are in the world—you’re always connected: to someplace, to a memory, to some dream, to our history. Even if it’s only with a simple drop of water.