"Poor Niagra"

When former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Iguazu Falls, she exclaimed, "Poor Niagra!" Having now seen Iguazu Falls myself, I could not agree more. I have traveled to most of the major national parks in the United States including the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and others; yet nothing that I have ever seen could even compare to Iguazu Falls.

Located in northeastern Argentina on the border between Argentina and Brazil, the falls are the most awesome natural wonder that I have ever experienced in my life and consist of approximately 270 discreet falls and large islands. My trip began last Thursday night (6/18/09) with a long distance bus ride aboard a "micro" from Buenos Aires to Iguazu. The trip lasted approximately 17.5 hours, and I was glad to be in the company of a good friend of mine from UNC, Chris. Still, the bus ride was incredibly comfortable (unlike the Greyhounds in the US). This bus had incredibly comfortable seats that recline almost a full 180 degrees and each passenger gets a prepackaged blanket and pillow as well. Two meals (one of which is a hot meal) are served aboard the bus, along with as much wine or beer as you can handle. Then, just when you think you've had enough and you are about to go to sleep, they break out the dessert champaign to make the rest that much easier!





When we arrived in Iguazu, we checked into our hostel, Puerto Iguazu, where we enjoyed a fine stay for only approximately $10 / night. From there, we were off to the park. On Friday, we traversed the upper falls, and got some excellent views of the falls from above like the one pictured here at right. We also visited the Sheraton hotel, which is actually located INSIDE the national park and which has many rooms that provide views of the falls.










Then, on Saturday, we hit the lower falls trail and took a boat over to San Martin Island (an island located in the middle of the outer circle of the falls which provides spectacular panoramic views of all sides). The lower falls trail and San Martin Island provided the most spectacular views, in my opinion, and it is from these locations that most of the pictures displayed here were taken. As the mist rolled off the falls and into my face and as I gazed up at fall after fall after fall, I could not help but feel happy to be alive! I knew I was witnessing something great, and I couldn't imagine what the first person to gaze upon these falls must have thought.







Finally, on Saturday afternoon, we visited La Garganta del Diablo (The Throat of the Devil)--the biggest and (arguably) most breathtaking fall of them all, pictured at right. Visitors to this site are sure to get drenched in the constant spray of water coming off the fall, and we were not exceptions. In fact, it was hard to take clear pictures without the lens getting wet, but I managed to snap a few displayed here. Unfortunately, we were not able to view La Garganta del Diablo or the other falls from the Brazilian side of the border because we did not want to spend over $100 to get the necessary visa just to cross the border that Brazil requires of US citizens (because the US charges a similar fee for Brazilian citizens to enter the US). Still, the views that we were enjoyed were more than enough, and we certainly did not feel like we were missing anything by not being able to see the falls from the Brazilian side.






As I conclude this post, I realize that neither words nor pictures can do justice to the falls. You really need to be there, to feel the mist in your face and to gaze up as sheets of water come crashing down around you in order to appreciate what the experience is all about. Iguazu made the short-list to be one of the New7Wonders of Nature by the Seven Wonders of the World Foundation, but it didn't quite make the cut. After visiting the falls myself, I cannot imagine what must have been going through the committee's mind when they slighted this incredibly beautiful and transformative site...







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