The indigenous people of this region, the Guaraní, revered the falls in the Iguazú river. Iguazú is derived from the Guaraní word for ‘big water’, a very apt description for one of the world’s great natural wonders. It is made up of 250 individual falls, spanning a distance of 3km.
I was blessed by that same water when I went on a boat that goes into the spray of two of the falls, one quite huge, and one lesser one. I was petrified beforehand, but once on the boat the adrenalin kicked in and the excitement became overwhelming.
Approaching the falls, one wonders if one will come out alive, and not quite knowing what to expect, the first torrent of water came as a huge shock that left me breathless. I was still gasping and trying to wipe the water from my eyes, when the next shower hit me. This repeated itself several times, leaving me completely exhilarated and exalted. By the time we had gone through the second waterfall I was soaked and shivering but as we sped back through the rapids, I turned my face to the sun, closing my eyes and allowing my body, mind and spirit to soak up the warming rays, and that’s when I realised that my soul had doubled in size. Such a meaningful blessing.
This is one of the falls we went into:
I was sure my gnat-bites would stop itching after the water-blessing, but no go – still huge welts that itch like mad. My cousin Lynton reckons spirit earth has a sense of humor.I spent the rest of the day exploring the 3 different routes that lead to different sections of the falls. The one to the biggest fall, called Garganta del Diablo (Throat of the Devil), is a 1,1km walk on metal walķways accross the river:
Throat of the Devil:
Some of the falls one can view from lower down, and get quite close up. This one is called Bossett:
Bossett Fall, and Adam & Eve on the left:
A view of one of the larger sections:
Puerto Iguazú regards itself as the tourist capital of Argentina, as the falls are the most popular tourist attraction. There are shops and restaurants galore, and although quieter at this time of the year, I am sure it is packed during summer. It is quite hot, and I was relieved to rid myself of winter clothes and join the locals in wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The town is quite small, and the room I booked through Airbnb is very central and cheap, only R150 per night. I was fortunate to have had sunny weather yesterday, as we had a proper thunderstorm and rain today, the first of the season. They haven’t had rain in 2 months, so the river is low and the rain-forest quite dry – no need for raincoats.
A mural accross the street from my hotel:
Mella Madness 