At the point where
Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina all meet, there is a huge waterfall: Iguazu.
When Eleanor Roosevelt visited Argentina and saw Iguazu she said,
"Poor Niagara! This makes Niagara
look like a kitchen faucet."
In 2012, my buddy Randy and I went to Iguazu Falls
National Park to experience a waterfall so wide you cannot see from one end of it to the other.
Entering the park, we encountered signs showing large photos
of hands. All the hands had big gashes in them. We were not sure how these
signs related to us; so we hiked past the signs, through the jungle, and
came to a cliff top. Iguazu Falls was thundering in front of us.
Major waterfalls and minor waterfalls, over 200 in total.
We climbed down to the boat ride at the base of the
falls. I knew about The Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls, where you were issued
a raincoat and the boat got close enough to Niagara Falls to wet the passengers
with mist. The Argentines, however, did not issue us raincoats.
Instead, they gave us life jackets and rubber bags.
This boat would be doing more than getting close to the
falls; this boat would be actually going into the falls. In spite of
knowing what to expect, I was not calm as the captain revved up the engine. I put my wallet and my eyeglasses in the
rubber bag. The fact that there was a staff member on board taking photos
was a bit reassuring --- the boat company obviously expected me to survive so I
could buy a photo when the boat ride was over.
The boat went into a wall of white falling water. I
ducked. Water came pounding down on me. I was deafened; I was
drenched. I had only one thought in my mind: will I be able to
breathe in the middle of a waterfall? It
was a struggle, but I got some air.
Then we were out in the open air again. Breathe.
Wait, what are all the Argentines on the boat saying? "Mas! Mas! Mas!"
Just as I was wondering if Mas! was the Spanish word for
More!, the boat went into the falls again. I ducked and managed to get
some air. We were out in the open again, but my fellow passengers were
eager for more. We went in a third time.
Once the boat pulled away from the falls, it was eerily
peaceful. We disembarked, and began the climbing the steps up the cliff,
thinking about lunch.
On the top of the cliff, some school girls on a field trip had settled onto
benches to eat the lunches their mothers had packed for them. As we walked past the girls, we noticed eyes
peering out of the underbrush: coatis.
A coati is a type of South American raccoon. Coatis are diurnal. The ones in Iguazu Falls National Park have
switched from a diet of tarantulas and rodents to a diet of tourist food.
A bunch of coatis came out of the underbrush and
proceeded to grab the schoolgirls’ lunch bags.
The girls jumped up, screamed, moved away. One girl struggled with a coati over her
lunch, but the coati won.
I felt sorry for the girls who had lost their
lunches. But I was not going to be a
hero and try to retrieve their lunches from these animals. I had realized why the national park put up
signs showing large photos of hands with gashes.
We spent ten days in Argentina. The highlight of our visit was the time we
spent hunched over, water pounding down on us, struggling for air.
. - . - .
Iguazu Falls plays a major part in the 1986 film, “The
Mission”, with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons. Here is the movie trailer (2 minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-l2-Q7vODc
- . - .- . - . - .
NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath. Price = $11. You can purchase a copy at http://www.puppyoutofbreath.com/?page_id=108
No comments:
Post a Comment