The Majesty that is The Iguazu Falls

I’ve official been reminded of what it means to be emotionally moved by nature. 

The first experience I had that I can remember off the top of my head (and lets take into consideration that I feel like I haven't slept properly in almost 3 weeks so I’m just kinda tired) was the first time I went SCUBA diving with an introductory dive in Eilat about 10 years ago.  The colors, the fish, the experience – it was just magical and felt almost religious! So this week I had the great fortune of being able to visit the Iguazu Falls both from the Argentine and Brazillian sides.  As per the recommendation, I crossed the border from Puerto Iguazu and went to the Brazilian side first.  It’s a relatively short visit and provides a beautiful panoramic view of the falls.  You first get exposed to a part of it and think it’s beautiful, but you continue along the path, going lower and lower and more and more of the falls expose themselves to your viewpoint.  It continues to just get more and more magnificent!  By the end of the trail, you take a foot path bridge out to the middle of the water and you are right below one of the waterfalls.  When I got up close and got my first real shpritz from the water’s mist (which was much appreciated by the way as it was a hot day), my breath was literally taken away.  I felt the power of the falls and for some weird reason I was actually moved to tears for a brief moment.  I felt the energy of the water surrounding me and it was incredibly moving.  I didn’t realize at the time that the part that I was near was really just a small part of the falls because from the perspective there is seem ginormous.  The whole experience reinforced for me the sheer power of the water.  I guess I’m drawn to water…

The next day I went to get the other perspective from the Argentine side.  If the Brazilian side provided a Macro view of the falls, then the Argentine side gives you the Micro.  You can take a 15 minute very slow train ride out to the real meat and potatoes of the thing – the Devils Throat, which is the biggest and most powerful  area of the falls and is a must see for the visit – or you can walk along the path and get there is about 25 minutes.  Then you walk along another path across the water out to the falls which takes about another 15/20 minutes and the end places you right above the Devils Throat.  You can stand there for ages (of course among all the other millions of visitors – a super touristy place – and justifyingly so) just taking in the power of what is going on below you.  It’s an experience for all the senses – you can see the falls, hear the power, smell the nature and feel the rising shpritz (I guess you can taste it if you open your mouth when the shpritz comes…).  Whats also amazing to see is the water before it gets to the drop – its so calm and seemingly unaware of the death drop it is about to take so the juxtaposition of the calm flowing water and the intense drop of the falls is really interesting.  To explore the rest of the falls there are two other trails to hike – the upper and lower – that bring you to different viewpoints of the various falls.  Another beautiful perspective provided. 

What made the visit to the Argentine side a little different than usual was the fact that from the morning onwards, it absolutely poured the entire day! And I don’t just mean a little drizzle – I’m talking about torrential downpour with the occasional thunder and lightning.  By the end of the day I actually forgot what it felt like to be dry.  It wasn’t particularly cold outside so it wasn’t dreadful – it just gave a different aspect to the experience of it all.  It made me feel like I was one with the nature.  And I guess its appropriate to feel so wet when you are visiting Waterfalls – I just assumed the wetness would come from the falls themselves.  Overall, the falls were definitely a highlight of my trip thus far and I really feel privileged to have seen and experienced them. 

Puerto Igazu is also a cute little city and I enjoyed being there.  I actually went for my first run since having started this trip.  There is one point in the city next to the Rio Iguazu (Iguazu River) where you can see 3 countries in one place.  You stand on the Argentine side, across and to the right is Brazil and across and to the left is Paraguay.  It was a little anti-climactic to see, but I'm happy the journey got me to go for a jog and it also let me see other parts of the city which I otherwise would not have seen.  Also, down by the viewpoint, right next to the river there was a local ZUMBA class going on which was kinda cool to see!

Iguazu was my last stop in Argentina.  Don’t cry for me Argentina even though the truth is that I’ve just left you.  As Ive already said, I think Argentina is a beautiful country and Ive had some really lovely experiences.  It also marks the end of the first 3^rd of my trip and so I would like to reflect a little. Ive been super lucky, meeting great people along the way and many of them in strategic places where their language skills that I have lacked have come to be of beneficial use to me as well!  It seems that in hostels, almost half of the conversations that happen among travelers are about language – what languages people speak in different countries, what peoples experiences have been either with a language or the experiences of not having a language. 

That also leads me to my take on the Israelis traveling situation.  Its known that many Israelis travel through South America.  And Its also become quite clear that they travel in packs, and even if there are some small groups, they will hook up with other small groups – but just with other Israelis.  Why is that? Ive asked a bunch of people that Ive met why it is like that and also how they decide to get these big groups together - how they think or know that it will work out (group dynamic, budgets, intentions and plans regarding where to go and at what speed to travel… things like that).  Many have said that it has to do with culture and language.  Many Israelis don’t think that they would be well suited with travelers from other places and that there would be a culture clash if they were to actually travel together.  Also, Hebrew plays a big part.  Many of the Israelis here are not super confident with their English language skills.  They do just fine here because at least one person in each group speaks Spanish quite well.  There is also a wealth of information from Israelis who have already traveled here and have left it for the next set (available online and through travel blogs, facebook groups, word of mouth…) They don’t have to take themselves too far out of their comfort zone because everything is readily available.  I think they are missing out. Because they travel together, they are missing the opportunity to meet amazing people from other parts of the world and get to know these cultures.  And I think that many aren’t giving themselves the opportunity to fair on their own.  Some of them don’t trust themselves or their abilities to travel on their own or go to a place and have to figure it all out on their own when they get there.  I mean there is a benefit to having the advice and information available as it can make for more efficient traveling.  I am still on the fence about whether or not I want to access that well – I dip in sometimes but I think for the most part I’m trying to make it work as I go along.  I also don’t like being in the places where half the hostel is Israeli.  These tight-knit groups are hard to break into, so I don’t even want to try.  (By the way, I don’t say any of this in trying to put anyone down – the beauty of traveling like this is that you get to decide to travel however you want to so to each their own – I’ve just noticed some things). 

Usually when I walk around I don’t listen to my headphones.  I want to be open to taking in the sounds and music of where I am located as I walk the local streets (not in the prostitutey way).  They play a lot of English music here!  And when I do hear a song I know, or when I'm listening to my own music on long bus rides or whatever, the familiar songs often come with a pleasant association from back home and it brings a smile to my face.  My work friends will be very happy to hear that on occasion, when I come across a particular song, I still decide to listen to it on repeat 20 plus times J Hard to break old habits!  But I have heard some other local music and Ive actually made a list of stuff I want to look into upon arriving back at home.  Music to download.  Or even books to read.  Ive even started a short list of things I want to get involved with or try .. like maybe actually learning Spanish?  Possibly try my hand at bouldering?  Who knows!?

So as of today, I am officially in Brazil to travel around.  Its been a long day of 30+ hours of travel so the rest will have to wait until I´m not falling on my face from exhaustion.  At least now Spanish won’t be giving me any trouble but now I’ll have to start worrying about Portuguese – HELP!!