One Final WOW!

The border between Brazil and the northern-most tip of Argentina falls smack in the middle of the Iguazu River. In the middle of this river (Iguazu meaning Big Water), lies one of the most breathtaking natural marvels in the world. Iguazu Falls is comprised of not one, but rather 275 sheets of water cascading down 270 ft to meet the raging river.

According to local legend, the falls were created by an angry god. The god had planned to marry the beautiful Naipi. Yet to escape the inevitable marriage, Naipi fled with her mortal lover Taroba downriver a in a canoe. Furious, the god sliced the water in front of their canoe, condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.

Whether one believes in myths or not, there is no denying that these waterfalls fill you with a sense of wonder and almost spiritual serenity while standing before them...

Without having any definitive reason why, the falls were on my bucket list of things to do in South America. Unfortunately they are incredibly far from...well, anything. It is a 20 hour bus ride (one way) from chaotic and noisy Buenos Aires to the small town of Puerto Iguazu - which survives largely on tourism but yet remarkably manages to retain a sense of local character. Exhausted and pocket-poor from 7 months of traveling, I decided this would be my last big trip, one final hurrah before closing out my adventures.

As I boarded the bus, I thought, great I can use the next 20 hours to reflect on my trip and to contemplate what it's all meant to me; what I want to take from it all. Yet instead, I managed to spend 20 hours thinking of everything but my trip; attempting to pretend that it's not coming to an end. Yet my attempts all failed and as I checked into the hostel it felt like the gray clouds outside were also inside my head; the imminent end of my travels was raining down harder than the drizzle outside.

Yet the next day the weather cleared and somehow so did my mind. When I got to the entrance of the National Park, I was overwhelmed by a sense of pure excitement and childhood glee. I skipped through the gate with two sweet girls I met at the Eco Yoga Park and we raced towards the first mirador (lookout point), not even really sure what we were about to see.

What we eventually saw was unreal. Neither words nor pictures can do justice to the sheer magnitude and beauty that poured down. The platform of the mirador lets you stand almost on top of the water; the cool mist from the splash instantly soaks your clothes. Everywhere I turned there was a rainbow, or two or three.

A train resembling Disney World's carted us from one side of the park to the next and the walkways were filled with visitors lugging huge digital cameras around their necks. I stood in front of the sheets of water surrounded by hundreds of other tourists speaking dozens of different languages. Yet as I stood in one of the most touristy places in all of Latin America, the crowd somehow seemed invisible. I was absorbed completely by the natural beauty.

And when I did finally come around to noticing the crowd, I realized: Here I am, in one of the most beautiful places in the world, staring at something few are able to see. Here I am, not only fortunate enough to see the famed Iguazu Falls, but fortunate enough to have Iguazu Falls be the final spectacle after 7 months of incredible adventures.

It was then that I was no longer overwhelmed by the waterfalls in front of me, but rather by the beauty of my trip.