Iguazu: Boca Abierta

It's hard to sleep, and even harder to dream, the night before you are about to live a dream in real life...but we managed.

Thanks to some anxiousness mixed with miscommunication we woke up a bit early...


We showered and were sipping breakfast buffet coffee by six--an hour ahead of schedule. An hour later, our Uruguayan tour-mates began showing up, with the same air of anticipation that still had us aglow...
We were easily first in the hotel carport to await our luxurious bus and fellow travelers...

We began to feel like foreigners on a trip within a vacation: two giggling gringos, traveling with a wonderfully familial forty or so Spanish speakers, in the wondrous Portuguese world of Brazil...

Soon, we were on the bus, crossing the border to Argentina, for an all day tour of jungles, jet-boats, waterfalls and rainbows...

Entering the park, we trekked to the little train which would shuttle us to Garganta del Diablo, the "Throat of the Devil". Before leaving Montevideo, we discovered the possibility of the Luna Llena or "Full Moon" tour--a rare opportunity to visit the falls under the lunar light. Again, we had fortune, arriving during a waxing three-quarter moon. Miriam, our tour bus guide, said it was doubtful, but pointed us to a kiosk to inquire if the night tours had begun--the full moon wasn't for four days. With luck that seems to spoil us all too often, the tours began tomorrow. With big smiles, we signed up...but we fell behind our group and the hordes heading toward the train...

Trying to be smart travelers playing dumb, we attempted to skirt around the long line--only to be yelled at by another group's guide, "You are late! You must wait! Get in line!", which we did. But, Miriam came to our rescue, simultaneously lifting the rope and scolding the other guide, as we slid underneath and caught up with our group, barely getting the last two seats on the crammed train...Lucky again!




Fifteen minutes of clicking down the jungle tracks, we emerged at the entrance to the elevated causeway that cuts across Rio Iguazu for a kilometer or two, before reaching the river's center, and the edge of Devil's Throat...
As we walked the raised metal path, we saw mysterious mist rising over the small tropical islands separating us and our first glorious glimpse. Aquatic birds dove and disappeared in the murky water, only to reemerge meters away from the edge of the falls, and easily paddle back from the liquid precipice...

Finally, the incredible view above the falls opened before us and hundreds of other awestruck gawkers...

Here's a five photo view of the spectacular semi-circular section known as Garganta del Diablo...





Every angle was amazing, including right below your feet...
And like Machu Picchu, you just had to find that spot where millions of visitors have snapped the infamous photo that barely fits into every encyclopedia page about Iguazu...

Our timing was again perfect. It was late November, the end of rainy season, rivers at full volume, temperatures warm without being unbearable, a sunny day before a full moon...
With spray glinting off your squinting eyelashes, rainbows crisscrossing in every corner, birds darting fearlessly from their soaking nests in the cliffs, flitting through the foam and mist under a blazing sun, over millions of cubic meters of free-falling water...everyone, you could tell, had the same feeling of surreality...No picture, no memory, no matter how long you stared or how often you visited, could allow you to describe how unbelievably beautiful it is...
We couldn't stop smiling, oohing and cooing, pointing and clicking our cameras...
After an hour of mind-boggling ogling at Garganta del Diablo, we took a group photo, and headed back along the pedestrian bridges. The day was just beginning...
Jungle birds hid in the branches. We trundled back to the train which would roll us back through the park to the next stretch of the journey...
This time, we claimed an open cabin with Miriam, in red, and Leandro, our park guide to the left. Both of them were great...
Soon, we were piled into a jungle truck--40 seats of open air, muddy rutted road conquering madness. We saw toucans hiding in the green canopy that draped over us like a tunnel, and we descended down to Puerto Macuco...
A butterfly took a breather on my neck as we waited to board our boat...


State-of-the-art inflatable jet boats were loaded with the more adventurous tourists who signed up for a class V rapid-slapping water-fall penetrating high-powered adrenaline rush upriver...
With our cameras capturing all the action, we were about to plunge into the highlight of the dream-like day...

With a super roar, the boat blasted upriver, skipping across the milk chocolate swells, as lesser known seasonal jungle falls appeared and disappear in the lush canopy on shore...

Swerving and curving around hidden rocks, smacking through rapids that were ripping downstream with a current by the push of the world's biggest waterfall. Half of our horsepower was needed just to remain stationary for some pre-waterfall photos...

Before soaking us in two of Iguazu's cataracts, our captains zipped up in full-body rubber dry suits, while we, and our Uruguayan contingent would be at the mercy of tons of falling water.

We watched other boats disappear into the plume with faint screams of excitement muted by the thunder of the falls, the rev of our engine. Then, they would reappear, drenched and adrenalized with adventure...

Then it was our turn. "rrRRRRRRRRrrrrrr", roared the jet engines...

Under the cascade we were nearly blind, being pelted and bombarded by giant glops of the Iguazu River, but our little digital wonders were clicking away, as we laughed in the splash...
The jets continued to rev, as the skippers deftly kept us on the edge of being swamped, as giant muddy bulges of fallen water uplifted and tossed our boat like a toy in a bathtub
And, before we could overcome the thrills of laughter, our guides collided us into another...

After the second water-logging, our all Uruguayan crew burst into a chant: "Otra! Otra! Otra! Otra!". They were yelling for more, "Another! Another!"...
After disemarking, we stood on the paths, scouting the falls, and spending some time watching others get douched in the falls...We realized that most only got a few seconds, while our captains treated us to the longest dunks of the day...



Butterflies fluttered abundantly along Rio Iguazu, coming in for a landing to lap the dew. Lizards lounged around between the shade, looking for warm beams to in which to sunbathe...





This reptile was two meters long including it's tail...

Stopping for lunch, we studied this nearby sign explaining some statistics of waterfalls around the world...

Now halfway dry again, we began the hike up into the infinite rainbows ribboning over the lookouts and unique views of countless falls...









As we continued to walk and snap pictures all afternoon, we just kept talking about how unbelievable it all was...there's no reason to try and describe it to you. You simply have to go yourself...




We actually have more videos that photos...but you'll have to wait for me to make the movie.

We learned two new Spanish expressions at Las Cataratas, from our Uruguayan counterparts, as they too stared in disbelief at the sights. "Boca abierta," they'd whisper, meaning "mouth open" to describe gaping in silent astonishment. They'd also utter "sin palabras," meaning "without words", to try and describe a thing that can't be described by the limits of language. Ironic, isn't it, that a place so powerful could simultaneously control and stifle your means of expression...

That is what the falls of Iguazu will do to you.
By late afternoon we were back on the bus for Foz de Iguazu. The day was far from over--we had a Brazilian show to attend tonight. But, our brains already felt like computers low on memory, unable to upload all the images we had already seen so far...

We spent the afternoon laughing around the Dom Pedro pool...

This wouldn't be the last time we went underwater on this trip--although it was the safest...
A gorgeous sunset peaked through the palm and mango trees. Around nine o'clock, after another awesome buffet dinner, we went down the street for a feathery extravaganza--featuring tropical cocktails, colorful costumes, dazzling dancers, amazing acrobats, with the rhythmic songs and sounds of Brazilian culture...

What an unforgettable day.

It was everything I had been dreaming about for years, and Leandra agreed that Iguazu is a place beyond description. This photo--with two rainbows bending independently over the Throat of the Devil, competing with my mesmerizing wife--is one of my favorites, and sums up the awe of Iguazu...
Tomorrow, we would visit the Parque de Aves, the bird park, then tour the Brazilian side of the falls before returning to this radiant vantage point...under darkness, stars, and a full moon, a "luna llena"...and discover that the rainbows are would still be there...