The Furious Beauty of Iguazu Falls

Located On the border of Argentina and Brazil, this natural wonder can shock and awe even the most jaded bystanders

The captain of the speedboat donned his waterproof gear with great deliberation and walked down the aisle, checking if everyone had their life jacket on properly. A frisson of fear and anticipation rippled through the boat as its engines purred to life and it headed slowly towards Iguazu Falls - great walls of angry cascading water - in Argentina's Misiones province.
Suddenly, the captain gunned the boat towards the Devil's Throat section of the falls (which sounds more fearsome in Spanish - Garganta del Diablo), a cluster of 14 pounding cataracts. As we gazed skyward, we saw a blinding curtain of light.
The roar was deafening as the cataract coursed down on us and into the boat. We felt a million pinpricks of chilled water which escalated to a pounding intensity. The rumble and crash of the waterfalls bludgeoned us and soon we were drenched and screaming with delight - begging for mercy and asking for more.
Our appeals for encores did not go unheeded and were answered thrice as the boat was steered into the thundering cataract repeatedly, with passengers turning their faces upwards for more stinging slaps.
The boat trip remains the most memorable event in our travel archives especially for the element of surprise and the sheer majesty of the falls.
Iguazu Falls is likely to transform the most jaded traveller into a blubbering idiot, spouting meaningless superlatives in order to process the magnitude of the falls. Almost three kilometres wide and comprising some 275 cataracts gushing over a horse-shoe shaped gorge, the spray can render any bystander speechless. The tallest and most magnificent is Devil's Throat, which plunges 80 metres into an abyss in a sheet of mist.
After our merciless dunking, we changed into dry clothes which we had brought along (the boat provided us with dry bags in which to store our cameras and clothes), and we strolled down a series of boardwalks that let us view and grab selfies in front of the falls from different angles.
Located in a bend of the Iguazu River between Brazil and Argentina, on the north-east tip of Argentina, Iguazu Falls is not the world's biggest or largest, but its impact is akin to a sledgehammer. It's almost as though the devil is having a temper tantrum but the logical explanation is that the falls were created thanks to a volcanic eruption millions of years ago. Yet, when we gazed at the mighty curtains of water, it was obvious that only a divine hand could have created this aqua wonder. The combination of dense lush jungle, blue skies, mist and arching rainbows create a sensory overload that even the most inspired Impressionist painter would not be able to re-create.
The thundering beauty of the waterfalls ignited in us a kind of primeval awe in the face of nature's unleashed power. Indeed, Iguazu Falls would probably give most other cascades a complex about their girth and might. The stereophonic boom of the multiple cataracts is not even muted by the tangled jungle that surrounds it. The cascades split the forest into two before hurtling into the Paraná River.  
A curtain of mist hangs perpetually over the gushing waters and sprays the islands and the riverine jungles, thus maintaining the delicate ecosystem. Indeed, the surrounding sub-tropical rainforests are protected national parks that bristle with jaguars and pumas, howler and capuchin monkeys and packs of coatis (part of the racoon family). There are 500 species of birds including the large-beaked, gloriously coloured toucan, handsome plush crested jays with blue eyebrows and yellow chest, and black, plump vultures. You may even see a snake slithering across the forest floor in the distance. Yes, in Iguazu, pleasures come in all sizes - overwhelmingly large and small.
We explored the three red, paved trails that knife through the park, strolling along panoramic boardwalks that wind around and through the rainforest that envelops the falls. The sound and sight of water crashing into bottomless canyons, and the sun glinting on the watery curtains accompanied us all the way. The most exciting trail was the one that led to the Devil's Throat over a footbridge, which was connected to the last station of a toy train. This was where we saw a toucan glistening in one of the trees, preening as tourists furiously clicked its profile, its curved beak and glorious colours, lustrous in the sun. Vibrant butterflies flitted around us and one butterfly landed on the smooth scalp of a bald tourist and refused to leave its perch!
The name Iguazu was given by the indigenous Guarani people and means Big Water. This giant tap spews 13,000 cubic metres per second (enough to fill five Olympic-size swimming pools). A  World Heritage Site and one of the winners of the new Seven Wonders of Nature competition, the falls seem to have almost a brutish, muscular appeal unlike its more feminine rivals.
 Their surreal beauty has inspired legends and myths about their origins. According to local lore, this is the spot where the most beautiful woman of the tribe was sacrificed each year to pacify a vicious snake that inhabited the waters (it was a beauty contest no one wanted to win). One year, a fearless Guarani man abducted the woman to save her life. His act of defiance enraged the snake; his body bloated and split to form multiple waterfalls that tore the lovers apart forever.
Another story tells of an enraged god who discovered that his bride had fled with her mortal boyfriend in a canoe down the Iguazu River. To foil their escape, he cut the river in half. Rather than paddle for safety and the shore, the lovers plunged down the falls. to their deaths. The foaming waters, the imaginative Guarani believe, are the never-ending tears of a heartbroken god weeping for his lost love.
As we retired that night to our luxurious room at the Iguazu Grand Resort Spa and Casino, buried in tropical vegetation and swathed in the soundtrack of numerous cascades, we dreamt that we were still at the falls, amidst the glittering waters.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com