There are two ways the Iguaçu waterfalls to explore. One is on the Argentine side, the other on the Brazilian side.
I'll start with the Argentine side.
Iguaçu in Argentina
So we cross the Argentinean border, once again passport out, stamp in, and then we finally head towards the park entrance. However, the drive takes just a few minutes until we come to a halt at a colossal queue of vehicles.
That should have been our first warning, but we're already lost.
Waiting with a million visitors
And already the next queue is waiting for us, one of many, as we shall painfully experience a little later.
Still halfway amused, we line up at the back of the queue. It reminds me of rock concerts in the Sixties and Seventies, when the organization was still inadequate and you were in constant danger of being crushed in a sea of people.
But even this obstacle is eventually overcome, we pay the entrance fee of handsome 30 Dollars and then walk a few hundred meters to the station where the train will take us to the entrance.
If anyone might suspect that there is another queue waiting for us, he is right. A massive man in uniform informs us that it might be better to walk the eight hundred meters to the middle station. The reason for splitting the short railroad line into two sections remains a mystery that probably only the builders know and understand.
In any case, the queue at the middle station is also long, almost perversely long. We calculate: if the train runs every 15 minutes and carries approx. 300 passengers per trip, we will not be picked up until the second, third, fourth train!
The sky is burning (once again)
The heat is incredible. Only those waiting near the train benefit from a roof, all others, including us, suffer and groan and moan under the merciless sun.
Without a good sun protection, massive sunburn is commonplace. Children and babies are particularly exposed; at least there are compassionate people who offer them exile under the protective roof. I feel like I'm in Dante's purgatory, but unlike his sinners, our suffering ends eventually.
The toy train with a toy locomotive, on which the driver can barely sit, leaves with a new load, including, thank God, us. Only now do we realize that numerous people on foot cover the short distance without the long wait.
Fuck and fuck again! Are we doing everything the wrong way today?
The hours go by ...
As if we needed a further boost, the real blast is yet to come. In the wrong conviction that we have left the worst behind us, we move towards the entrance, full of newfound euphoria ... and cannot believe our eyes, because what presents itself in front of our eyes is the longest queue I have ever seen.
But on second thought, it is not really surprising: from this point on, you walk on bridges up to the different platforms, and these are limited in the number of visitors.
In short: only when a bunch of visitors returns will the next hundred receive the gracious permission to enter the promised land ...
But then - a wonder of the world
Well, in the meantime three hours have passed since we entered, three hours queuing in the heat, three hours of anger and frustration and emerging aggression, but folks, it has been worth it.
Because at the end of the walk on metal sidewalks, awaits us is the most incredible thing I have ever seen in this respect. It is actually impossible to describe, but I will try anyway ...
There are different types of wonders of the world. The seven man-made wonders of the world like the pyramids of Giza, the Colossus of Rhodes, the hanging gardens of Babylon ... But also the newer ones like the Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat, St. Peter's Cathedral, the Taj Mahal ... They are all pure poetry. They emanate something supernatural, something that goes beyond man, something that takes your breath away and forces you to humility.
But then there are the wonders of the world, which were created entirely without man. They are pure nature, created by it and, just like the wonders created by man, pure poetry. They also take your breath away. They too oblige to humility.
Iguaçu is one of them.
The roaring and booming gets louder
Now that the waiting is definitely over, calmness returns. We enter the bridge, which is approaching its destination over numerous tributaries that flow calmly. I walk slowly, trying to approach in a concentrated manner, stopping again and again, people rushing by as if the object of their desire could be taken from them at the last moment.
The roaring gets louder, turns into a deafening thunder, as if the beings of the underworld had gathered for a coordinated attack. An abyss appears, a hole in the world into which the water plunges. And now no one can rest, the pace accelerates, you want to see the monster, immediately.
El Gargante del Diablo
And then you stand in front of the abyss, without breath, without pulse, as it seems. One is knocked out. Not only because the roaring of the falling water is so deafening, but because you are simply speechless. One is amazed, shocked, euphoric to the utmost. One believes to experience something that is unique. And it is.
Because what is happening here is a true natural wonder.
The yellowish water flows calmly at first, as if it were unaware of the danger ahead, but then accelerating towards the abyss. For a tiny moment it seems to hang in the air, only to disappear into the depths, thundering.
The Gargante del Diablo, the Devil's Throat, thunders and crashes in front of us, making a roar as if the devil were really at work. It steams and boils and simmers, atomized water hangs like a huge veil over the abyss, a permanent rainbow adds the necessary patina.
Thousands of people huddle on the narrow platforms above the abyss, millions of photos and videos and selfies are shot every second. Every few minutes a wet fog sloshes over the fence, either scaring people (the cameras! The cell phones!) or making them scream with joy.
One ought to be alone, have time to enjoy this wonder of the world to the full. For once again you will get a brief but impressive insight into the forces of nature.
The Iguaçu waterfalls
A few facts and figures from Wikipedia: The Iguazú Waterfalls consist of 20 bigger and 255 smaller waterfalls on an extension of 2,7 kilometers. Some of them are up to 82 meters high, most are 64 meters high. The amount of water in the falls varies from 1500 m³/s to over 7000 m³/s.
The waterfall system colloquially called Garganta del Diablo (Spanish) or Garganta do Diabo (Portuguese) or "Devil's Throat" is a U-shaped, 150 meter wide and 700 meter long gorge. Since most of the falls are located in Argentina, the larger panoramic view is possible from the Brazilian side. The falls are separated by several larger and smaller islands.
The Camino Inferior
An 1400 meter long path, the Camino Inferior, leads down on countless steps down toward the river, where the spectacle can be admired from below.
The river is packed with boats full of tourists, who are taken quite close to the thundering water (I missed that).
It is a different view on the monster, but the impression of something scary remains. The gaze remains stuck, one is in a kind of trance, underlined by the incessant roar of the water, the humid haze hanging over everything like an early morning mist.
In some places there are walkways, so that the more courageous and less water-shy visitors can get quite close to the waterfalls.
One secretly hopes (an atavistic reflex?) that the shivering and tingling in the face of the drama taking place before one's eyes will never stop. It has something of a horror film: you are horrified and at the same time feel a beguiling feeling of fascination.
And so, tired and exhausted by so much nature and energy and crashing and roaring, you get on the bus with the one idea to come back again ...
Mileage: 2073
Matching Song: Johnny Winter - Rollin 'and Tumblin'
And here the trip continues ... to the Brazilian side of the falls
