Iguazu Falls, Brazil & Argentina
Mornings are best. As the sun ascends beyond the treetops and floods the landscape with its golden light, I sneak past the “No Entry” sign and enter the park without anybody noticing. The birds are out during this time of day, making enough noise as if it were their job to wake up the animals of the rainforest. Beyond the deep-throated croaking calls of curious toucans looking down on me from their perches in the treetops, I can hear the constant, thundering, majestic rush of the falls. It is an ethereal sound. A natural, familiar reverberation that connects me to other lifetimes when this forest was home to the Guarani Indians for thousands of years. The Spanish-Portuguese invasion of their territory in the 16th and 17th centuries put an end to their way of life. When Jesuits established missions in the area, they were initially rejected by the Guarani. But when ruthless slave traders decimated the Indian population, the Guarani befriended the Jesuits who taught them a new way of life through farming and protected them from the seeming inevitability of slavery.
Diaethria clymena, commonly known as “Cramer’s 88”, is a neo-tropical butterfly native to Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Paraguay. Iguazu Falls National Park is famous for its high butterfly population.
Iguazu Falls National Park opens at 8:00 am. As thousands of visitors stream through the gates with their plastic water bottles, cellphones and baby carriages, the mood changes. It is then that the magic, evocations, and enchantments disappear. I can no longer hear the toucans, the rushing waters, and ancient Indian voices in the wind. Nature, the very thing people seek in this National Park, takes a back seat and is drowned out by tour busses with diesel engines, loudspeakers, and vendors. It can be seen, but nature can no longer be felt. As I jostle for position on the various viewing platforms, I can take my photos without interference. It helps to be tall. Still, it all feels very mechanical: get into position, take the photo and get out. The magic from this morning is gone.
Without a doubt, the Iguazu Falls in Argentina are impressive, and I am glad I came to experience the largest waterfalls in the world. But the majesty of the place can only be felt without crowds. I am not suggesting you trespass as I did, but show up early enough to miss the onslaught of tourists. It is only then that you can truly connect to this place with your soul.
More pictures can be seen on this website on the page “Gallery Archive - Central & South America II”.
~ RT