I've just returned from Iguazu, one of the most highly ranked trips during my four-month binge here. I've never seen anything so foreign, so exotic, so mesmerizing before. I'd never been in the jungle, surrounded by diverse greenery, towering trunks and growling water. I look back at the photos I just uploaded and still can't fathom the beauty.
I stuck Iguazu at the top of my 'to-visit' list when I was in research mode before my trip. The picture in the Lonely Planet was like a little portal into my future because I knew I would end up there somehow. And there I visited.
But it wasn't just a visit, it was an adventure. I legitimately felt like Dora as I suited up in cargo shorts, my hiking shoes and long wool socks each day. All I needed was a bowl cut and a talking purple backpack.
We may not have hiked far from the paved path, but it's crazy the experience you gain with incredible natural scenery and activities among it. And it's probably better I didn't get too ambitious, seeing as something in that jungle already didn't get along with my skin... it was a quick turn from a Nick cartoon to an episode of Lost as an irritation slowly grew on my skin throughout the trip. The source looked like bites, but spread like a rash.
I couldn't let it stop me though as we experienced the best of it all! The most daunting, the most astounding, the most inexplicably beautiful, yet sinister natural wonder: The Devil's Throat (dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuuuun).
We saved it for the last day. I don't know how, but we dealt with the anticipation, and held out with other activities and the views of San Martín's falls. Finally the day came with dark grey clouds that slowly ate up the sky. It followed us as we walked to the Throat and blew us around. I swear it was as if the Devil were reincarnated right before my eyes and was trying to push me into its throat to swallow me, red headband and all. The wind kept blowing and soon enough, rain fell. We resisted the Devil's attempts to enter his throat or exit his hell (the National Park), instead just standing and staring down the infinitely misting mass of water.
It was the extremely large number of tourists that eventually drove us out. We maneuvered our way through the crowd of ponchos, to the train station, and finally on a bus back to town. We survived.
As for my skin? Well, that may be a different story as I use excessive amounts of itch-relief creme and will myself from touching the inflamed areas. Fortunately it doesn't come close to tainting the unforgettable experiences I had with the Jungle and the Devil this past weekend... all in time for Pascua! Happy Easter!
No comments:
Post a Comment