Beardless Adventures: Iguazu Falls

Que pasa amigos? I apologize for the lack of blogging but unfortunately my computer was stolen so that disconnected me from the blogging world for a bit. In other news I shaved my beard so now the title says beardless adventures, that is all.
My latest adventure took me 1076 km(thats 669 miles for all my fellow yankees) to a place called Iguazu Falls. It is right in between Brazil and Argentina and the Iguazu river creates the boundry for the two countries. The name "Iguazu" comes from the Guarani(a tribe from Argentina) or Tupi words y [ɨ], meaning "water", and ûasú [waˈsu], meaning "big". Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In rage the god sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.[2] The first European to find the falls was the Spanish Conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541, who I am convinced insta-pooped his pants when he discovered it. (wikipedia)(yes I just cited wikipedia) The total width of this beast of a waterfall is about 1.7 miles with about 275 separate waterfalls varying in heigth from 200-270 feet.
So you can imagine that after hearing these amazing facts and stories about gods slicing rivers and Europeans soiling themselves that I was pretty pumped for this trip. But first I had to take a grueling 20 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires where I had the entire bus to myself. Cant say that I slept much on that bus ride.
6 movies later I arrived in Puerto Iguazu to a hostel called Che Lagarto. Cool hostel, just watch your stuff. There is not much to do in the town other than walk around and see the tourist shops. Most people are there for one thing only, Iguazu Falls.
When the next day finally came I was up at the crack of dawn waiting in anticipation for my taxi. Once on our way the taxi driver explained to me that the Falls were about 40 minutes away...and to be careful because there were Pumas in the Park. Perfect. Thus began my secret goal of encountering a Puma. So for the record the Park of Iguazu is pretty toursity, there is no getting away from the lines you have to wait in for the entrance, train, and taking photos. But hey that just means its good right? So finally I made it past those lines and into the park and on my way to the Garganta Del Diablo,(The Devils Throat) which is part of the waterfall that has over half of the water flow. The walk to the edge is the coolest thing. You walk on these metal platforms that are built into the river and are built on top of the water fall where you are literally on the edge looking down.



On my walk there I had to keep myself from skipping. I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning, or maybe more like a dog waiting to go on a walk, but either way I was pumped. And then I saw it. Well actually first I heard the thunderous roar of thousands of gallons of water pouring over cliffs, but then I saw it. There really is no way to describe it except that it is like Avatar. It was a whole new world for me, but it was real life which means it was way better than Avatar. (and I dont care how good 3D is)

So I spent the next 30 minutes ferociously taking pictures of the waterfall convinced that each picture would be better than the last. Finally I gave up on the pictures and then just tried to soak it in. The idea of thousands upon thousands gallons of water pouring over each second is infalliable to the human mind and watching it seemed to put me in a hyptonic state. When I let go of trying to understand the vastness of the falls I arrived to a place of peace. I realized not being able to understand something does not mean I cant enjoy it for what it is. I think the same goes with my relationship with God. As a human being I cannot begin to understand the vastness of who God is, his ways, and where he came from. If my mind is the size of a soda can and God is the size of all the oceans, it would be stupid for me to say He is only the small amount of water I can scoop into my little can.(Francis Chan)
But even though I cant understand everything, I can still sit in his presence and take pleasure in who he is. Just a cool thought.
After a day of exploring and hiking the whole Argentine side I ended with a hike through the jungle to a secluded waterfall. It was an awesome plae and there was even a pool at the bottom to swim in. And even though I did not see a Puma it was still an adventure and whoever you are you have to go there.