argentina · vacation

Iguazú Falls

Last weekend, my classmates and I took a 19 hour bus ride to this magical place called Iguazu Falls. (We’re crazy for taking a 19 hour bus, yes, but that is a whole other story).

My trip to Iguazu Falls (also called Iguassu Falls or Iguaçu Falls) was amazing.  For those who may be wondering Iguazu is located in a very unique area and borders three South American countries. For instance, you can stand in Argentina, and look out at Paraguay and Brazil, which is pretty cool.

But that aside, seeing a million waterfalls at one time is even more amazing and overwhelming than Niagara Falls in the US.  The Falls have an interesting Folklore story behind them, which goes a little something like this…

Once upon a time, a Guarani warrior named Caroba, who was in love with a pretty Indian maiden named Naipi, took her into his canoe and fled the village, paddling for all he was worth down the Iguazu River.

But Caroba was not the only one who was enamoured of the fair Naipi. She had also attracted the romantic attention of a forest god. When the forest god saw Caroba paddling downriver with Naipi, he was angry.

To try to stop Caroba, the angry forest god made the land under the river disappear. Naipi fell out of the canoe and dropped over the edge. She landed at the bottom, and turned into a rock. Caroba turned into a tree that overlooks this rock. Where the river bottom disappeared or fell away is the site of Iguazu Falls.

Folklore aside, the Falls are a site. And speedboating under the Falls is an excursion that I will not soon forget.

Hope you enjoy a few pictures from the Falls.

I love the rainbow peering through the waterfall
At the devil's throat
From the boat before the speed picked up

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.