The Aesthetics of Beauty – Iguazu Falls

The water pummeled the rocks as the vistas numbed my brain. I stood there, mesmerized, for a couple seconds. Probably more like a minute. My friends walked ahead. My first sight of the falls was other-worldly and altogether a euphoric experience. There are few places, people, or things in the world that will leave you breathless and paralyzed with a sense of pure joy to be alive. And I all I had to do to find one was follow the sendero verde for a couple hundred meters. Pretty damn lucky.

My friends and I booked the nautical adventure and the ecological tour at our hostel before we entered the park. The nautical tour consisted of a speedboat ride beneath the falls. We quite literally bathed in the waters of Iguazu, as metaphoric and cliché as that may sound. It was truly amazing. We tried to look up as we were buffeted by the deluge of water from the falls yet it was nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of the enormous falls as the water streamed relentlessly in our faces.

As we walked around Iguazu National Park before and after the tour, each sight was more beautiful than the next. The butterflies which ran rampant through the park landed on people and frolicked upon the vibrant green flora. As we got closer to the falls on the lower trail we were met with a series of waterfalls each dumping millions and millions of gallons of water per second into the massive body of water below. It was easy, enchanting, hypnotizing to stare at the scene in all its grandeur. Picture this. Or just look at the picture I snapped. It was easy to forget about water itself and just lose yourself in the beauty of nature before you. Of the sense of wonder which undoubtedly fills you. If you abstract yourself for a second from the trancelike state you are in and fixate on one point of water in the falls, you could once again comprehend the sheer immensity of the hydraulic discharge. So much raw, natural power. Such a poignant juxtaposition of splendor and force.

Sights like these are ones that fill you with the awe of the universe, whose very existence may serve as a posteriori evidence for the existence of some divine order, give it whatever name you may. It makes you think that this universe wasn’t an accident nor was it completely a scientific process. You think that it required some greater ordering principle and Iguazu’s pristine waters remind you of this belief, perhaps more now than ever before in your life.

Note to the reader- you may not actually believe all this or perhaps even agree with any of what I am saying but I am using “you” as a substitute for “I,” “yourself,” for “myself,” etc, etc. Why do this? Maybe I’ve tricked myself into thinking that if I talk about an experience with Iguazu in the second person, you (actually you, now) will find it more realistic and relatable. Perhaps you won’t think what I am saying is crazy if I pull a little switch-a-roo between my pronouns.  If not, well, kill me for trying. That’s how I felt about Iguazu.

Back to conventional grammar then, I suppose.

It was rare to find myself so brimming with energy, with eagerness to internalize each and every thing around me. The sights- most enchanting. Water, florescent flora of pink and purple tastefully, thrown upon a canvas of bright green leaves perched gently upon thick brown, branches. The whole area conjured up images of paradise, of a Land before Time if you will, of the planet from the movie Avatar, of the Garden of Eden.  In fact, there were even two falls named for Adam and Eve, perhaps to help prime the visitor to make the same analogy I just made. Well, they got me. Regardless, insert whatever idyllic world you can think of, and it probably isn’t too far off from Iguazu National Park.

To forget the other sensory wonders of Iguazu is to fail to do it justice. The smell- like fresh rain upon the leaves with a powerful woodsy scent emanating from the trees. It was real fresh air. A slight contrast from the pollution and dog shit which often dominates the olfactory sphere in Buenos Aires. I took deep, gulping breaths with each step in the park. I greedily inhaled the air as though I were preparing for a deep sea dive without an oxygen tank.

And then I went underwater. As I roamed the lower trail, the path culminated in an observation deck beneath (or roughly in the middle of) an astounding series of falls. The spray from the falls billowed against those of us who ventured all the way to the edge. The cold water against my skin was refreshing in the 90 degree heat. Each droplet sent a jolt of energy through my body, each one an unforgettable reminder of the marvels I was witnessing. Of my ability to perceive such things through sensation. Of the possibility for such things of beauty to exist.

Sounds- voices, many languages, chirping of birds, and above all else, the thunderous crash of the falls as they mercilessly beat upon the water below. Talking happily amongst my friends as we walked along the many paths in the park, we would all pause for a moment once it became audible. The crashes. Like a series of tidal waves buffeting the shore, we could hear the noise from quite a distance. The noise presaged exhilaration, expected wonder, and a new vista to be hold.

I didn’t try to drink the water, however enchanted by the falls I may have been. So I can’t vouch for that sensory experience. For one, I could not get close enough to the falls without risking pulling a Niagara Falls act sans barrel. Secondly, I am not sure that the water would have been drinkable anyway and my stomach still resents me for the food poisoning episode just three weeks ago. Another solid reason not to drink the water is that, in recent years, due to the movements of certain sediments -and some other geological processes which I hardly remember and are sure to bore you – the once clear waters of Iguazu have, in some places, taken on a brownish hue as they dump massive amounts of dirt into the water below.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that hovering over just about every series of falls was an almost equally impressive rainbow? The weather conditions were perfect for rainbow formation. And form they did. I saw more rainbows at Iguazu than I have probably ever seen before in my life. Each picture I took was gorgeous. Now, I am not a professional photographer. Or even an amateur one. Or even a good one. I have only had a camera since a month before arriving in Argentina. What a coincidence. It’s my first one. I have very little confidence in my photo-taking abilities and I tend to compensate for this insecurity by taking photos of EVERYTHING.  Of every conceivable object. Of the minutia. Multiple times. This serves to ensure both that I get good pictures of my journeys and that I will have memories of even the smallest, seemingly unimportant things. Who knows what I will deem important days, months, or even years from now as I look back upon my albums.

But I digress, more to the point, my Iguazu pictures are gold. I have artsy pictures of wildlife, photos of the falls framed by trees and branches, and then misting, spraying falls crowned by arching, brilliant rainbows. This has nothing to do with my meager photo-taking skills and everything to do with the beauty of Igauzu. A better photographer could have rendered its otherworldly wonder more poignantly than I did. But not by much. I look at these photos that I took and realize how fortunate I was to be able to come to Iguazu with a group of friends in good weather, in good health, and in good spirits. I was able to absorb the wonders of the place and leave with hundreds of photos for souvenirs.

Check out a choice for photo for yourself. I’m

telling you. I have at least 100 photos that you could qualify for the Google search query “beautiful desktop backgrounds.” Maybe I might try to sell some to windows. But seriously, if you’re in need of the stereotypical, aesthetically-pleasing, relaxing desktop background, by all means, shoot me a message. Iguazu has provided me with a hell of a selection.