The spirituality of nature
Trip Start
Oct 19, 2007
1
68
126
Trip End
Ongoing
Foz Do Iguacu,
Brazil
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Real time: sorry, I haven`t updated this in awhile. Been busy. I was actually in the Andes the other night, first time I have ever been on a real mountain. Spent the night in between two glaciers and the sight from up there was mesmorizing. Anyways, these updates will be less frequent then before as I will be going on multi-day treks and doing lots of crap and being in places with no internet. I`m starting my journey south now to the tip of Argentina.
Back to blog.
Wake up early and I am actually the first one in line to buy a ticket to see the falls. The Iguacu Falls are absolutely amazing and are probably the most spectacular thing I have ever laid my eyes on. The falls are enormous, probably 3-4 kilometers in length, but unlike typical waterfalls they are split up as opposed to all being together. The falls cut through the middle of the river as opposed to being completely perpendicular to it (if that makes sense). They are so gigantic, numerous and beautiful that it is almost surreal and you can hardly believe what you are seeing. These falls are pretty intense (hah, worst joke ever, there was a costume party one time and you were supposed to go as something intense, like FDR, or Pinhead or something, and I said that I should show up with two tents over my head and then people would be like dude, you are supposed to be in a costume that is intense, and I would be like, I am "in tents", get it, awful). There are 3 main sections to the falls and each one gets better and better and it culminates at the Diablo Gargantuan (The Devilīs throat), which is just an amazingly large drop off and I can only guess how many tons of water fall over it`s edge at any given moment. From a bit of a distance there is so much mist rising from the Diablo Gargantuan that is looks like a cloud is ascending from the ground.
I actually backtrack and start over from the beginning in order to look at all of the falls again. I think the first time was a bit overwhelming and they seemed fake and I never quite got that connection with nature I was seeking. But the 2nd time as I am looking at the Diablo Gargantuan I hit paydirt like Tartabull hit homers. I really wanted to get some sort of spiritual feeling and I just imagined I was there alone and I felt this wonderful sensation wash over my being. It only lasted a couple of seconds but I actually got the chills (or maybe that was from all mist hitting me). Nature is so wonderful at times. Have I talked about this before (I forget) but what amazes me is that there was no planning or conscientious mind behind the making of these falls. I mean the Coliseum, the Vatican and I`m sure the pyramids, Taj Mahal, Teotihuacan, Notre Dame and hundreds of other things are awesome as hell but the thing is there was planning, mathematics, schematics and a conscientious mind used in producing these objects. With these falls though, it just randomly happened. It astounds me how this river together with plate techtonics and who knows how many other geological phenomenon worked independently to carve out one of the most dazzling places on earth. I can`t really explain the feeling I had, it`s like pornography, I know it when I see it but I can`t define it. I see all these birds flying around near the falls and I pretend they are bats and I get that Raiders of the Lost Ark feeling. I can`t imagine even being a portuguese explorer truding my way through this unexplored forest with machete in hand and off in the distance hearing this quiet rumbling. The noise had to have freaked them out as they got closer and closer. I mean back then, who knows, they probably thought it was some giant monster or something. But then they cut that last branch and stumble upon heaven on earth.
I am really glad I am here by myself for this. Someone else would have just fucked it up for me. Besides, I have all the voices in my head to keep me company.
Don`t worry, I still find some humor in the day. There are signs that say "Don`t overtake the Bannisters". Obviously they mean don`t go past the guard rails, but the terminology kills me. I think of the Bannisters (Floyd Bannister, no. 2 starter in the royals rotation in 2008) as the last name of a really small and weak and puny family and this is the sign they have in their front yard. Hah, don`t overtake the Bannisters. Ok, I won`t whoop up on the Bannister family. I laugh quite a bit thinking about this. I have a picture of it (not of my thinking but of the sign itself), hopefully I can get it uploaded.
Later I go to a bird park which is pretty cool even for just being birds. The toucans are pimp and they let you walk through the bird cages and the toucans more or less come up to you. Ok, so I usually don`t make new year`s resolutions but mine for 2008 will to take more advantage of living in Chicago. There is so much to do there and see but I usually just workout, play volleyball and go to bars. I will definitely start going to museum exhibits more (more than just going to the art museum which I`ve been too like a million times) and concers and comedy shows etc etc. Get back to hostel and go swimming (at least this place has a pool) and then later I get to meet the next installment of "toolshed roomates at this place". The new roomy is a German dude who`s feet are all kinds of fucked up. They are completely swelled up and they smell like a pussy that was left in a tube sock in the desert for about 6 months. He`s a strange cat but he speaks english and he asks if I want to get a beer, sure why not, it may be entertaining if nothing else. Oh, my old roomate left me a note on my bed. He gave me his email address as he wants to keep in touch. Man, this dude needs friends like Jon Benet`s parents need another kid. He signs the note "Hugs, Marcos". Hugs, hilarious. Reminds me of the note Homer left for Flanders that one time that read "Dude, meet me in Montana. XOXO, Jesus". Anyway, I get a couple beers with dork no. 3 and his stories suck so bad. What is up with this hostel, is there a sign out front that reads "For rejects only". It`s funny, everytime he says something he like shakes his head as if he is incredulous concerning what he is saying. And for a German he drinks like a total bitch. Ok, I need to go to bed, I have a long day tomorrow. He decides he will go too, well allright. He wants story time before falling asleep, seriously. So he tells me this amazing story of how som chick got so hammered that she pissed in the middle of his hostel room floor. He tells it like it`s the most interesting thing ever. Oh really, wow, great story dickwad. So a chick got drunk and took a piss on the floor, yeah that`s called college buttfuck (or possibly Schmitty`s apartment, remember budweiser girl`s friend made out with everyone and then took a piss on the kitchen floor, nice). Ok shutup dude, your stories are about as cool as your face. I tell him the Monica story (not for this blog) and I think he sleeps in fear the rest of the night. Oh, yeah, then he doesn`t want the fan on. POR QUE!!!!!!! It`s flippin hotter than a brazilian chick`s ass up in here.
Fin
