The first thing that hits you is the water.  No, you are not literally washed away in a huge torrent the moment you get the falls.  But it’s the scale of it – all that water. And it just keeps coming.  And coming. And coming.  Where does it all come from?  Does it ever stop? Isn’t it beautiful… And just when you’ve been blown away by the mass of water in front of you, you take a little walk and realize that the waterfall stretches for miles. And miles. And miles.  And your jaw just hits the ground. It’s a force of nature. Maybe you can get a sense of it from the video below.  Some people might say there should be more waterfall and less Richard in the video, but I’ll let you decide.

The falls sit on the border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, and you get great experiences on both the Brazilian and the Argentinian side.

At this point I’d like to admit something. I cheated on Brazil. I felt bad doing it, but I did sneak over the border into Argentina. Well, I don’t mean I illegally entered Argentina, just that I did leave Brazil for the day (and yes, you Argentinians do have good steak!). It was worth it.  The experience on both sides is amazing. Just the chance to see the falls from more angles and to experience it in more ways is fantastic.

On the Brazilian side you get the massive overview, and on the Argentinian side you get to look right down the throat of Iguassu. There are speed boat tours that take you under the falls too.  You really do get hit by the water on one of these. It’s hypnotic and mesmerising.  You could stare at the falls for hours. Just watching all that water! Some people get an emotional response to the falls, and to the natural world in general. Magnificent spectacles of nature like Iguassu Falls really can make us question our place in the world, and our responsibility to nature and conservation.  They open our hearts to deep instinctual feelings of awe and respect for the planet. Sure, we come and take photos and videos, but we take something else too. An impression, a feeling, a connection.  An idea to be part of a solution, not part of a problem.  In the video I also talk about Parque Das Aves, and I’ll be featuring more about the important work they do, because they are also part of this solution.  Of connecting us with nature, of educating and reminding us why it is important.   Together with Iguassu Falls, Parque Das Aves is the reason that I chose this part of Brazil to visit. In my next post I’ll talk about how I’ve had a connection with this park since I was 13…