Iguazu Falls is in full swing today (1)
"Poor Niagara..."
She whispered this while inhaling the negative ions rising from the massive basin to her heart's content and exhaling them with a sigh.
I started writing like a novelist, but in December 1997, I was standing in front of Iguazu Falls, on the border between Brazil and Argentina in South America, soaking wet.
Along with Niagara Falls in North America and Victoria Falls in Africa, Iguazu Falls is counted as one of the world's three great waterfalls. While it may not be as well-known, it boasts the largest area, number of falls, and water volume by a landslide.
The scene that unfolded was completely different from what Japanese people imagine when they hear the word "waterfall"—a single stream of water falling from a cliff, with a monk standing under it for ascetic training.
The massive amount of rain that falls on the Amazon keeps merging into larger streams. One of them, the Iguazu River, flows down a great fault line at this spot at a rate of65,000 tons per second!on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Nearly 300 waterfalls of various sizes are linked together, with a maximum drop of about 80 meters and a width of about 4 kilometers. As far as the eye can see, it is a wall of water. Is this even a "waterfall"? It is a visual that exceeds the range of imagination, like "this is what might happen if the ocean accidentally split open." If you are interested, please search for videos of it.
Among them, the waterfall with the most ace-level intensity is given the easy-to-understand and somewhat tacky name "Devil's Throat," but it undeniably exuded the presence of an ace. And there, a boat operator with a full-blown Latin sense of mischief was operating, thinking, "Let's get right up to the edge of the throat and give the tourists a thrill!" Being in my 20s and fearless at the time, I naturally bought a ticket and got on the boat.
They recommend buying a raincoat as a token gesture, but looking at other boats from a distance, it was obvious that such a thing couldn't stop that volume of water. I packed my camera and passport to at least protect them at all costs and left the pier.
The captain, who looked like he enjoyed mischief more than his three daily meals, let out a war cry and pulled the boat right up to the very edge of the basin.
Naturally, it wasn't just a gentle spray; it was like being bullied by 100 high-pressure washers at once. Since it's a great river flowing through the Amazon, it wouldn't be strange for logs or the carcasses of something to fall down, which would definitely lead to a major accident, but no one had any sense of crisis management.
An episode often told in conjunction with Iguazu Falls is the line from the beginning,"Poor Niagara...".
It seems the wife of U.S. President Roosevelt actually whispered this when she visited.
It is a famous true story that I was told by a local guide, but I still don't quite understand the true meaning of the line—or rather, in what situation, in what context, to whom, and with what expression she whispered it. I'm curious, so I'll try to imagine it on my own...
Iguazu Falls is in full swing today (2)... to be continued
[This Book!] "Nomore" (Taku Kokubu, Shinchosha)