Traveling with friends is not my favorite activity because you never know what co-existing in tiny spaces can do to relationships. However, some trips are cheaper if based on adult double occupancy, so it was easy to say yes to travel with my friend Mara. 

I had been living in Argentina for a while when a friend proposed that we visit the Iguazu Waterfalls, as a way to escape -did I say “escape”?- our very intense lives for a few days. It seemed like a place to marvel at something and relax, but it was more than that. 

Pride is one of the biggest flaws of human beings. I’ve suffered from it; I’ve felt better, smarter, and stronger than others. When things work out right for you, it’s very easy to fall into the pride-trap: my life is way better than everybody else’s…But God, life, the Universe, or however you want to call it, has its ways to remind you how small we all are. 

Step on the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu Falls and feel the greatness of nature at its biggest.  

Close your eyes and listen to the natural flow. Look at the falls and try to understand how fast life flows. 

This World Natural Wonder makes you speechless

There I was standing like a child in awe, eyes wide open, my camera completely forgotten for the first 30 minutes at least. No picture could document what I was witnessing: the sounds -falls, birds, sighs of people around me-, the smells -coaties, monkeys, grass, the jungle-, and waterfalls big and small, more than I could count!  

The next four hours were mostly about walking around the park, exchanging amazed looks with my Brazilian friend, and taking pictures. It was a rainy day, adding up the mist coming from the waterfalls, so we were soaking wet and yet, so happy to be there. 

At one point, we were told to not go all the way to the Devil’s Throat, because of the wet floor. Of course, we walked down there, and alone on the platform, we decided to scream out and loud, letting go of all our frustrations, fears, anger, and sadness. As I screamed I couldn’t hear my own voice and, at some point, I started wondering if anybody could.  

Yes, life can be overwhelming, stressful, annoying sometimes. Yes, life is not always as you plan, and at times even getting all that you thought you wanted can be even worse than not getting anything. Yes, we all get upset for the dumbest reasons.  

But life, just like the Iguaçu Falls, flows and changes constantly. Water runs, fast and unstoppable, and every time you blink it all has changed. So, why do we get stuck and suffer? Why can’t we let life follow its course and amaze us at any given moment? 

The next morning, I immersed myself in the Misiones jungle and enjoyed the Argentine side of the Iguazu Falls. Battling my fear of water, I jumped on a speedboat and remembered a friend saying “if you fall off the boat, you won’t need to swim”.  

And finally, after receiving a beautiful, cold, violent shower from one of the falls, I realized there’s nothing so bad that doesn’t end after a few moments…I just need to let life flow.