Cataratas do Iguaçu

Cataratas do Iguaçu,
or Iguaçu Falls,

one of the great natural wonders of the world, 

has been on my Bucket List 

since I first saw photographs 

of these iconic falls 

near the borders of Brazil, Argentina
and Paraguay.

Cataratas do Iguaçu

Iguaçu Falls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iguacu-004.jpg

So I'm sitting at the bar 

at Parkway Bar and Grill

with Terry for Friday Night Date Night,

and suddenly an image of the falls

fills a huge TV screen.

OMG!

How often do you see this on a sports channel?

Cataratas do Iguaçu

Iguaçu Falls

Source:  Wikimedia Commons:  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foz_de_Igua%C3%A7u_26_Panorama_Nov_2005.jpg

"Terry, do you have any idea 

how much I want to go there?"  I said.

"You want to go everywhere," says the Ever-Patient.

"I'll go anywhere, 

but I really want to go there!" says I.  

"I've wanted to go there since..."

"I know.  I know. 

Since you saw a photograph of the falls 

in some Richard Halliburton book 

in your grandmother's bookcase 

in Charlottetown,"

says the E-P.

Richard Halliburton

My First Hero

Source:  http://www.nissanfrontier.org/forum_posts.asp?TID=33&PN=1&TPN=2

"Actually, I can't remember 

when I first heard of them.  

Maybe in New Worlds to Conquer 

or our Lands and People encyclopedias.  

But, it doesn't matter..."  

Iguaçu Falls

Source:  Wikimedia Commons:  http://wikitravel.org/en/File:DSCF4291.JPG

"I can't believe what I'm seeing!"

          Right after the picture of Iguaçu Falls,

          motocross bikes and big mounds of dirt

          fill the screen:

          X Games, Foz do Iguaçu.

          What???

I am so disillusioned ~

well, embarrassed at my ignorance

is more accurate.

I thought these incredible waterfalls

were hidden in a remote area 

deep in the primordial jungle.

Not!

Here, instead of primordial, 

is a world class sports event

with motocross bikes

flying over a bar almost 30 feet high.

Where have I been?

Brian Deegan jumping at X Games 17 in Los Angeles, 2011

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Deegan_jumping_at_X_Games_17_in_Los_Angeles.jpg

I've been living in a Halliburton world

that has disappeared into the mists of time.

Iguaçu Falls

Source:  Wikimedia Commons:  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sunset_over_Iguazu2.jpg

The falls of my imagination

are located only seventeen kilometers

from the Brazilian city of

Foz do Iguaçu ~

a city with a quarter of a million people!

Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, sul do Brasil

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SkylineFoz.JPG

Map

You can stay at the Five Star

Hotel das Cataratas

steps from the falls

and a short journey from 

Iguaçu/Iguazu National Park,

a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

You can go on a full moon walking tour

and see a lunar rainbow!

A lunar rainbow?

Now that would be something!

 Lunar Rainbow

Victoria Falls, Zambia

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lunar_Rainbow_1_Orion_-_Victoria_Falls_-_Calvin_Bradshaw_1.jpg

Okay ~ I'm flexible.

Bucket List Item:

Take a walk under the full moon

to see a lunar rainbow

over Iguaçu Falls

with a massage

at the Hotel das Cataratas Spa

thrown in.

Now to convince the E-P!

And go dig up my copy

of Richard Halliburton's

New Worlds to Conquer ~

Even if it doesn't have

Iguaçu Falls in it,

it would be fun to read again!