Into the Falls
Aside from just seeing them (which has turned out to be much more enjoyable than we imagined), the only must do for us here is the boat trip up the river and into the falls themselves. There is a package tour that also includes a slow float through the jungle a few miles upstream, so we book a spot, scarf down a quick breakfast (which is the same everyday and starting to get a little tired, even the caramel filled crepes Joey!), and head out the pick up point.
The theory is that this easy cruise provides an opportunity to see some of the native plants and wildlife, but as our guide doesn’t speak any English, his pointing at random things and rambling on doesn’t do a whole lot for us. We are perfectly content however, to just lazily drift down the river, feet hanging over the side into the cool water, just enjoying nature.
After a short break (partially filled with ice cream), we are off for part two of our adventure. This starts with a 5 mile ride down a jungle trail in an open-topped bus. Our guide here speaks English, so we get more information about the animals that live here, but in practice, seeing live animals in the jungle is really, really, really hard, so while every rustling tree branch is met with a burst of excitement from the people is the bus, all we get out if it is a bunch of pictures of leaves we’ll scratch our heads over in a few weeks, wondering what the heck we were trying to take a picture of.
This all builds up to the main event, and I’m happy to say it doesn’t disappoint. After a few minutes riding upriver, we’re face to face with thousands of gallons of water a second crashing down all around us. The falls seem a bit quieter today, so instead of running up under one of the smaller ones, as we have been watching them do the past few days, we head straight for the the churning monster square in the middle. There is absolutely nowhere to hide, and in seconds were are completely soaked. To my left, I hear the giddy shrieking of a teenage girl at a Justin Beiber concert, and turn to find my lovely travel companion, hair plastered to her face, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
We make another run back under, much to the delight of all aboard, and then dock, for the short hike back to the hotel. We take the opportunity of this new viewpoint to grab a few more (yes) waterfall pictures before calling it a day. We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and touristy as it sounds, give the whole adventure two very enthusiastic thumbs up.
