10 Years, 12 Nights, 6 Hotels, ONE LOVE - April 2012 Trip Report

[Hubby-man]

Turning a corner, behind a massive tree, the falls suddenly came into view. Extending from a panorama platform a river stretched straight ahead cascading down several terraces, before it veered off sharply in front of a small cluster of gaping-jaw tourists, clicking away at the magnificent sight.



The water plunged down each of the steps as a white foaming wall of force. Spray rose high from each of the pools below, and as it rose it built glistening rainbows, before evaporating rapidly into the thin hot air.



At the very end of the view loomed the mother of all falls, like a mighty goddess, sprawling a throne while delighting in the spectacle of her own creation of violent torrents and life-giving mist. Dwarfed in comparison, a tiny trail of colorful tourist ants climbed and panted up a jungle path, clutching slippery handrails, while their vacation attire competed with a multitude of otherworldly flowers for attention.

We all stood there for a while, all of us helplessly attracted to the same spot.

“I have taken the same picture in this exact same spot,” Ninja mumbled, camera pressed to his face, “and yet,…” click, click, click, ” … I have to take it again!”.



It was hard to move any further. ‘This is it’, I thought: Real National Geographic coffee-table-book-rain-forest. Just like the watercolors from Disney’s Jungle book, the movie that first made me want to be an artist. I just couldn’t get enough of the sight. This is why I had become a tree hugger. This is why had protested for hours on end in cold German winter weather in front of fast food chains that served billions of rain-forest burgers and this is why I hadn’t washed my hair since 1981 to look the part -to save this experience for future generations.