Saturday, May 26, 2012

Colonials in Colonia



" Charm is more than just beauty" Proverb

Everyone told me Colonia was beautiful and that I would enjoy its Old World charm.  I have to confess we had no intention of going for any other reason than to catch a boat to Argentina.  However, after spending a couple of days in its picturesque setting I understood the delight that is Colonia de Sacramento

Colonia was built by the Portuguese in 1680 and the Barrio Historico old town is a walking memory of yesteryear.  The city was built to threaten the Spanish military stationed over the river in Buenos Aires.   Now the cobbled streets wind a restaurant route past stone city walls and old fashioned draw bridges.  Passed back and forth between the warring nations of Portugal and Spain for centuries, the architecture reflects the erratic ownership.  The streets change from the rough cobbles of the historical Portuguese style into the wide avenues of the Spanish Colonial checkerboard style. Colonia was even briefly held by the British and the Brazilians.  Finally in 1825, Uruguay became its own nation and merely a weekend destination for the Argentinians.  


‘It used to be a good hotel, but that proves nothing—I used to be a good boy. Both of us have lost character of late years.’
Mark Twain

Driving down from Carmelo to Colonia was a quick journey through farming country with fields sown together into a patchwork on both sides of the winding road.  We arrived at the Raddison and threw the bags in the room eager to get out there and find a spot of lunch.


"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch." 
Orson Welles.

Only a couple of blocks away we stumbled into a cobbled courtyard scattered with vintage cars, pots of geraniums and checkered cloth cafe tables.


"I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol."
Author Unknown

Sitting down to lunch in the weak winter sunshine seemed a divine pleasure.  Unbelievably, it got better, as a guitar duo began crooning gently in dulcet tones.  Pinch me, this European flavor was carried over to the fine food that was soon delivered to the table by the friendly plump waitress.  The same congenial lady had painstakingly helped me conquer the menu and our order in Spanish.  Pinch me again!  Who am I?


In Italy, they add work and life on to food and wine."
Robin Leach

Colonia had lots of Spanish and Italian immigrants and that cultural flavor lives on in the  cuisine.  Once the food hit the stomach and the sun dipped below the handsome architecture of the buildings the kids and Greg went back to the hotel leaving me to explore the afternoon alone.  The perfect place for a mamaventure.  

The old cobble streets were a plethora of wonder, where historical European architecture  blended with a modern Uruguayan bohemia flavor.  I exhaled in the sheer delight of the warm afternoon sun reflecting on the pink adobes scattered along Calle de los Suspiros, Street of Sighs.


“A sigh isn't just a sigh. We inhale the world and breathe out meaning." 
Salman Rushdie

As with all Euro style history, everything is so old that legends, like flowers, spring up all over the place.  The street of sighs was no different.  As the shadows of the trailing geraniums grew longer I tried to decide which tale I liked best.  The first fable tells of prisoners executed and last breaths.  Then there is the more romantic story of a stabbed lover's last dying gasp.  Finally, probably the most believable anecdote of all was that during the busy port era the street was lined with prostitutes trying to tempt the sailors into sighs of pleasure.






"Life is a combination of magic and pasta."
Federico Fellini

Wandering alone lets me imagine for moment what life would be like if I lived here.  Ordering a quick espresso while having long conversations in Spanish.  But who was I kidding I could barely ask a question let alone understand the answer.  This was not very Eat, Pray, Love of me, it was more Snack, Stutter, Stumble.  I chatted to an American woman living in Brazil she is the only person I have ever known who went from blonde to brunette.  Why?  Because everyone understands her Spanish and Portuguese better now.  What hope was there for me?  I pulled my hat lower and moved on.




"In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone"
Paul Simon




"The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great, that I thought I was in a dream." 
Jack Kerouac







Bart: Lower the draw bridge!
Lisa: What's the password?
Bart: (slowly) I love my sister.
Bart and Lisa Simpson

I made my way down to the water, weaving through brilliantly painted buildings to the thick walls and drawbridge, my camera clicking overtime.  While the sun slipped behind the clouds my last day in Uruguay drew to a close as I was melancholic to leave but eagerly anticipated the adventure of Argentina that lay ahead.



“Think of what starlight 
And lamplight would lack 
Diamonds and fireflies 
If they couldn’t lean against Black. . . .” 
Mary O'Neill



"My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. 
I said, "Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim."" 
Paula Poundstone

Through the soft morning mist the Plate River looked like a lake, a brown lake but a flat calm lake none the less.  Surrounded by Argentinians and folks from Uruguay in the huge port building we were smoothly shepherded through the check in procedure and then onto immigration.  Stamped out of Uruguay by one chap then stamped into Argentina by the guy standing next to him.  Uber efficient.  Through the huge glass windows of the waiting lounge I spotted the massive Catamaran ferry coming into dock.  Lines of cars streamed out from the belly of the iron ship, while foot passengers surged out of the upper decks along glass air bridges.  Turn around time for the boat was quick and we were soon jostling  aboard our ride to Argentina.  Once aboard I realized what all the jostling was about there was barely an empty seat in the house.  

Slipping out of Colonia into the muddy waters of the Plate we were soon enveloped in the mist, the pirate ghosts and naval cries of yore.




“Only the man who crosses the river at night 
knows the value of the light of day”
 Chinese Proverbs 




Birthdays come like waterfalls



"Poor Niagara!" Elanor Roosevelt

To witness that much water all at once is an exhilarating thrill beyond all else.  Four times wider than Niagra, Iguazu Falls is one of the 7 New Wonders of the World, tumbling through the lush South American rainforest since ancient times.



I th-th-th-think we coming to a fatterfall... a flutterfall... a very big waterfall! 
 Piglet quotes  

"A strong man and a waterfall always channel their own path" 
Unknown


"Romance often begins by a splashing waterfall
and ends over a leaky sink” 
Author Unknown.


The Iguazu River starts in Curitiba and flows through Brazil.  When it reaches the Brazilian state of Parana it forms the border between Brazil and Argentina then flows 23kms to join the Parana River and creates the border with Paraguay.  The name Iguazu comes from a local native language meaning (no surprises here) big water.  Of course it was a God that created the whole thing in a rage because his beautiful betrothed Naipi, paddled off with her mortal lover in a canoe.  The God sliced the river generating the mighty cascades and  sentencing the lovers to an everlasting fall. 


"I feel like I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe." 
Author Unknown

It seemed I had been sentenced to an everlasting nightmare of trying to work out which name, which passport, which airport and which hotel.  Sounds pretty straight forward to book a three day trip to Iguassu Falls.  However, rubia tonta had us flying into Brazil, staying in an Argentinian Hotel and arguing about it in Uruguay!  Never one to be deterred by mere formalities I managed to procure a Brazilian visa and negotiate a transfer over the narrow tourism corridor between the borders.  Arriving by dilapidated taxi in the dark of night we finally we found ourselves tucked up in the Sheraton with a the promise of a falls view at dawn with a roof top access key.  


"Beginners worry about gear, 
professionals worry about skill 
and masters worry about light" Unknown.




Day one, Greg was in serious photographer mode and before first light he was positioned on the concrete roof top snapping toucans with a backdrop of pink mist.  





When he finally came down, we dove into the massive buffet breakfast overlooking the spray rising from the distant falls.  The far off thunder of the waters promised a day  filled with the noise of the roaring river and clicking cameras.


“Life is a train of moods like a string of beads; and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus.”
 Ralph Waldo Emerson

To actually get close to the falls we had to wander through the grounds of the Sheraton and into the National Park proper.  The tiny train was already full of people as it pulled into our station.  






The kids ran ahead excited to find an empty carriage.  Rolling through the dense greenery of the forest, hearing the bird calls increased my anticipation for our first stop - the Devil's Throat.




“Faith is the pierless bridge supporting what we see 
unto the scene that we do not.”
 Emily Dickinson

To get to Garganta Del Diablo you have to walk the gangways above the river for a almost a mile.  The rivers slips calmly underneath, clear and flat with no hint of the turmoil ahead.  Catfish nibbled on the bread crumbs we threw, evolved as completely different species than their cousins downstream past the falls.  Snatching quick snaps of exotic bird life flitting from branch to branch, we quickly made our way along the bridge.


“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”
 Winnie the Pooh 

Of course the ear is the first sense to detect a change, the booming bellow of the devil himself builds to a crescendo.  The moistened air heightens the skin to the nearby impending watery inferno.  As the vapors thicken and the droplets start to roll, the eyes are allowed to join the celebration of senses.  Perhaps it is the continuing movement, the never ending flow of water that seduces the eye into a glazed trance.  Maybe it is simply the power of nature subduing the watcher into an insignificant silence.  For a moment all one can do is stand and stare at the mighty power of the Iguazu River as it cascades into the never ending pit of the Devil's Throat.


“Give the devil his due”
 Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra


The touristic chaos on the final platform switches between photographers and those being captured by the camera.  To capture the essence of the maelstrom seems a gargantuan task.
  

The winds whip the spray in waves across the crowds, all trying to hide their precious equipment under towels, shirts, plastic bags.  When the mist lessens momentarily, out come the cameras trying to frantically snap the scene.  Those in the photo squeal and drip, trying to smile while leaning precariously on the flimsy rail keeping them from being swallowed by Satan.  


Half of Iguazu's water falls into the Devil's throat.  The exhilaration of this, our first lookout, was an amazing way to start our exploration of the 275 falls which make the fish hook shaped chasm of Iguazu.  




Wandering back to the sanctuary of the train station we encountered the not so wild coatis.  Snaffling around in the trash these creatures were a far easier photography subject that the falls.






“Searching is half the fun:
life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt."
Jimmy Buffett

We decided to catch the train back in time to catch the boat across to the island in the middle of the falls.  It was starting to get sticky hot and we were all hungry.  Climbing down the steps to the water level was an arduous chore with the blazing South American sun beating down relentlessly.  At least the shady boat ride across was a cooling relief.  



The island brought more steps, more views and more wildlife.  Armadillos, vultures, lizards, butterflies and colorful finches.  







It was easy to imagine the falls had changed little from the time Europeans first ventured into the jungle here.



Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was the Spanish Conquistador to first discover the falls in 1541.  Greg and I had a long discussion as to if the afore said gentleman would have actually crawled through the jungle in full plated armor or swopped out into his jungle panama hat and tourist vest with extra pockets for the spare camera battery?    I suppose the Armadillo spends all day scooting around in full body armour.  They are such funny little creatures.  Amazing Armadillo facts, they can: eat fire ants, always have 4 babies all the same sex, sleep 18.5 hours a day, walk underwater, and are the only other species than humans that can catch leprosy.  



"A man in armor is his armor's slave" 
Robert Browning 


The kids were starting to revolt against any more waterfall watching.  There had been plenty enough falls viewing for one day, so we wandered back to the hotel, damp and exhausted but with a sense of awe and accomplishment.  The only water we wanted to see now was the swimming pool.  Any wildlife would have to come and find us!


"Eat, sleep and swim. That's all I can do."
Michael Phelps


“An example from the monkey: the higher it climbs, 
the more you see of its behind”
 German Proverb 



 “Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.”
 Victor Hugo 


A new day and another pink dawn for Greg to photograph.  We checked out after breakfast with a plan to walk one last loop on the Argentian side and then head over to Brazil and perhaps plan a helicopter tour to really snag some winning pics.

"Let your love be like the misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river."
Malagasy Proverb


Of course because 2 countries share the falls each country thinks their side is the best.  My opinion for what its worth, is that you feel you're on the falls in Argentina and in them in Brazil.  Brazil gets 20% of the falls and Argentina 80% .  The Brazilians allow helicopters to operate and they circuit the falls like the real vultures swinging around on the updrafts.


To compare Iguassu to other waterfalls seems a pointless competition.  However, Victoria is the widest curtain of water, Niagara gets first place for most water volume also most visited and Angel Falls the highest.  In reality, the relevance of these waterfall statistics are lost in the mist.  Guaira Falls further upriver from Iguazu used to claim the largest volume of water going over any falls.  That was until the biggest dam in the world, Itipu Dam began operation and drowned them.  Itipu is one of the most expensive objects ever built.  Of course China will soon one up the dam situation, in size if not cost.

"If you dam a river it stagnates. 
Running water is beautiful water. 
So be a channel.”
English Proverb

In a cruel twist of fate people crowded to take a last look at the Guaira falls before the dam destroyed them.  Unfortunately, it ended up being the last thing they ever saw as the bridge collapsed under the excess weight of the extra visitors and over 80 people perished.




"The helicopter symbolize(s) the victory of ingenuity over common sense.”
Montross, Lyn and Prouty.

We decided that we simply couldn't visit the Brazilian side of the falls without taking a helicopter ride.  The kids were a little reticent about the whole idea but soon got into the swing of things after take off.  Up there, above it all, the huge fault in the earth becomes so apparent.  You get sense of the huge flood plain and the ancient path the waters have followed.  I think I have replaced my inexpensive need to gain a lofty perspective from tall buildings with expensive helo rides.

Another legend claims "Boi" a huge snake lived in the Iguassu River.  A woman was sacraficed every year to calm his ferocious spirit.  One year a brave man saved the woman and Boi burst in anger, contorting its body and fracturing the river creating the cataracts and separating the man and the woman.


“What need the bridge much broader than the flood?”
William Shakespeare

Walking out onto the Brazilian walkways allows you to hang over the precipice while being drenched in heavy vapor.  The metal gangways let you to go to the very edge of the precipice, so close the mantle of mist threatens to pull you over the edge.  The danger slick and palpable all around.


In Argentina I had felt we were looking down into the devils throat, here in Brazil I felt his hot, wet breath all around me.



"Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.”
 Hunter S. Thompson

Seeing both sides of the river allowed me to feel a certain touristico satisfaction.  Our driver was waiting to take us back to the airport, it was time to dry the waters of the Iguazu from our clothes and head back to Uruguay older and wiser.

"What is it that makes a complete stranger dive into an icy river to save a solid gold baby? Maybe we'll never know” 
Jack Handy