"That was so fun! It wasn't that scary," said Ivan as our adventure boat dipped under the Falls and we got soaked! The crowd on the boat roared, "Again!" And the driver looped the boat around and we went back into the mist with the Falls so loud you couldn't hear anything but the pounding water. Ivan's face was so full of excitement. We cruised around the bend and dipped into the Three Musketeer's Falls on the Brazilian side. Ivan's face overflowing with exhilaration and a smile that penetrates your heart at how much he's enjoying the moment. Konstantin also enjoying and and asking wise questions about the safety of the boat. We had a lovely scenic boat ride back."Joanna, you were here in spirit!" Which reminds me of one of my favorite stories...It's December and Joanna is flying through New York and I'm flying through New York as well on my way home to San Francisco. We're trying to arrange to meet up and do a day of Christmas shopping in Manhattan. Conversation goes something like this: "Jo, can we meet in NY on Saturday?" "I'd love to and I thought we could but you know it's a little complicated. You see I fly into JFK and out of LGA. I can't just leave my luggage in a locker and it's a hassle to bring it into the City with me. You know we better leave it for next time", laments Joanna. "I understand, don't worry but you know if you're not going to be able to meet then there's no reason for me to leave Rio early. I can just enjoy the week-end here." "Wait, can you hold a minute," Jo asks quickly without really asking, you know what I mean, and I'm on hold. 1,2.3...60 seconds pass. "O.K. I can meet you," says Jo when she returns to the line. I'm thinking, gee I just got used to staying in Rio for a couple of days. "So we'll go shopping," I ask?". "No, I'll meet you in Rio." So that is one off my favorite Joanna stories. It's too complicated to meet in New York but give me a minute and I'll meet you in Brazil.
Joanna added an excursion to Iguassu Falls and we stayed at the Cataratas Hotel in the National Park. The hotel was a beautiful colonial building with the coziest fireplace and Christmas tree. But what was more amazing was the incessant deep roaring of the Falls. You could even hear it from our room. And the last indulgent story about this place is when we walked past the coati's to the footbridge in front of one of the Falls to say our good-bye to this magical place. We're standing there, both of us, late in the day, a bit of rain coming down and contemplating the amount of water that keeps pounding down, how beautiful nature is, how small we are and how easily we blow things out of proportion in life.
This is the moment I fully accept the fact that everything is made out of atoms as I felt my own atomic structure reverberating from the pounding energy hitting my chest from the Falls and fighting to cling together and not become a pile of rubble like Wyle E. Coyote on the Roadrunner show. Joanna turns to me and tells me how happy she is that I lured her on this adventure and that she just realized, "we'd better go as it's probably not wise to remain on a metal footbridge in the middle of the largest cascades in the world as a lightning storm gains some strength and looks like it's getting closer". "Yes, it was a lovely trip, and it's a really good time to vamonos."
Now back to the Two Kids adventure:
Ahhhhaaaooooahh..
There are 2 Tarzan's!
And the boys got their wish...Coati's!!! Don't think I could have gone back to Buenos Aires if we hadn't seen lots and lots of Coati's in the jungle.
This is what the "Two Kids" traded their summer for! Coati's!!!
