Iguazu Falls by Moonlight

I MADE IT! I can't believe it, but I finally, FINALLY made it to the Full Moon Walk.

I almost missed the bus back to the park. Not surprised. The bus service gets less frequent after the park officially closes to the public and I got some back info on the bus times. But, I also had a nice chat with a really nice man while I was frantically waiting for the next bus, so it wasn't all bad. I got to the park with just a few minutes to spare before they started letting the 8:45pm tour I was on into the park.

The moon was so bright.

In fact, the moon was so full and bright that it didn't even really seem dark. There were only about 50 people on my tour and compared to the thick crowds of earlier today, it seemed like there was hardly anyone else around. We boarded the park's little train and headed in towards the catwalk to the Garanta del Diablo.

I wish my little camera was powerful enough to capture the sights tonight. But, not so and I retired him for the night and decided to do my best just to soak it all into my memory. On the train ride, you could see all the stars and the backdrop of all the tropical trees in shadow made the scenery really stunning.

Then we walked the 1200m along the catwalk, out across the sparkling flatwater and you could catch glimpses of all the butterflies flying about. As we approached the Garganta, I noticed how loud the water was from much further away than I'd noticed in the day. I love how much sharper your senses are in the dark. Then, at the end of the catwalk was the fantastic gorge. You could still feel and see all the spray from the water crashing into the Throat and could make out a slight rainbow from the light of the moon. I only wish I had a photo to share with you.

The trail ride back was pretty quiet- I think everyone was just in awe of what we had seen. For me, it was like a little victory. There have been so many curveballs leading up to me getting to this night, for this moon, in this park that I had started to really believe that it just wasn't meant to be. But, as with so many of the curves I've had in this trip, the end result makes it SO worth it in the end.

As I got on the bus to head back to the campground, I said a "thank you" to the moon and watched it disappear into the shadows of the forest as we drove away.