Niagara Waterfall, a bridge between United States of America and Canada, is one of the most impressive cascades in the world. Just imagine 2,8 millions of liters per second falling from 50 meters!
Beeing in New York, I saw a good chance to take a two days trip to Niagara because it was on my big wishlist! After seven hours on the road, I could see in the distance, above the waterfall, a kind of cloud of fog, created by the particles of water that were rising to the sky. I was already impressed!
The bus was riding on the shore of the Niagara River. On my right, I was seeing in the middle of the river Green Island, Goat Island and Three Sisters Islands. It didn’t take long to reach the waterfall. Though, I was so excited that, at that moment, it seemed an eternity! I quickly descended the stairs to the famous boat, The Maid of the Mist.
Almost under the waterfall
On the crossing bridge, I stared for some moments at the greatness of the water and its heavy sound. Beyond this, it is so pleasant to breathe the air full of billions of water droplets.
On the boat, I quickly dressed in the blue plastic raincoat, too large for me. As the boat started to move, the seagulls followed us, flying in circles over us, maybe get some free food. It’s very unpleasant to eat fish every day, right? :))
At the first gust of wind – with that powder water – our raincoats proved to be useless. All on the boat looked like after a summer rain! The feeling? I forgot about the cold; in front of me, the waterfall was just bigger and bigger. I was staying on the deck holding strong the railing. The waves made by the falling water were big and anyone could easily unbalance. So, I forgot to blink! I was there and the time stopped! The river seemed to flow directly from the clear sky, which I often saw through the thick fog. The sound was deafening, even frightening. And, strangely, I was not afraid to get closer the vertical water. Obviously, I was feeling safe with the experienced captain of the ship.
On return, I had a wonderful surprise: the sun’s rays lightened the valley and created a gorgeous rainbow!
A unique view
After the boat tour, tourists can climb the stairs beside the waterfall (on the US side) to be closer the cascade. But, for feeling good there, you must go at a time when the flow is low. Otherside, you’ll get… too wet. Now, the flow rate was average, but the wind was blowing towards the stair, bringing all the water that raised. So I preferred to stop on the bridge, at the observation point, where the moments of awe in front of this miracle of nature would not stop: water falls, the sun, the clear sky, the seagulls, the green banks and the ships on the river created a memorable image.
Niagara in pics
This article was published in another form in Ioana magazine (Romania), March 2016 issue.