Day 227: Niagra Falls

Apologies for the delay with these blogs if anyone is still reading them - I'm currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina and no longer have my laptop! There's only a few updates to go before I'm back so hopefully I'll see some of you soon and the rest of this week will be filled with daily updates - sorry.
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My brief trip to Toronto (see http://www.statravelblogs.com/smarsha78/blog/ontario/toronto) had been fuelled by a desire to see Niagra Falls, one of the Wonders of the modern world. After rectifying some financial difficulties I booked a trip to the falls via the hostel.

That morning, in reception, our group of predominantly males waited excitedly in the hostel reception area, sharing awkward early morning welcome exchanges and eventually filtered into our outwardly unglamorous but inwardly "pimped up ride" furnished with DVD player and large flat screen television.

During the journey jokes and tenuous, temporary bonds were formed and by the end I had formed a friendship with a friendly Philippine American named Rueben and a couple British guys called Steve and Liam.

We arrived at the Falls and the first sight to greet us was a Planet Hollywood sign emblazoned on the centre of a round about. This shameless commercialism was indicative of the underlying theme of our day.

Our extremely overweight cheery tour guide explained the process for the day including the legendary ´Maid of the Mist´ boat tour and asked that we return within an allotted time. We obediently dispersed to join a well ordered, perfunctory line of people being shuntered like cattle into the main Niagra Falls area. It was ridiculously clinical and ordered and I felt like I was at Chessington Zoo instead of about to view a ´natural´ phenomenon.

Once within the main area we were ushered downwards towards the dock but not before being forced to stand in front of a green screen with Rueben and Liam for a corny family picture where Niagra Falls would be super imposed on to the background (why would you want this when you had the real thing!). We´d only met a couple of hours before so we awkwardly threw arms round each other, smiled and posed.

Once within the docking area the ferocious roar of the Falls greeted your ears and overpowered the man made feeling that had, up to this point, left me feeling a bit disillusioned.

Donning a fetching, unflattering Maid of the Mist plastic poncho given to all we headed into the Falls. Birds flocked about the crashing Falls and the breathtaking, awesome power of the force of nature could not be denied.

The Made of Mist boat made a slow trip across the falls ensuring that we all got thoroughly soaked and then we made our way back onto shore. I then made my way around the town with some of the guys I'd made friends with on the tour and eventually we ended up back at our hostel where we all said our various goodbyes.

Tomorrow, Brazil!!!