On a trip from São Paulo to Santiago I spent three days on the border between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina — enjoying a varied view of water. It’s power — both unleashed and leashed. The fist stop was Foz do Iguaçu on the Brazilian side.

After lunch on my first day in Foz I took the bus to the Cataratas do Iguaçu National Park. The itinerary on Brazilian side starts quite a bit downstream from the main falls and visitors gradually make their way up along the Iguazu River, toward the Devil’s Throat (Garganta do Diablo) — the gorge where the river falls of the Paraná Plate, creating the famous waterfalls.

As the first view of the waterfalls was downstream from the most powerful flow of water, my first impression of the falls was slightly underwhelming. I had expected something more spectacular — something more powerful. But at first sight, it was merely beautiful.

As I edged my way up along the river my impression of the falls grew in tune with the increased power of the falls. Yet, at the bottom of Devil’s Throat, while impressed, the waterfalls failed to meet my highest expectations of unleashed power.

Expectations aside, the afternoon in the Iguaçu National Park was a pleasant one. I enjoyed observing the rough side nature in the form of powerful waterfalls as well as its sweet side in the form of beautiful butterflies flying about the area and from time to time landing on handrails, posing their decorated wings for eager photographers.