"Nature never did betray
The Heart that Loved her."
- William Wordsworth, (1770-1850)
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Niagra Falls
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Nature has always been a great inspiration for me to hang on in this planet. And when I came down here, a trip to the Niagra Falls was something which was always in my mind.
Several package tours are available from New York, not only to Niagra, but also to major tourist places in America. These package tours are mostly conducted by the Chinese, who are in such a majority here that, there is even a place with the name China-Town in Lower Manhattan.
As we found we have long weekend coming up, with a holiday on Monday, my friend made quick online booking of tickets for our trip. It was for a two-day trip which covers a place called Thousand Islands, the Niagra Falls and a glass factory. From New York, Niagra Falls is around 750 km north which can be covered roughly in an eight hour journey.
27th May, Saturday 8 am, Along with four friends, I got into the bus, one bag loaded with chappatis, rice and fruits for the unfortunate vegans and another with a pair of dress and my Nikon. There were 52 of us in the bus most of them Chinese and Indians. An American driver and a Taiwanese lady guide wrapped up our group.
8:35 am, We started off from Manhattan, and entered New Jersey state crossing the Holland Tunnel. Built in 1927, this tunnel is built under water below the Hudson River connecting New York and New Jersey states. From New Jersey, we moved out of the city limits crossing over the Washington Bridge. From the second row in bus, we had a nice view of the long highways ahead. The city outskirts were thick green with several water rivulets all along the way.
The highway seemed to be an endless stretch of tar, with so many vehicles plying all around us, as if the whole world is on a journey. We travelled through several places most of them unknown and one among them which I found familiar was Pennsylvania, where one of the Sep.11 aircraft got crashed. Inside the bus, the lady guide was screaming in English and Chinese, making our life difficult. We had short stops in between for the breakfast and lunch. With preference given to the Chinese travellers, most of the stops were at Chinese restaurants. With our limited choice for vegetarian food, we could not explore the Chinese dishes. Nevertheless, we managed well with our own packed food.
By 3 pm, we were at Thousand Islands. This place, which is in New York State, has a chain of 1,865 small islands spread around 80 km in St.Lawrence River. Named by the French, many of the islands are privately owned by wealthy families who built their summer homes here in the 18th century. We had a one hour ride watching the islands from the boat which I felt really boring. In India, two hundred years is not that old to have a great history. But here is the crew explaining the history and mystery of each island and it was like trying to dig out history out of nothing! Few of the island castles looked nice, so I spent my time with few clicks on my Nikon. Another half-an-hour we spent roaming around few shops had a not so bad ice-cream and by 5:30 pm, started off again.
9 pm, Our bus halted at Holiday Inn, for our overnight stay. Our package had the night stay included in it, though I had not given much thought over where the stay will be. And the stay in fact, turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The hotel really was a class one! Two persons were given a room each. The rooms had swipe-cards instead of keys and were really cosy with nice lighting. I had a long shower in the hot water bathtub, had chapatti for dinner and hit the bed to get ready for the next day's Niagra visit.
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Holiday Inn
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28th May, Sunday 6:30 am, We were on our way to Niagra. And it disappointed me to hear that, it will take another four hours to reach our destination. I took a light breakfast in the bus and slipped into a nap.
By 10:30 am we were at the 'place' Niagra Falls. The excitement bounced back into me and I got ready for the moments ahead. We reached a toll gate to cross an iron bridge over the Niagra River. As the bus crossed the bridge, I heard the guide yelling, "See - there is the Niagra Falls " - I looked out, and saw nothing but a mist of water at a distance. Another five minutes along the Niagra river side and we were at our destination. We got down and walked down through a park. Two minutes walk, and among the trees I saw the Niagra river gushing down - there it is! - The first view of the majestic Niagra Falls.
Like the nature's grin for the mankind; million cubic-feet of water crushing down into earth's crust bringing out a misty surrounding. I felt, as if I am experiencing a historic moment of my life - unfortunately all alone! (Yes, I really missed my family and friends back at my home town). And now, here I am in this wonderful moment with nature in total solitude.
Niagra Falls is not a single waterfall as I thought; in fact, it is a group of three waterfalls - The American Falls (1060 feet wide 70 feet high), the larger Canadian Falls (2600 feet wide, 170 feet high) and a narrow Bride Veil falls. Wide rather than high, these falls are among the most popular tourist spots of the world. The Canadian falls is also called Horseshoe Falls for its shape. These falls are part of the Niagra River, connecting Lake Erie to Lake Ontario which at the end merge into the Atlantic Ocean. The border between Canada and the United States lies along the centre of the river and two bridges connect the countries over the river. From the Canadian side, we get a better view of the waterfalls but we need to have a permit to cross the border.
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Niagra Falls – Another View
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From the ground level, a lift took us down, where the falls hit the earth. There is the ferry service 'Maid of the Mist' which takes us to close proximity of the falls for a charge of $11. Founded in 1846, this ferry service has taken many famous personalities for its ride which include Theodore Roosevelt, Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe, Jawaharlal Nehru to name a few.
As we got into the boat, we were given a plastic cover to wear. The boat first took us near the American falls. This falls hit a series of rocks on its way down. Several sea-gulls were relaxing in and around it. I kept my eyes wide open, just relishing each moment near it. Slowly the boat moved towards the Canadian falls, the bigger and wider among the two. This is the falls which had a different feeling with it. As we moved closer we were almost surrounded by the falls. It was as if we were getting into the palms of nature. We were at such a close distance that looking up at the falls became difficult. I was just feeling through the moment. The water drops scattering around was sprinkling all over us. I removed my plastic cover allowing the Niagra water drops to drench me in them and they obliged by flowing down all over me and to my lips - really a fantastic feeling!
Back on shore, I called home and my friends in an attempt to at least take the sound of waterfalls to them. I wished to spend more time, walking around the falls, but the time was limited with our package tour and so we packed back. On a tired trip back, there was another stop to visit a glass factory. An illustration of glass making and the historical timeline of glass was nice which I would have enjoyed some other day. It was a tiring travel back, but it had the feeling of the fantastic experience of a life-time tagged to it.
Footnote:
Niagra falls are considered to be formed around 12,000 years ago and it has moved around 11.2 km from its actual location.
The movies shot at Niagra are Niagra (Maryln Monroe) - 1953 (after which the visits rose up sharply) and Superman II in 1980's.
In an attempt to swing across the Niagra falls, Cap. Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, drowned in 1883.
Last but not the least! - The time I took to read about Niagra and prepare this: 4.5 hours at a stretch + 1.5 hours
