Daily chronicles: The miles I travel

Some places on Earth, at the bare mention of their name, make us daydream. It is amazing how our mind works: even though you have never actually seen Stonehenge, nor taken a gondola ride in Venice (or have you?), it seems like you already know exactly how it feels to be there. You paint the picture in your head and instantly the magic is alive: you are walking on Copacabana beach, taking selfies in front of the Eifel Tower, drinking tea with Minnie Mouse in Orlando (doesn’t anybody want that?).
This was always the way I felt about Niagara Falls. My first memory of ever knowing the existence of this place was from watching the Woody Woodpecker cartoon in my living room in São Paulo, Brazil. The loud “Horaayy” shouted by the people in yellow raincoats as they watched the barrels fall is unforgettable. How awesome and awe-inspiring is it to conquer the feat of the falls in a barrel?
It is funny, though. When I actually did make the 5034.3-mile journey to the falls, I did not think about barrels or the yellow raincoats I was obsessed with as a kid. In fact, looking back, I did not think at all. At least not at first.
When I found myself, in my insignificance, facing that amount of water coming from nowhere and falling to another immeasurable abundance of the clear liquid, I could not help stop thinking for a second to fully experience the sensations I had.
The first thing I felt was the awareness of my very small body. Not because I am a petite. Not even for the greatness of the falls themselves. But because I felt like my very existence was a teeny-tiny particle in the entire universe.
Immediately after that, the perception that took over was the certainty of the importance of my own unique life. Millions of years from now, the falls will be gone. Millions of years ago, they were not there. I felt incredibly special to be able to look at them at that moment.
I went to see the American side of the falls. Most people say the Canadian portion is more beautiful, but having had the experience of second best, it was more than enough beauty for me.
To complete the perfection of that day, as if the universe was trying to show me how extraordinary life can be, a rainbow graced the view, mixing its colors with the mists coming off the falls.
I will never forget that trip. Long, but well enjoyed hours in a bus, great conversations with my travel companions and my own private connection with nature and with myself. No picture in my mind could ever beat that!