The year 2007 was full of waterfalling adventures and new learning experiences. In fact, it was probably our busiest in terms of the amount of waterfalling abroad.We began the year with a handful of waterfall trips to Hawaii. In mid January, we traveled to the island of O'ahu as part of an extended weekend. It was during that trip that we got to see its greatest waterfalls such as Manoa Falls, Waimea Falls, Maunawili Falls, and even the forbidden Sacred Falls (from the air). The weather had been unusually dry for their wet season, but that didn't stop us from seeing the majority of the waterfalls we were after. Of course, we also had our fill of shave ice, malasadas (Portuguese donuts), and watching surfers hang ten on the famed North Shore. In fact, it was also at the world famous Pipeline on the North Shore that Julie managed to glimpse actress Cameron Diaz with professional surfer Kelly Slater. As if that weren't enough, we even managed to work in a day trip to the island of Moloka'i, perhaps the most Hawaiian of the Hawaiian Islands. There, we got to intimately experience the legendary Halawa Valley and its waterfalls.
In February, we had an opportunity to revisit Maui. Unlike our previous Maui trip back in the summer of 2002, we saved ourselves the struggle of getting up at 3am to see the sunrise at Haleakala. Instead, we took things a bit easier by spending two days on the Hana Highway with a night at the laid back Hana Town. It was too bad the October 2006 earthquake near Kona on the Big Island closed off the road past Kipahulu so we couldn't go all the way around the eastern side of the island, but it did give us a chance to thoroughly hunt for waterfalls on the Hana Highway. We also redid the West Maui/Moloka'i Helicopter excursion, but bad weather limited that experience to merely whale watching and even fewer waterfall sightings than our trip back in 2002.
In March, we went to the Big Island of Hawai'i for the first time. After a brief layover on O'ahu (in which we snuck in a hike to La'ie Falls), we stayed on the Hilo side of the Big Island. Once again, the weather was drier than usual, which meant we could see the glistening telescopes on the summit of Mauna Kea from the Hawai'i Belt Road and we were still able to see the major waterfalls of Rainbow Falls, Akaka Falls, and Umauma Falls. However, Hi'ilawe Falls and Kaluahine Falls in the legendary Waipi'o Valley were dry. In between the waterfalling, we also managed to spend a late afternoon in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park capped by a scary yet surreal experience of night time hiking to see flowing lava in person.
In May, we attended the Book Expo of America at the Javitz Center in New York City. There, we witnessed A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls getting the Bronze Award in Fore Word Magazine's Book of the Year Contest.
In June, we took our big trip of the year combining both Central & Western New York with Iceland as part of a grand 4-week waterfalling excursion. It was on this trip that we got to see the mighty Niagara Falls as well as the charming and laid back Finger Lakes Waterfalls such as Taughannock Falls and Ithaca Falls. We also went into the picturesque Letchworth State Park to see some of the mighty waterfalls on the Genesee River. However, it was the trip to Iceland that was once again the life-changing, horizon-expanding trip. Despite the fact that things are awfully expensive over there, we got to see glaciers, farms, mountains, fjords, rivers, canyons, and of course, huge waterfalls! Such waterfalls included some of Europe's mightiest like Dettifoss, Godafoss, Gullfoss, Skogafoss, and Dynjandi. We also visited countless others and even stayed at the self-proclaimed loneliest hotel in Europe at Djupavik - perhaps the highlight of the trip and one of the most memorable places we'd ever experienced.
Indeed, despite two flat tires on the trip (one in Buffalo and one in Northern Iceland), we still had a wonderful time. And even my attempts at learning Icelandic sort of paid off. The locals who let me take a shot at it appreciated it immensely. And believe you me, it is an extremely difficult language to learn.
On Labor Day weekend, we did a brief trip to the mighty Iguazu Falls. It's perhaps the greatest waterfall left on the planet. It was basically an extended weekend trip and it sure felt like we were there and then we were gone. Nonetheless, the waterfall was unforgettable and we felt the trouble of securing a Visa to go see the falls on the Brazil side was for the most part worth it. Though I sure wish the next US administration rethink their foreign policy. That way you don't get retaliatory Visa requirements like what Brazil is doing to Americans what our administration is doing to the rest of the world.
On Thanksgiving week, we headed into Venezuela for the sole purpose of seeing the world's tallest waterfall - Angel Falls. Luxury trip it was not, but we had tremendous fun on the trip and thoroughly enjoyed the company of the folks we got to meet at the campamento we stayed at. We got to meet Norwegians, Canadians, a Venezuelan, a Spaniard, and a Belgian all of whom shared and inspired each other with their travel stories. We were fortunate to see Angel Falls in its entirety despite the nearly constant overcast conditions and incessant night time rains, which allowed us to see the falls both in average flow and in its nearly wet season form.
Finally, we ended the year with a week trip to almost the end of the world - Patagonia. Straddling both the Argentina and Chile Borders, it was more of a trip about mountains and lakes than waterfalls, but we still got to see a few spectacular ones there like Salto Grande, Chorillo del Salto, and Salto Chico among others. It was windy, but we managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Fitz Roy Peaks and the unforgettable Paine Massif (including Torres del Paine [Towers of Paine] and Cuernos del Paine [Horns of Paine]). In addition to the world class mountain scenery and waterfalls, we also glimpsed the breathtaking Perito Moreno Glacier, the lovely Argentinean city of Buenos Aires, and even a day trip to South Beach, Miami on New Years Eve as part of a layover from the long flight between Buenos Aires and Los Angeles.
And as with many of our trips, we've met amazing people with fascinating stories to tell and inspiring experiences. We even ran into a friend from Los Angeles at South Beach in one of the most random moments as well striking up some great conversation (always a welcome thing) with someone sitting next to us on the surprisingly crowded flight back to LA.
All in all, it was quite an eventful year of international waterfalling. We hope to do more next year.
Until then, happy waterfalling and see you next month!
