Most people go to Iguazu to see this …
… and this …
… but it’s only a few hours’ drive from the San Ignacio Miní mission ruins. I took a day tour there in 2005.
They’ve built a town around them, including a Coke sign.
The film The Mission, starring Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, was about eighteenth century missionaries in the Iguazu area. It featured an instrumental piece called ‘Gabriel’s Oboe’, which was later turned into the song ‘Nella Fantasia’. I has this romantic notion of hearing the cautiously optimistic tones of composer Ennio Morricone’s masterpiece as the waterfalls gently soothed in the background.
But when I tried it, the water was so loud, I had to turn the music up to disco level if I wanted to hear the music. It might be why I look so glum.
The idea made more sense at San Ignacio Miní.
And yes, I had a Walkman, which was ancient technology, even in 2005. It wasn’t even a CD Walkman!
