This was originally published on my old blog BackpackBook (Livro de Mochila), a project that blended literature and travel, sometimes just traveling in my lucid dreams. It ran as “Salto do Yucumã” on April 23, 2010.
I can’t remember exactly how I learned that the longest waterfall in the world by extension was in Brazil (or in Argentina, for the Argentinians). I only know that after that I drew up any number of plans to get there. After a few frustrated attempts, I finally arrived.
It was unthinkable to miss this opportunity!
The rumors that the falls will disappear kept growing, and you can only see them in summer, which was already ending. I tried to get in touch with residents or people who had visited recently to find out about the state of the river, without success.
Our first night on the road wasn’t one of the best either. We slept in the car park of the Chapecó bus station. Minutes before trying to get to sleep I thought this would be a good idea, and it wasn’t quite what happened. As well as the noise of cars all night, some people were trying sleep outside the bus station. I don’t know whether they’re trying to leave the city or arriving in it. The problem is that the children play and the adults argue until very late.
Things weren’t going the way I imagined. Leandra (the sunbeam of my morning) Silva was apprehensive about the trip and suggested somewhere closer, and we agreed that if the day didn’t work out we’d change destination. I haven’t even mentioned that Adriano (the dreamer) Couto woke up alarmed and told me this would be my last trip.
Last Trip
He was right. This trip motivated me to make the first video in the Last Trip series, expeditions in search of cities, cultures and places facing extinction, mostly inside our own country. This first trip is split into two parts, with the deleted scenes thrown in.
Derrubadas, RS
The town responsible for receiving the tourists is very small and seems to be shrinking every year. In 1993 it had 4,500 inhabitants, and by 2003 it was down to 3,300. There seems to be little investment in the town and its surroundings. Or will building the Roncador hydroelectric complex bring “development” to the region? The agreement between Brazil and Argentina has already been signed. Now we only need to find out whether that development is for the companies involved, or for the people and the environment.
Salto do Yucumã is inside the Turvo State Park, another place that only makes the news when somebody uncovers a scandal about guards hunting endangered animals or siphoning off money. It seems somebody always has to lose for a human being to win. If we really are winning.