Legends of the Falls (with apologies to Brad Pitt)

There is something magical about a water formation — especially when the luminescent torrent of water thunders down 53 meters from above, rippling like the curtains over a giant horseshoe-shaped silver screen.

Such is the wonder of the Horseshoe Falls of the Niagara Falls, about 1 1/2 hours away from the city of Toronto in the province of Ontario, Canada. Its very magnificence is shrouded by the mist of myths and legends, and this enhances its mystery.  Because of its might — it thunders 40 kilometers per hour and is a natural source of power — it is a powerful god. But its breathtaking beauty makes it nothing less than an alluring silver goddess.

According to legend, The Horseshoe Falls is watched over by the “Maid of the Mist” — Lelawala. She was a beautiful maiden of the peaceful tribe of the Ongiaras who was married off by her father to a king. However, she despised the old king, and longed to be with her true love He-No. He was the god of thunder and lurked in a cave beneath the Horseshoe Falls. She decided she wanted to find He-No at all cost, and as she paddled a canoe onto the Niagara River she was swept off the Falls. Fortunately, He-No had been watching and caught Lelawala while she fell. It is said they stayed together after that and their spirits still live in the caves beneath Niagara Falls to this day.

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I first beheld the Horseshoe Falls many years ago and the experience wasn’t only sensory — it was spiritual. As the mist from the water that seemed to thunder down from heaven clung like dew drops to my face, I wanted to genuflect. I felt like I was in an open-air cathedral, and I wanted to kneel in homage to the Being that created this wonder. (I was to learn later on that is exactly what the Europeans did when they first beheld the Falls in the 17th century — they got down on their knees in praise.) Since that first encounter with the Falls, I had always wanted to revisit it.

In December last year, I was able to check my “revisit Niagara” box on my bucket list.

When Philippine Airlines (PAL) launched its non-stop service to Toronto on its brand new Boeing 777-300ER in November last year, it took a group of journalists and travel agents to the Falls on a side trip. Because it was winter, it was not possible to ride the boat (called Maid of the Mist) that takes tourists (20 million annually) to the base of the Falls.

Instead, PAL arranged for us to experience the so-called “Journey Behind the Falls,” which took us 46 meters below street level via an elevator. The elevator opened to a tunnel behind the Falls that led to several viewing decks behind it. The effect was like being behind the silver screen, like watching a magnificent performance from backstage. It gives you a different, though no less awesome, perspective of this long-running saga of nature, which traces its origins to the Ice Age.

The unguided journey (about C$15 per person) ends up on a viewing deck near the base of the Falls. In a theater, I would say that deck would be on Orchestra Right. (The tour that really takes you to Orchestra Center is the one on the Maid of the Mist.) After the “Journey Behind the Falls,” there is a souvenir shop and a kiosk that sells steaming hot chocolate and coffee.

Airline sources say the Toronto flights of PAL are steadily getting more and more popular, not only because of those who want to experience the Niagara, but largely because Toronto has the biggest Filipino-Canadian community in Canada.

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According to published sources, here are more “Legends of the Falls”

A 63-year-old Michigan school teacher Annie Edson Taylor was the first person to go over the Falls on Oct. 24, 1901 as a publicity stunt. She curled herself in a barrel and met her date with destiny.  She survived, bleeding, but virtually unharmed. Soon after exiting the barrel, she was quoted as saying, “No one ought ever do that again.”

Since Taylor’s historic ride, 14 people have intentionally gone over the Falls in or on a device, despite her advice. Some have survived unharmed, but others have drowned or been severely injured. Survivors of such stunts face charges and stiff fines, as it is illegal, on both sides of the border, to attempt to go over the Falls.

Miracles happen at the Niagara (and am not only talking about the rescue of Lois Lane from near death by Superman). There is the documented rescue of Roger Woodward, a seven-year-old American boy, who was swept over the Horseshoe Falls protected only by a life vest on July 9, 1960, as two tourists pulled his 17-year-old sister Deanne from the river. Minutes later, Woodward was plucked from the roiling plunge pool beneath the Horseshoe Falls after grabbing a life ring thrown to him by the crew of the Maid of the Mist boat.

On July 2, 1984, Canadian Karel Soucek from Hamilton, Ontario successfully plunged over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel with only minor injuries. Soucek was fined $500 for performing the stunt without a license.

In August 1985, Steve Trotter, an aspiring stuntman from Rhode Island, became the youngest person ever (age 22) and the first American in 25 years to go over the Falls in a barrel. Ten years later, Trotter went over the Falls again, becoming the second person to go over the Falls twice and survive.

On Sept. 27, 1993 John “David” Munday, of Caistor Centre, Ontario, became the first known person to survive going over the Falls twice.

Kirk Jones of Canton, Michigan became the first known person to survive a plunge over the Horseshoe Falls without a flotation device in October 2003.

Other daredevils have made crossing the gorge their goal, starting with the successful passage by Jean François “Blondin” Gravelet, who crossed Niagara Gorge in 1859. Between 1859 and 1896 there was a wire-walking craze, and there were frequent feats over the river below the Falls.

In 1876, 23-year-old Italian Maria Spelterini was the only woman ever to cross the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope, making four separate crossings over a period of 18 days.

On June 15, 2012, high-wire artist Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk across the Falls in 116 years, after receiving special permission from both the US and Canadian governments.

(PAL’s Toronto service PR 118 departs Manila every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 3 p.m.  Arrival at Terminal 3 of Toronto Pearson International Airport is at 5 p.m. on the same days.)

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