I am woken by a warm red glow as the sun rises above the river. It lights the room, shimmering on the walls and ceiling as it reflects from the deceptively calm waters flowing with apparent laziness towards the yet unseen conflagration. The powerful roar of falling water as it smashes into the rocks of the plunge pool filters through the thick walls and windows sounding no more than a soft gentle rumble as I lay high above the torrent, I am at Niagara Falls, the magnificent spectacle of the tumbling water is below the hotel window.

Spray is drifting high into the sky as water gracefully spills over the precipice, it catches the morning sun and glistens like a million tiny stars. Rainbows are forming, arcing through the cool early mist forming a multi-coloured crown. A few birds are on the smooth yet turbulent waters below the falls, gulls and cormorants are feeding where they can, unconcerned about the dangers and oblivious to the beauty.

I should be up to admire the wonders of nature, the colours, the power, the grace, but outside it is freezing, the ice clings to the rocky walls that climb vertically from the river, still partially covered by ice and snow. The normally garish town is quiet; the summer chaos and noise; the smell of fast food; the holiday revellers, all thankfully absent. Niagara is an icy ghost town except for those hardy travellers seeking out the beauty of winter, if we face the river we can ignore the rampant commercialism even from within the warm confines of the hotel….. but the clear frosty morning air beckons, it’s time for a walk to feel the biting cold on my face, to feel the vibrations of the falls beneath my feet, to hear the deafening roar and remember it until the next visit. Maybe it will still be here, unless it is destroyed further by our human presence. The apparently uncontrollable power of the water is already reduced to a virtual trickle through our demands for electricity, the water flows being diverted to hydroelectric power stations. Knowing we can turn it “off” an “on” at the flick of a switch somehow detracts from its natural beauty and coupled with the corporate commercialism now evident at every view point I have mixed feelings. Perhaps the romance is not in the place itself but in the person we visit it with?

An interesting link: Niagara Falls water control