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As the boat bobbed in the rough waters and a fine mist of water sprayed all over it, I held onto the railing, looking at the view in front of me. A massive sheet of water tumbled over a wall, sending over 3000 tons of water every second. This was Niagara Falls. The largest waterfalls in North America and 7th widest in the world.
I woke up quite early in the morning as I had a long day ahead of me. This was the second day of my visit to Hamilton and today’s plan was to visit the mighty Niagara Falls. I was staying at the Pring Guesthouse, a cozy backpackers’ hostel housed in a 150+ year old building. My room was a mixed dormitory with 5 beds including a bunk bed. I got ready quietly so as not to disturb my roommates and checked out around 7 AM. I then caught a bus to the Burlington GO Train Station from where I boarded the GO train to Niagara Falls Bus Terminal. I had always wanted to check out this train and I finally got my chance. It was a double decker train and was nothing out of the ordinary except that I had to deal with a loud co-passenger who spent the entire time on a video call.
Two hours later, I reached the Niagara Falls Bus terminal. From here I was to take the WEGO hop-on hop-off buses that the Niagara Parks runs. It was all a bit confusing but I got my bearings and boarded the Green Line bus. This Green line was to drop me off at a stop called Grand View Marketplace from where the Niagara City Cruises departed. As the bus drove on the main road which is the Niagara Parkway, the falls themselves came into view. As I caught a glimpse of the falls in between the traffic and the people, I was stunned by how massive it looked. I have been living in Canada for seven years but never really made a plan to visit Niagara as I had heard of how touristy it can get. Seeing the falls now made me realize I had made a mistake.
I got down at the Grand View Marketplace stop and the first thing I did was cross the road and walk over to the fence to take in the views of the falls. I was absolutely mesmerized by it. I couldn’t wait to board the cruise and go near it. Looking around I saw a long line up and assumed that it was for the cruise so I went and joined in. I had booked this online so I didn’t have the task of buying a ticket here. Soon the line started moving and we were herded by staff from one point to another as per the check in process. It felt a bit weird to be on my own when everyone else was with families or friend groups. As I was going through the thoroughly organized process we were handed a poncho to protect ourselves from the spray near the falls. Soon I was on board. As people were filling up, I took some time wandering above and below deck to find a good spot and I finally settled down on the lower deck so that I could be shielded from the spray. I had a flight to catch in the evening back to Vancouver and I didn’t want to get wet, especially my shoes.
Soon the boarding was complete and the boat was filled with red ponchos. Slowly the boat started moving and one could sense the excitement on board. The Niagara River forms the border between Canada and the United States and whatever one sees across the river is the American side. The cruise first passed by a foamy falls on the left which are called the American Falls. These falls themselves are huge as well and the bottom was hardly visible as there was a lot of mist. Passing this, the cruise went further south till it came near the star of the show, the Horseshoe falls section of the Niagara Falls. It took a circuitous route by first going to the very right side of the falls. Standing on the tiny boat looking at this massive sheet of water just tumbling down just some distance away, is a feeling that is difficult to describe. I stood there mesmerized. My mind went back to the stories I used to read in Tinkle comics as a kid, of people who used to lock themselves up in barrels and intentionally go over the falls from the top. As I looked at the falls, I couldn’t help but think this is what they were falling in? What kind of guts these guys had? Insane!
From here the boat took a long 360-degree turn and here is when the spray was at its peak intensity. Many shouted with excitement. The wind and the spray made it quite an experience. Within minutes the peak of excitement subsided and the boat made its way back to the dock. As people got down I noticed some people were drenched. After getting down I strolled around at the top checking out stores and restaurants before finding a nice vantage point from where I could see the falls. Seeing the beauty of the falls, I imagined how the first person to ever lay their eyes on this must have felt thousands of years ago. The Indigenous peoples have known about these falls for years. In fact, there is a tribe of people living nearby called Onguiaahra and the word Niagara comes from this word. The first non local person to see the falls and then write about it was a French priest, Father Louis Hennepin in 1678.
After this aimless strolling next up was the Power Station Museum. This Museum is housed in a former hydroelectric generating station called the Rankin Generating Station. It used to generate around 75 MW of power with its 11 generators. Its driving source is the water of the Niagara River. I walked inside this station and the first thing I did was have something to eat in the small cafe they have there. Unfortunately there wasn’t much to eat there except chocolates and snacks so I had to content myself with a bowl of popcorn. I was that hungry!
After this, I started my tour of the Museum. I walked around and read about the history of the station and looked at the machinery and equipment on display. Having worked in generating stations myself this was all interesting to me. One thing that stood out which had nothing to do with the technical stuff was how aesthetic the supporting infrastructure was, for example, the stairs leading up to an upper level were beautiful. At the end of the hall housing the 11 generators is a tesla coil, which was invented by the great Nikola Tesla. There are some nice interactive exhibits here.
Next, I lined up for a visit to the underground tunnels below the station. An elevator took us down 180 feet into the ground where it openend onto a 2,200 foot tunnel which was carved by hand in 1901. This tunnel was built as an exit channel for water after spinning the turbines. After being in operation for more than 100 years it was emptied of its water in 2006 when the station was officially decommissioned. Getting to walk through this tunnel was a surreal experience. Its the kind of experience that makes you marvel at human ingenuity and determination. The tunnel opens out to a small viewing area which offers excellent water level views of the falls. After spending time I made my way back to the top and soon left the Museum.
It was time to wrap up my Niagara visit as I had a flight to catch in the evening. So I took the green line WEGO bus again and it dropped me off at the Niagara Falls Bus Terminal. Since I was still very hungry I walked over into the town and made my way over to an Indian restaurant where I had delicious chicken fried rice (halal). After this hearty meal, I made my way back to the bus terminal from where a couple of buses took me to the Toronto Pearson International Airport. Overall it was a hectic but quite enjoyable trip. Reminded me of the weekend trips I used to do back in India. Short but action packed!