The world-famous Maid of the Mist

As I shared in this post, we decided to make a last-minute trip to Niagara Falls. One of the goals for the trip was to go on the world-famous Maid of the mist boat tour.

We bought the tickets online, ahead of time, and redeemed them at the kiosk the day we decided to take the boat ride.
The tickets we purchased were valid for departure between May 24th to November 3rd, 2019. At the time we received our tickets, we were given a souvenir postcard and were directed to the boarding dock where we were given blue souvenir ponchos to protect ourselves from the mist. The ponchos came with a hood and were long and big enough to cover our entire bodies. Note that the feet were exposed and you most definitely will get your shoes wet.

While waiting to board, we put our ponchos on and got ourselves ready for an unforgettable experience. And unforgettable it was.

Once on the boat, we secured our spots facing the falls on the second deck. Shortly after, our journey began.

I was a bit nervous about not losing my phone or camera, or sliding as the waves can be strong. When the boat was rocking a little too much, we were holding on to the railing but we never felt unsafe. I do recommend having something like sunglasses covering your eyes to protect them: it could very easily be the only thing that would allow you to keep your eyes open once you're faced with the water.

When we began getting closer to the first fall (American falls), we were engulfed by the mist and it got a bit windy, but it didn't affect us much.

As we kept going forward, we admired the seagulls flying by and the rainbows created by the conjunction of mist and sunlight.
Once we approached the Horseshoe Falls, the mist and the wind got stronger. It was hard to keep dry even with our ponchos on, as the wind was blowing them all over.

In spite of this, the feeling of being there, at the feet of the waterfall, and experience the power of the water was indescribable. An immense joy took over me and I could not help but smile, squeak and laugh out loud like a child playing in the water. My face, hands, and anything not covered by the poncho, including my phone got soaked but I didn't care much. I kept taking photos for as long as I could, even though I couldn't see anything through the mist. After a few minutes, I stopped taking photos, stashed my phone away to protect it from the water, and just stood there in awe of the incredible sight in front of me. Completely amazed, I admired the power of the water raging down, trying to imprint it all in my memory, while feeling the adrenaline rush through my veins. Those moments were the best kind of madness one can feel: it was loud, it was fast, it was EXHILARATING.

The boat started moving away slowly and at that point, we realized how wet we were. It was a beautiful warm day though, so we dried quickly, but my hair and makeup were a complete mess. After cleaning up a bit, we went to the Observation deck to admire this breathtaking view once again, this time from above.