Some places are so utterly spectacular that no photograph can truly capture the full grandeur of the scene. The “A Toxa” waterfall is a perfect example. It’s considered one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Galicia, and its scale is impressive, 60 meters tall, with a single drop measuring over 30 meters.
The first time I visited was many years ago with a good friend. I remembered that to reach it, we had to walk a short distance, and I was struck by how tall it was. We went in summer, and the scene was very different, there were people everywhere, some even walking directly beneath the water, as it was just a gentle trickle. It was an incredibly beautiful spot.
This winter I went back for a second visit and was met with several surprises, my memory had preserved a version of the place quite different from reality (I must be getting old). The first thing I noticed was a viewpoint at the top that I didn’t remember at all. The views from there are breathtaking, I’ve saved a photo from that spot to share another day. Then I was surprised by how far the waterfall is from the viewpoint; I had to walk quite a distance, which I also didn’t recall.
But the most spectacular moment came when I reached the base of the waterfall. Watching that immense volume of water crash down from sixty meters high left me speechless. The force was so intense that a dense mist of water rained down in every direction. It was difficult to focus the camera without getting the lens wet, and by the end I was completely soaked. Unfortunately, some of the best photos I took were ruined during development, and only the one I’m sharing today survived. But honestly, it doesn’t matter, because no image could have fully captured the beauty and power of that place. Photography, for all its strengths, still has its limits.
