Brazilian daredevil tackles Rainbow Falls

By RALPH ANSAMI

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BLACK RIVER HARBOR - Stephanie Swartzendruber was walking her dog at Rainbow Falls near Black River Harbor Tuesday when she got the photo opportunity of a lifetime.

A kayaker was plummeting over the 30-foot high waterfalls, about 16 miles north of Bessemer.

"It was a nice guy from Brazil in the kayak," she said.

She was able to contact Marcelo Marcondes Galizio, of Brazil, who was appreciative of the five photos sent by Swartzendruber of various stages of his descent over the waterfalls. The falls were high because of the recent rainfalls.

"He wasn't being filmed.  I was just walking my dog before the Relay For Life meeting I was in town for and saw his friend below the falls in full rain-gear and holding a safety buoy on a rope," Swartzendruber said.

"I suspected that something pretty amazing was about to happen, so I stayed around for a few minutes and was very glad I did. He said he didn't like his 'line' - the path that he took down the falls on that attempt - so he was hiking up to do it again," she added.

Galizio is no stranger to taking plunges with his kayak in the Upper Peninsula. In the summer of 2012, he rode over the 51-foot high Tahquamenon Falls, near Newberry. Then, he rode over the same falls for a second time, just for fun.

He is a professional kayaker who is sponsored and has trained for years for the plunges. He started extreme kayaking in 2008.

Galizio first studies the waterfalls through videos and photos. The water levels must be just right before he'll go, and he has companions at the scene for safety.

When she's not photographing kayak plunges, Swartzendruber works as a Relay for Life specialist with the American Cancer Society's office out of Essexville, in the lower peninsula. In that role, she helps plan for the annual Ironwood area Relay for Life event.