Headed out yesterday for a one day hiking camping trip
It was a long 10km hike up a mountain
I was wearing my heavy pack
And the sun was blazing hot
Got to walk along beautiful banana farms
That turned into cacao trees and eventually
the sweet scent of guayaba near the top
Beautiful butterflies and insects everywhere I looked
Everything was so lush and green
You could hear the rustling of water all around
I was hot
And aching
But not tired
Just in pain
Especially the last push to the camp ground was the steepest and hardest rocky road
Right before that last bend the road is covered in this beautiful blue green rock.
Beautifully surrounded by red earth
When you finally reach Don Manuel's house
You have to go up a stairway to the campground where you can pitch your tent
I finally got my pack off
And hurried to set up before the sunset
With flashlight in hand I set off to the third waterfall
Going down a rocky path and to the sound of rushing water
Every muscle aching
My leg muscles tremble if I try to stand still
All I kept thinking about was the cool water
I needed it to wash away the sweat and fatigue
It was so beautiful
The white rapids coming up like clouds in the mist
I go in
I hesitate
But continue to go further in
I am afraid of the water in the dark
Cannot see what is under the surface
Not knowing what is underneath terrifies me
The last red rays of light quickly disappearing behind me
From growing up in the city I have almost no night vision
The water felt cool and refreshing
It only came up to my waist
So I duck under the cool surface
Love the way it refreshes my body
Washing the salt off my body
Climbing back was almost impossible
My leg muscles were failing me and my back was killing me
But I was hungry
Had delicious fried tilapia that was caught fresh from the stream
A few cold beers
I was happy
Don Manuel had set up a blazing bon fire near my tent
I sat by it enjoying all the constellations
You can almost make out the milky way
What was even more spectacular
Was the show the fireflies were putting on
It looked like headlights going on and off in the forest behind the trees
Fell asleep with tales of forest fairies and buendes swirling in my head
Breakfast was ground plantains with cheese and a fried egg
The yoke was almost orange
Started the day at the first waterfall called la mariposa
and I worked my way up to the eighth one
They were fairly easy hikes
Each one leading up to the next one
To reach the eight one you need to used a rope that is tied up like a rail
I grabbed it and tried to use it to pull myself up
Instead I barely managed to get my second hand on it
The rope was coming towards me
I was sliding off the rock had both feet dangling before I finally caught myself
The rope had a lot of slack
Had mistakenly thought it was taunt
There are more waterfalls in the mountain
But you need a guide
Saw beautiful black hummingbirds and butterflies everywhere
It was early so I had all the falls to myself
After bathing in all of them I went back to pack up the camp
and begin the 10kilometre hike back down the mountain
It was much easier walking down
But my feet were killing me
I had used my water shoes to hike up to the waterfall
And in the process smashed up my toes
Had at least two blisters
On the way down I snacked on a guayaba picked fresh off a tree
I saw four tulcans resting in the trees before flying off
It is rare to spot them because they tend to live in the Amazon
When I finally made it back to the main road
The sun was blazing over head
Got a little sun burn waiting for the right bus to come by
I enjoy the ride back
Beautiful vistas of the mountains and plantations
When I finally got back
I almost didn't make it off the bus
All my muscles had tighten and stiffen up
I couldn't move
Who knew that getting off the bus would be the hardest
Part of my journey
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