Sunday was our waterfall hike day. It turned out to be not at all what I was expecting. But you know what? That's okay. It ended up being a really incredible day in a lot of ways.
The first obstacle started out with the river... beautiful, fresh, hydrating water... it had rained so much the day/night before that the river was about 20 cms higher than anticipated and was rushing quite quickly as well... instead of walking across a knee-high river as anticipated, we had to swim like hell to get to the other side. That was scary, and I don't think I've ever swam harder in my life before. There was a boulder in the river that was a guideline - if you drifted past that boulder, you would be thrown a rope to ensure you didn't get swept away. All I could think about was "I am NOT going past that rock".
Once we crossed the river, we did a wonderfully calming meditative practice. I didn't have my hearing aids, they were in a dry bag somewhere, having made the trip across the river with a guide rather than with me!, but I was still able to hear enough of what Danielle and Chantelle were saying and I found my heart rate slowing quickly and my sense of peace returning. We set out on the hike, and the first 20 mins were blissful for me... we were to walk in silence and just take in the sounds of the forest and ourselves... so wonderful. Gone was the pressure of having to make conversation with those around me, the pressure of trying to take in all that was around me while devoting energy to listening... I think we all caught ourselves once in a while, about to say something before realizing that we were not supposed to be talking! At one point, everyone ahead of me started stamping their feet, so I did the same, having no idea why... I figured there must have been some kind of ant or something that was biting everyone. I was right... but of course no one could tell me that!
Here we stopped at the first little waterfall. Many people went into the water and swam. I was fine to just hang out and enjoy the scenery. If this looks impressive, just wait... the real deal was pretty awesome!
Unfortunately I made the mistake of looking downwards at this point, and this is where I have my first thought of "what on earth am I doing here?" The boulder I was standing on was quite slippery from the waterfall mist and had my feet slipped... well, I don't want to think about that. Beautiful, but do we ever have to respect nature.
I asked our (75 year old!!) guide what made the rock red... he responded that that was its natural color! I expected it to be a moss or fungus.
Looks like serious climbing hey? I'm the one in the green shirt. Let me tell you, this was tame compared to what came next...
200 year tree. Strength...
Now we're getting closer to the real deal! This is where it started to get a bit scarier again... the mist from the waterfall made the rocks slippery, and it was nothing but rock at this point. I had so many good people helping me find my foot- and hand-holds... so much was given to me without me asking or any reciprocation necessary... truly humbling for me. I reached into reserves of mental and physical power that I didn't know I had... accepted help when I needed it... came out feeling stronger than I ever have in my life.
And THIS is what we went through all that to see. Isn't it amazing? At this point, I got some good footholds, leaned back against a boulder, and just took it all in. The feel of the spray against my face, the boulder on my back, the rocks under my feet... I opened up to the love and hope in my heart and the peace in my mind.
The rest of the hike took maybe another hour or so, and we stopped for lunch on the way. We had cheese and vegetable sandwiches, plantain chips and watermelon. The guides were seriously amazing - they carried everything we had for lunch with them. They did this despite having to stop and help us on difficult rocks, giving us a hand up or a leg to stand on if necessary. I remember one particularly difficult boulder where I must have had one guide pulling me and the other two pushing me up and Danielle looking down at me telling me to "breathe, Paula!".
The true essence of this group of people really came out on this hike. I think we all came together in a perfect system of giving and receiving help. Let me tell you, I was certainly on the receiving end! Seeing how some of us started the weekend as strangers, we came out with a bond that only Honduras can give!
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