Thursday, August 29, 2013

An Extreme Photo-Op



Climbing the waterfall is one of the things on the trip that I am most proud of. When we first saw it, I thought, "Piece of cake!" (Not.) The rocks leading up to the falls were ridiculously slippery, and it was really hard to keep my feet on them. In the photo, I am third from the right, clawing to keep my balance. When it was finally my turn, it became much harder. It was deafeningly loud, wet, slippery, and I couldn't see anything. I felt like I was under there forever, trying to get a foothold, but it must have been all of thirty seconds. I finally made it through, and Ray tried to help me find a seat. But getting there, I slid and fell into the water, Hitting my leg on a rock. After completing the whole ordeal again, I somehow managed to sit down and smile for the photo. Then we had to jump off, which was difficult for me. After bruising my leg, I was afraid I would land on a rock. But I didn't, and even though my leg turned a bit purple, the photos were worth it.







Tuesday, August 27, 2013

In Which I Fall Off A 20-ft-High Platform

Zip-lining at Rios Tropicales was one of the best parts of the entire trip. Not that I was thinking that at the time. I had never been zip-lining before, and I was terrified. Blood chilling, goose bumping terrified. I don't usually like doing things outside of my comfort zone, but I knew if I chickened out I would regret it. So I stood in line, trying to speed-write a will in my head. I was third or fourth to last in line, so I got to watch almost everyone else in line jump off first. When it was finally time, and Ray gave me the okay, I just closed my eyes and fell of the platform. (I did not jump, I fell.) And then I knew what it feels like to fly. The breeze was wonderful, considering how hot it was, and I could see the whole lodge. I finished, and went around again, this time surprised to find Jujaar working the station at the end. (Thanks, Jujaar!) I got over my fear, flew over the river, and added another memory to an awesome trip.

P.S. Thank you to Sarah for the photo!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Sweat, Blood, and Mud

This was the very last step on the stairs portion of our hike, though it certainly wasn't the end. Minus travel days, this seemed to be one of the longest days of the trip. I have done a fair amount of hiking around Seattle, but this was quite different. It was hot. More than that, it was humid. I am the kind of person who gets cranky in extreme heat, so by the last step, I wasn't exactly skipping with glee. Planting trees was fun, though. It felt nice to really be part of something. (Also, we got to name and dance with them.) By the time we went fishing, I was ready to fall over. I did actually catch a fish, though. One of my favorite parts of that day is when we all squished into the truck going to the butterfly farm. (Teamwork?) Lunch was ridiculously delicious, though by that point I would have eaten anything. Butterflies were beautiful as always, and we got to hold furry caterpillars.