We met some wonderful people so far. A group of three girls, the ones we shared Easter with, have been a riot to hang out with. I gab their ears off, and luckily they're funny and easy going enough, Erik doesn't mind being surrounded by chicks. Chris (the owner) told us as theatrically as one could EVER muster, 'There is a hike. (PAUSE) Not for the weak. (PAUSE) Not for the weak at all. (PAUSE) It will take you around 3 hours to complete. You will see rain falls (PAUSE, SMILE) FRESH WATER... LAKES(!) and INCREDIBLE VIEWS. I can give you directions...... (PAUSE).' After Mr. Shakespeare gave us our directions, the five of us set off. The first 2 hours were walking directly up hill via the river. The river that at one point carved the momentous hole between the mountains was now our path. I'll admit, Erik and I are relatively agile, limber, and overall somewhat athletic. We were able to climb and do alot of the dangerous stuff with ease. We'd help the other girls along, all laughing, joking, and talking the whole way up. It was taking slightly longer than we anticipated, but this didn't really matter. We swam under waterfalls, flopped into fresh water lakes, and enjoyed nearly every second. We were taking turns 'leading' the group through the river and it was Megan's turn. We came to a 15 foot high waterfall, that was a series of very large (and hard to climb) stones. I was directly behind Megan wondering how in the world she was going to chose to climb it. Megan was about 12 ft. up, I was 10. Thinking back, it all happened in slow motion. She craned her knee up and placed her foot at a height where her knee normally was. She was about to hoist herself up with her foot placement, and just like that(!), her foot slowly, slowly slipped. She'd put her foot in a mossy hole and it just slipped. She fell belly/face down DOWN the waterfall. When she hit the bottom, it was a 1,2, and then an abrupt stop. There was a fair deal of shock on all parts, including Megan's. Everyone swarmed her, and thank goodness she was immediately laughing. HOLY OBSCENITY...
It took a while to get the groove back. Erik and I were both silently agreed that we would be leading (thank you Hungarian caving tips!) and we were able to complete the rest of the hike slip free.
As crazy as this sounds, it didn't deter Erik and I one bit. Today we woke up had our traditional fried eggs and toast, slammed some coffee, and tackled the route. With only ourselves to worry about and the wind at our back, we tackled the climb effortlessly... no our problem was not with the river. It was with the GOAT TRAIL we took back.
Apparently our over confidence was ill fated to begin with. We opted to not bring the directions because we both felt comfortable that we could re-create the route with ease. And we did. We got up the river with our eyes closed. Once we got out we missed a 'sharp hidden left that winds swiftly up the hill' and merged on an additional available path going straight... time should've stopped and we should have had to go back to the beginning. You do not win. Do not collect 200 dollars. Skip a turn... URGH.
We were both so immersed in our victory and the landscape we didn't notice the path creep up and get smaller. Smaller, and smaller, and smaller. We were taking pictures, admiring the heights we'd taken ourselves to, and stopping for some water. Only when there was nothing but a bit of shale next to the edge did we realize we'd led ourselves a few miles off path VIA A GOAT TRAIL. Yes, the goat trails that the goats ridiculously high up use to terrace mountains.
Doing our best to assess the situation we headed up. We thought we could see a trail higher up so we quickly made our way there. YES! WE FOUND A TRAIL. I wasn't going to starve on the goat trail after all. Yet, so close, no cigar. The road was lined with a 5 foot high metal fence.
So we made like goats and rammed it. It was relatively lax metal, so we laid on the fence and it gave into our weight. The other one barreled up and over. I'm sure we looked absolutely insane asylum crazy but at that point, neither of us minded. By the time we made it over the fence we were both tired, and exhausted. Both of those emotions were amplified when we saw a small gate we could've used less than 50 meters up road. OUCH.
The rest of the day we spent at the beach. No more hikes. Atleast until tomorrow.
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