The night was interesting. I dreamt nonstop dreaming several different things and they were vivid. I woke up several times though feeling quite disorientated each time; not knowing where I was in relation to my surroundings. Maybe it was because it was so dark or maybe because of all the new sounds, smells and fresh air I am experiencing here. Each time I woke up the first thing I could hear was the sound of rushing water from the river beside our cabin and that is the sound that sent me back into my dreams. The morning came...I was tired but ready for the day.
We had planned to have breakfast then hike two hours into the jungle, led by our trusted guide Victor, where we would see three sites of Mayan ruins (ruins that were not very well known to your everyday tourists which made it even more compelling), have a swim, then hike 2 hours back out. I love to explore especially in the forest so I was pumped full of excitement and energy. About three quarters of the way I began to forget the original excitement I had felt at the start of the day and was beginning to just feel the muggy heat of the jungle and the bugs that swarmed you when you stood still. I am not a bug person. I have discovered that I am even less of a bug person when I am hot and dripping with sweat. Never the less the day must go on and everyone was feeling the misery that I was feeling but we pushed onward with the promise of a swim in the not so distant future of our adventure through the jungle.
It was worth every bead of sweat and every bug that bit my skin. This place, tucked away in the middle of the jungle, was paradise. The water was crystal clear and turquoise blue. There were several different wading pools leading up to beautiful white water falls cascading over smooth hundred year old rocks... it was a sight that doesn’t come along in life very often.
We all changed into our bathing suits and dove in! The water was cold but so very, very refreshing. After two hours of walking through the heat of the jungle it was exactly what my body and mind needed.
Michelle and I decided to do a little exploring and investigated the other wading pools each one more beautiful than the last! We saw our guide Victor standing underneath one of the falls and decided to join him. I climbed up the rocks and let the water cascade over my body. I was one with the water, one with nature.... and then I slipped on rocks beneath my feet. If I hadn’t been for Victor and his quick reflexes I might have had a different story of the day. I survived the fall with only a small scrap on my back.
After that rather startling event I decided it might be best if I climbed down and joined the others.
Once we all gathered down around one of the smaller wading pools Victor brought over a hand full of clay that we had dug up from the earth not far from where we were. He explained to us that if we rubbed it on our skin and let it dry that our skin would become, as he put it, ‘as smooth as a babies bottom’ so we all started rubbing this reddish brown clay on our skin! It was fantastic! I think there is something in everyone of us that has a childhood desire to cover their body in mud.
Later Michelle and I followed Victor up one of the water falls, stood in a cave and watched the water fall. I ran my fingers over the rocks in the cave they were smooth from the years of water rushing over them. Victor crawled through a small opening in the cave that lead out to a small rock platform, Michelle and I followed excitedly. He waited and helped us both up and lead us to another pool of water at the very top of the waterfall. It was incredible.
The three of us swam and enjoyed each others company on the top of the falls. Victor showed us many different things, mostly bugs that lived in the vegetation. It was an interesting moment in my life; us speaking little Spanish and him no English. It was non verbal communication; pure and honest. Eye contact and smiles were the foundation of this new friendship we were crating in the waters on the jungle.
Michelle and I joked that we felt like we were female versions of John Smith discovering a new land seeing things through new eyes and Victor and male Pocahontas leading us on an adventure through the wilderness. Victor took us on an adventure I will remember for as long as I live. I left the Jungle with my spirit full and my mind clear.
No comments:
Post a Comment