Saturday we decided to hike to a waterfall. Having heard about it from our local Honduran friends, we knew it was off the tourist map, which is exactly what we veteran Honduras travelers needed. We were given typical Honduras directions, which I will repeat for you here so you can make your own judgments: "Take the bus to Santa Rita. Get off at the gas station. Walk down the dirt road. After a little while turn into the woods. Walk until you get to the cow pasture. Pass through the cow pasture and follow the sound of the river until you find the bridge. Cross the bridge and find the waterfall."
We found the dirt road no problem. In the tiny, sleepy town of Santa Rita, there is only one dirt road that heads into the mountains. As we walked, a few men with missing teeth, cowboy hats, and decorated machete sheaths passed by us on horses, on their way home from selling avocados or oranges to the market. Common enough sight in Honduras. We waved adios, and they waved and smiled their toothless, wrinkled smiles, no doubt wondering what these 5 gringa girls could possibly doing on their road to home. After passing farms and barren land, we found where we thought we should turn into the woods. So in we went. We wandered about in the cow pasture/field for a bit. Not quite sure whether to go down, keep going up, or go straight. Finally someone caught a glimpse of this "bridge" we were supposed to cross.
Now, to call this a bridge is misleading. When I think of a bridge, I think Golden Gate, Brooklyn, maybe a little bridge over a pond with ducks in it, i dont know. Sturdy, not moving, well built bridges. This was four cables stretched across a river with wooden planks laid across it. A hammock bridge its called here, because it swings like a hammock. One at a time we sllllooooowwwwllly made our way across this hammock bridge. It didn't seem sturdy enough to hold two of us, let alone all 5 of us at the same time. With no railings or anything to hold on to to prevent us from falling off, we walked carefully. For me, of course, all this risk taking was very exciting and I loved every second of it.
After getting across the bridge we found the river easily enough. We could hear the waterfall, so we just climbed over some rocks and swam in the river until we reached the waterfall.
Easy enough.
I was the first one to reach the waterfall. It was so big and strong, that swimming right next to it took my breath away. I'm not sure if it was the coldness of the water and the wind from the waterfall that left me breathless, or just the experience of being closer than i've ever been to one of nature's powerful creations. It was an arresting and thrilling experience. Unreal, indescribable. A lot of this also had to do with the journey into the Honduran wilderness to get there. It just felt like a magical adventure that we used to imagine we were having in the playground at school in 1st grade. As usual, while in nature, my spirituality emerged out of the depths of no where. We climbed out of the river and sat on the edge of some rocks for an hour, drying off. I listened to the sound of a tiny waterfall I was sitting next to, and watched the water in the river flow away. Needless to say, it was nice.
That was pretty much it. I got back to Santa Rosa on Sunday afternoon. I have two more weeks of school before Spring Break. Still having a little too much fun with my students at school. Still way too attached to them, and they to me. I wouldn't be surprised if I find myself living in Honduras again at some point.
see facebook album for more pics of my weekend.
