Waterfalls

Wednesday March 2

Bee wanted me to take her to Guabal. I invited a couple from the states, Justin and Kate to go with us. At 8:30 we headed down toward the chiva station. The chiva was packed so we decided to wait for the next one. In the mean time we availed ourselves of a truly awful breakfast of fried tough meat and fried flour tortilla like things.

We headed back to the the chiva stop to find that the next chiva wasn't until noon. Roll with the punches. We decided to head up to Alto Piedre to see the waterfalls. We started the ascent and Justin asked me how far it was. I told him it was only about 5k but it was all uphill. He decided he'd rather go in his car. We headed back to the hostel to get it and ran into Mike. Mike took us up in his truck and tried to drop us off at the wrong spot. As we started to trek off into the jungle he asked a man driving by if this was the right spot. Back to the truck to proceed another click up the road.

I had been prepared for the easy walks on the jungle trails outside of Guabal. I had my day pack with my SLR camera, a jacket, a poncho for Bee, some water, and some food. The trail was surprisingly steep and my sedentary lifestyle in London had left me in poor condition. The while others stooped to pass under fallen trees I found my pack getting stuck and had to deal with it. We saw all three waterfalls. At the last waterfall I gave Bee instructions on the proper use of a machete. First I let her thrash and then demonstrated the correct swing and the angle at which various types of vines, saplings and branches should be struck for maximum efficiency. While I was doing so, Justin climbed a slope and observed a shack in the distance. He returned to describe the view and we all ascended. We decided there must be an easier way back and I volunteered to cross under the barbed wire to approach the inhabitants of the house to inquire if we could use the other road which surely must exist for nobody could carry any amount of groceries on the trail we had just negotiated.

As I approached I continually yelled out “Hola.” I didn't want to be sneaking up on anybody. I walked down a gulley into a ravine which was obviously the washroom, a rock and a scrub brush gave silent testimony to the purpose for which this area was employed. After ascending the slope on the far side I neared a decrepit wall-less structure. A fire burned on the earth floor, three naked Indian children ran around in great merriment and an aged Indian tended the fire. He exited his house to meet me. His mouth bore as many teeth as the house had children. He informed me that the only way back was on the trail on which we had just arrived. I returned to the group and informed them that we needed to return the way we came. I exercised far more care and caution than the rest of the group due to the contents of my pack and had some difficulty keeping up. Once I elected to just step in water over the top of my boots, the perambulation was greatly eased.

The group wanted to stand and wait for a chiva. I don't do nothing well and suggested that we hike while waiting. A short ways down the road we found a chiva idling in the road and I negotiated a return fare of $3 for the group. A few minutes later we were off and back at the chiva stop in about twelve minutes. What now? Bee wanted to see the church in San Francisco. As it was on the way out of town Justin and Kate decided that seeing a 450 year old church might be worth the diversion. Bee and I copped a ride with them. The church was closed, but a woman came by and opened it up for us.

Bee and I headed back to the main road to catch a bus to Santiago as I needed to get a haircut. I crossed the street and got a very bad haircut for $5 and then we took a bus back to Santa Fe.