Or, at least I think that's how it would translate, hah. Pozo del Viejo is a series of waterfalls and streams that are really close to or really far away from my community, depending on who you ask. The classic example was my host mom's response when I asked her if one could walk to the Pozo del Viejo. “Well, it's way up there and very deep in the forest. Yes, you could probably walk.” Vague gesticulations towards some distant mountains. It reminded me of while we were still trainees and one of my friends related a story from his visit to a Volunteer. They were headed someplace that was no mean distance away, and my friend asked, Is this someplace we can walk to?
“You can walk anywhere if you have enough time.”
Ooof, I could go into some deep thinking about that seemingly casual phrase. But right now, I'll keep on topic with Pozo del Viejo. Yeah, well...it did need a lot of time to get there. Thankfully, I have a tolerant cousin with a tolerant boyfriend. They were game to take a gringa up to the Pozo and to stop intermittently along the way while I caught up. I'm not so much into...erm...walking for fun. I usually start hikes with the best of intentions and finish only because I doubt they'd send a rescue chopper for anything less than a true medical emergency. So it was a challenge, but totally worth it in the end.
Pozo del Viejo Part I: After walking up a river for maybe a kilometer (I can estimate in miles and in kilometers, but once I've estimated in one system, I can't convert...so...sorry!) we got to the first waterfall. This is the actual Pozo del Viejo, and we took some pictures, sat for a while. Then I got curious and asked what was above the waterfall, if that was where the river begins.
Pozo del Viejo Part II: Cousin's boyfriend knew that there was another waterfall before this one, so we began the ascent. There is now no path. It's just slick rocks and thin vines and rotting leaves. And, surprise, ants. Straight up and the whole time I was thinking that I knew ten names off the top of my head, ten people who would have thought that this was an exhilarating jaunt into the heart of danger. I the other hand, I was freaking out.
Pozo del Viejo Part III: Cut to the three of us chillaxin' at the bottom of another waterfall. The dizzying climb forgotten for the moment, enjoying the cooling spray from the cascada. We sat and talked for another hour or so. A lot of the time we were just quiet, observing the forest around us. Among the close branches were some brightly colored birds and we heard howler monkeys at a short distance. It felt supremely peaceful, and being in that place was such a gift amidst a lot of the stress I'd been feeling lately.
Instead of following the river back, we took an alternate “path”. This led us through some pretty dense jungle – when we paused to figure out which direction to go, I was relieved that my cousin and her boyfriend seemed to think that a trail was actually discernible. Fell more than once. Finally we made it to the main road that we had used to originally find the river. It was a half hour or so to walk back to civilization from there, making the whole trip about 5 hours long. I know some people who would be like, “Oh, that's not too bad.” But not too bad for me is like, maybe 20 minutes, you know? So all in all, I'm pretty tired and pretty happy about it.
At this point, I'd like to give a shout out to my cousin Chris and his wife Cheryl...and the new baby, Cassandra! I wish I could be there to call and congratulate you with my voice instead of my writing, but just know that I'm wishing nothing but the best for you and the expanded family :)
No comments:
Post a Comment