The Rest of the Hike.

So after the anthill, the hike got serious. It was about five to eight minutes later that I realized... umm... we've been walking downhill the whole time. Which means uphill on the way home. It reminded me of riding my bike to school as a kid - it would be cool in the mornings, and I'd cruise downhill the mile or so to Anderson School. Then, at 3:30, it would be blazing hot and bone dry, and time for an uphill bike ride after a long day in an un-air-conditioned building. Miserable.

So we hiked through primary rainforest, secondary rainforest, all the time hearing the rushing of water, somewhere below. We arrived at a 90 foot waterfall, and waded across a wonderful swimming hole, with no one else around, and hiked partway up the waterfall. The falls are 90 feet from top to bottom, but they cascade through about three pools. There's no photo, but I sat in the pool for a bit, being massaged by the pounding water - it was fantastic. As a Montana girl, it's hard to accept how warm the water is. Even in Hawaii, with a 70-72 degree ocean, when you jump in, there's a second of bracing yourself against a slight chill. Here, it is truly warm... you can wade in without a second thought. Mom, you'd love it!! No need to go toe, then ankle, then knee, then waist, etc, for twenty minutes, like on the Cape!

The hike back up was, predictably, not as bad as I thought... we did the 750 vertical feet in about 25 minutes, sometimes through thick, matted grass as high as my knee, sometimes on smooth open ground under the canopy, sometimes over fallen logs! Returning to one of my all-time favorite things in life... an outdoor shower... and a fresh, crisp tuna pasta salad made it a pretty sweet afternoon indeed.

I may try one of these hike things again someday. But tomorrow... the ocean!

(The one up-close photo has three butterflies in it!! The butterflies here are amazing - they're everywhere, and all different, and really truly magical.)