Don’t go chasing waterfalls

Today was another adventure! We took a bus about 50 minutes outside of Quepos to Nauyaca Falls. After hiking for about an hour through rocky, muddy terrain we made it to the top of the falls. Not the very top but near it to enjoy the view and the mist. Weirdly while I was up there I felt a sudden urge to cry. 😢 was it the overwhelming beauty of nature, or that the flow of water off the edge was like tears from weeping eyes, or is it that you can cry easily with no one noticing in a sea of mist. Only God knows. I’m glad I made it to the top because I did slip once, broke my fall with my hand which now has a small cut on it where the top layer of my skin peeled. After that I decided I would not be jumping into the falls, nor would I be seeking any Kodak moments. I’d just sit in the water, wedged between rocks to enjoy the ambience. And that is exactly what I did. I have too much to come back to and didn’t want even the slightest injury beyond that cut on the fleshy part of my palm below my thumb. I’ll leave the jumps to the GenZ’ers in the group. Although there was one GenXer that made the jump twice after much contemplation and a thorough assessment of several jumpers before him. I know because I was there to overhear the monologue about the current and potential risks. 😊  I would’ve probably been doing the same thing if I hadn’t already resolved to play it safe for the rest of the day.

This afternoon though, was exactly what I needed. We had lunch with the company that took us out hiking. Then I had the rest of the afternoon for souvenir shopping. One of the other volunteers and I walked from shop to shop in Quepos where I bought souvenirs and enjoyed a delicious Baileys iced coffee! On the way home it was pouring!! Normal case for the afternoons during this rainy season of Costa Rica! I needed some down time to move around freely without rushing to a bus or prepping for an excursion. 

My volunteer friend and I live in neighboring houses for this trip. When I finally made it home theough the downpour, another volunteer in the patio immediately greeted me saying “water’s out” after I said an enthusiastic “Hola 👋🏾 buenos dias!” (… and yes, I keep saying that all day long even though I should be saying Buenos tardes. 🤦🏾‍♀️) I asked him to repeat himself because I couldn’t hear over the loud rain; that’s how loud it is! He said “there’s no water!” Apparently all day long since 10AM the water has been off. And I asked the volunteer next-door. She texted back, confirming it is indeed off! So no shower for me, at least not right now, unless I decide to bathe in the rain lol. It may come to that because my host family has already resorted to a bucket outside, from which they are collecting water. I hope that they are boiling it first before it is used for cooking, I may ask. They are very nice though, and I’m sure they would never do anything that would compromise the health of all the volunteers in this house lol The irony! There is a whole lot of water outside and none flowing inside. What can I say?! “Pura Vida!”