Day 5: Extreme Hiking

Today we did the long river hike. It was strenuous and took us 6 hours. We followed the river up the mountain, which was covered by debris blown down from the hurricane. We trekked vertically up, climbing over rocks, pushing bamboo out of the way, and sliding through mud. There were lots of pools that felt really great to walk through. Some of the climb was pretty steep and a little scary. We all followed Kwao who made a path for us with a cutlass. Kwao has taken this path many times, but said this was the hardest time by far to get through. By the end, I was completely exhausted but got to jump in the ocean when we got back!

Some new things I learned:

• Bamboo grows in a big circle, with the older and stronger bamboo in the middle and the younger shoots surrounding it. In order to get to the middle bamboo, which is what you would want for material, some people burn the outside. Also, bamboo have bamboo lice that can get on you...
• I saw dragonflies, plum seeds (big ones), cotton trees and fish that I had never seen before.
• My legs are not very tough and get scratched easily. Also, sweating from your legs can get itchy if they already have bug bites and scratches on them.
• I had the best pineapple and coconut that I've ever tasted after the hike.
• Don't trust the vines. They break when you try to hold onto them and trip you when you try to walk over them. 

Me and Taylor in front of the tiny waterfall (it was not flowing today):

 

Me and Kylie:

 

The three of us in a pool:

 The three of us on one of the cliffs:

 Me in the bamboo: