My last hike was supposed to be the hike my friend Celia told me about but I turned left down the road to follow the first stream I came to, when I should have just continued straight down the road. Anyway, so this time I went straight and then the road crosses a fast-moving stream and turns left to follow that stream. There were several more bridges and, oddly, they seem to be newly painted. Which is weird because the road passes nothing else but the ruins of a few buildings and some long ago burnt out cars.
Eventually the road becomes a trail and follows the stream most of the time. It has a lot more vertical terrain than the last hike. There is also quite a bit of mud to slog through from time to time. Another odd thing is that once in a while the trail becomes a cobblestone path, then goes back to dirt or mud. About half way to the falls it gets really odd when I came upon a staircase going up the steep side of a hill. Around the same place are some old bunkers, pipes and lots more steps. I have no idea what might have been out here before but the jungle is so thick it could be hiding about anything, maybe there's a pyramid or something else hidden that I couldn't see!
There are several nice areas of pools and small drop offs and then you reach the first waterfalls after about an hour (Celia said 40 minutes but it took longer since I didn't know the way and had to puzzle over the trail sometimes!). You climb up and around the first set of little falls, then you get to a much bigger waterfall. There is a rope ladder hanging down that waterfall, which leads to the next waterfall. I didn't climb the rope ladder, but I wanted to! It did look a little dangerous so I decided better safe than sorry. Celia says that waterfall is even bigger, guess I'll have to take her word for that! I couldn't find any name for the waterfall, so I've named it Celia's Falls.
Heading back down the trail I noticed a lot more of the vegetation and stream than on the way up. There were quite a few really nice flowers, including wild orchids and several types of ginger I hadn't seen. Once in a while you would come to an area where the ground was so covered in pink flowers that the path looked like a pink carpet! This was a very nice hike, not too hard with just about the right amount of up and down to give me a decent workout. Now Celia has to go and take my hike up the other stream.... maybe she'll name the falls after me.
Eventually the road becomes a trail and follows the stream most of the time. It has a lot more vertical terrain than the last hike. There is also quite a bit of mud to slog through from time to time. Another odd thing is that once in a while the trail becomes a cobblestone path, then goes back to dirt or mud. About half way to the falls it gets really odd when I came upon a staircase going up the steep side of a hill. Around the same place are some old bunkers, pipes and lots more steps. I have no idea what might have been out here before but the jungle is so thick it could be hiding about anything, maybe there's a pyramid or something else hidden that I couldn't see!
There are several nice areas of pools and small drop offs and then you reach the first waterfalls after about an hour (Celia said 40 minutes but it took longer since I didn't know the way and had to puzzle over the trail sometimes!). You climb up and around the first set of little falls, then you get to a much bigger waterfall. There is a rope ladder hanging down that waterfall, which leads to the next waterfall. I didn't climb the rope ladder, but I wanted to! It did look a little dangerous so I decided better safe than sorry. Celia says that waterfall is even bigger, guess I'll have to take her word for that! I couldn't find any name for the waterfall, so I've named it Celia's Falls.
Heading back down the trail I noticed a lot more of the vegetation and stream than on the way up. There were quite a few really nice flowers, including wild orchids and several types of ginger I hadn't seen. Once in a while you would come to an area where the ground was so covered in pink flowers that the path looked like a pink carpet! This was a very nice hike, not too hard with just about the right amount of up and down to give me a decent workout. Now Celia has to go and take my hike up the other stream.... maybe she'll name the falls after me.
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