Hello All: I did a super fun waterfall hike yesterday and this time, there was a professional photographer so I have some good pictures. It took about an hour to get to the Nauyaca Waterfall. It’s not close to anything, and the last part of our trip was in an open trailer pulled by a tractor because nothing else can make it up and down the side of the mountain we were on. We are on the edge of the Talamanca mountains here, and it feels like everything vertical – either up or down. We hiked down to the waterfalls through a beautiful jungle path. It was a little muddy and slippery but really pretty. The pictures below are the very beginning of the tour.
We hiked down to the first waterfall, where there was a shallow pool to swim and jump into. We also got mud face masks. The guides picked up special rocks that had the consistency of wet chalk and smeared it all over our faces. We had to let it dry then wash it off. It’s supposed to be really good for your skin. I talked to another woman who was about my age with three kids and we felt like we needed a full body experience to peel back more layers of aging. There are also a bunch of tiny glass frogs. Part of my tattoo is a glass frog, but I had never seen a real one. They were amazing! They are called glass frogs because they are almost transparent and very hard to see. These were tiny – about the size or your little fingernail.
The first waterfall is the highest. After that, we went to the lower waterfall, which had a deeper pool but a much swifter current. You could do cliff jumping here, but it looked crazy dangerous and unpleasant. You had to climb up through the waterfall, with water pounding your face the whole time. It was very slippery. When you got to the top, it was a 30 ft drop down, which is a fairly long fall. Landing wrong would be unpleasant at best. I love the idea of cliff jumping, but I don’t really enjoy the feeling of free falling anymore. I did the 5 ft jump, which still had a fairly difficult climb up. I could have gone a little higher, but I’m not up for long falls anymore. Plus, everything was slippery and the rocks were sharp. I’ve got some bruises but nothing serious. There was a family with a couple of fairly young boys. They wanted to do the 30 ft jump, but their dad absolutely refused and didn’t care how mad they were. They are luck he had the good sense to tell them no. The boys got to do the 5ft jump too, which was dangerous enough. They seemed like a nice family from the Chicago area.
The hike back up the mountain was rough but still pretty. It felt like a vertical climb. There is another waterfall in the area much higher up on the mountain. It’s a 5 hour climb to get there and up a little further is a second waterfall with a cave behind it. The cave has been all set up for campers, and people reserve it a year or more in advance. You would need to be an exceptionally good hiker with a lot of strength to do that one.
We also passed a resort out in the middle of nowhere that apparently serves pregnant women who want to give birth in the river or something like that. I’m very support of people who want to avoid drugs and hospitals, but I hope they have a helipad nearby. If something went wrong, we were miles from anyone who could help. The resort also functions as an ayahuasca retreat for people who want to do psychedelic drugs. That’s a growing business here in Costa Rica. I don’t know if there’s any overlap between those two groups?
I had supper with Brandon and his family yesterday evening, but I’m wiped out by the end of the day and I’m usually asleep by 9pm or sometimes 8:30pm. I’m taking today easier. I’m currently camped out in my hammock, but I’m planning to take my snorkel gear to the beach soon. Brandon’s family should be back from jet skiing soon so I’ll probably do something with them sometime today.
Traveling with Emily! 