Puerto Rico

The rain started as we wound our way down the damp rocks, on the way to a promised waterfall. I was concerned about the electronic gear in our little knapsack getting wet. I had already killed Maike's camera once before, when I thought it was a great idea to protect her camera inside a cooler chest while rafting on the Merrimac River in Missouri. Note to self: freezing a LCD screen = irreparable damage. Sorry Maike! The trail grew steeper as we descended into the valley. All around us the jungle grew warm and close, strange green plants and exotic sounds, a path ever steeper, smells of life and rich soil. We paused on the wooden bridge for a drink of water from my aluminum bottle. Leaves the size of frisbees littered the path like someone had strewn a truckload of dishes upon the jungle floor. Hmmm - some of them had stems 3 feet long attached....Ah-ha! We grabbed a couple to use, threading the stalks through the pack webbing, to make a portable umbrella.

Okay, the dorky look wasn't going to save the camera, so we repacked the pack contents to keep the camera underneath the towel and snorkels, and marched ever onward. After three miles the sounds of running water became louder, and around the bend in the trail the waterfall took form at last. Eagerly forward to walk in the cool water and get relief from the oppresive humidity. Wow was that cold! Maybe swimming in the pool wasn't the best idea ever! Others approached the falls from the path leading from the south, and stared in awe at the stream cascading over the precipice into a stony pool at the base of the valley. Shoes off, we waded into the cool waters and found the round stones not too painful to our Yankee feet. Trying to get used to the temperature of the water, we sat on the rocks and threw stones into the rushing confusion. The pool was almost deep enough for a swim; with a little engineering it could become deeper no doubt. Fatigue gave way to action as we started assembling a dam of stones at the edge of the largetst pool. For an hour we worked, patching the leaks with handfulls of gravel and sand, pausing occasionly to plan our next move. A couple of local girls joined us in the pool growing ever deeper. The eldest spoke to Maike !Hola! and more words that neither of us could understand. Maike smiled shyly. I told her a few words to share in Spanish, but it was too great a barrier to overcome at the time. Sometimes you just can't break out of your own world into the uncertain without a just a little more confidence and maybe a push.