hiking with butterflies
Wednesday was hiking day. We went on our all-day hike, which was quite an adventure. Right now, we're essentially living on top of a mountain surrounded by other mountains with ocean views on several sides. Amazing.
Most hiking we do involves going down a lot and up a lot. So for our all-day hike, we hiked down the mountain, across a ridge in the valley (yes, that seems like a paradox), and up another mountain . . . down, down, down, up, up, down, down, up, up, up. And then we stopped and had lunch and hiked back a different way . . . down, down, down, flat, muddy, flat, muddy, flat, up, up, up.
At one point, I was right behind our guide who was using a bush knife (machete) to chop steps into the clay on the side of the mountain. Wow, what a difference that made! Definitely a better way to scale a mountain than just trying to claw your way up.
Above all, we saw some beautiful things. One thing about the jungle is that vegetation grows everywhere! You can hardly find anything that does not have trees, grass, bushes, moss, plants, vines, etc growing on top of, on the sides, in the middle, underneath, you name it! It's amazing. There is also an astronomical number of creatures. Bugs, insects, moths, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, mosquitoes, ants, lizards, snakes, etc.
I saw butterflies of all colors, shapes and sizes. Neon orange and yellow. Periwinkle. Orange with black and white stripes, which looked kind of like a tiger. Bright blue. Black and white patches. And many others. At one point, I'm walking through the trees on a narrow path and a yellow butterfly comes up along side me and floats in time with my steps. It was like we were walking together. It reminded me of the part of You've Got Mail when Kathleen Kelly is talking about the butterfly riding the subway. : )
Have I ever mentioned that I have no balance or coordination? No, well . . . it's a sad fact of life. This makes hiking along narrow, steep, slippery, paths somewhat tricky. I've discovered that it's not a good hike unless I fall at least once. I couldn't drop the ball for our all-day hike, now could I?
The Fall Tally
Falls: 3
Almost Falls: 4
Not bad! Thankfully, most of them were minor falls and didn't hurt. One time my foot slipped out from under me and I went down hard right on top of a root. Bruised tailbone, ouch! Another time, we're making our way along a path that has to be less than 10 inches wide. On the left, the landscape rises upward and to the right, there is a drop off. I'm walking along imagining how bad it would be if I missed my step and slipped off the edge, when all of a sudden my right foot slides down a streak of loose mud. I caught myself before falling and kept going. Minutes later, my foot catches the edge of the path again and there I go. I'm practically sitting on the path with my left leg bunched underneath me and my whole right leg is dangling off the path! Talk about nerve-wracking! We all made it back safely, in case you were wondering. : )
Although, we did see a couple of snakes, I greatly dislike snakes.
Most hiking we do involves going down a lot and up a lot. So for our all-day hike, we hiked down the mountain, across a ridge in the valley (yes, that seems like a paradox), and up another mountain . . . down, down, down, up, up, down, down, up, up, up. And then we stopped and had lunch and hiked back a different way . . . down, down, down, flat, muddy, flat, muddy, flat, up, up, up.
At one point, I was right behind our guide who was using a bush knife (machete) to chop steps into the clay on the side of the mountain. Wow, what a difference that made! Definitely a better way to scale a mountain than just trying to claw your way up.
 |
| At a stream we came across on the way back. |
Above all, we saw some beautiful things. One thing about the jungle is that vegetation grows everywhere! You can hardly find anything that does not have trees, grass, bushes, moss, plants, vines, etc growing on top of, on the sides, in the middle, underneath, you name it! It's amazing. There is also an astronomical number of creatures. Bugs, insects, moths, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, mosquitoes, ants, lizards, snakes, etc.
 |
| Hidden in the middle of the picture -- a light blue butterfly with black edged wings resting on the rocks |
I saw butterflies of all colors, shapes and sizes. Neon orange and yellow. Periwinkle. Orange with black and white stripes, which looked kind of like a tiger. Bright blue. Black and white patches. And many others. At one point, I'm walking through the trees on a narrow path and a yellow butterfly comes up along side me and floats in time with my steps. It was like we were walking together. It reminded me of the part of You've Got Mail when Kathleen Kelly is talking about the butterfly riding the subway. : )
Have I ever mentioned that I have no balance or coordination? No, well . . . it's a sad fact of life. This makes hiking along narrow, steep, slippery, paths somewhat tricky. I've discovered that it's not a good hike unless I fall at least once. I couldn't drop the ball for our all-day hike, now could I?
The Fall Tally
Falls: 3
Almost Falls: 4
Not bad! Thankfully, most of them were minor falls and didn't hurt. One time my foot slipped out from under me and I went down hard right on top of a root. Bruised tailbone, ouch! Another time, we're making our way along a path that has to be less than 10 inches wide. On the left, the landscape rises upward and to the right, there is a drop off. I'm walking along imagining how bad it would be if I missed my step and slipped off the edge, when all of a sudden my right foot slides down a streak of loose mud. I caught myself before falling and kept going. Minutes later, my foot catches the edge of the path again and there I go. I'm practically sitting on the path with my left leg bunched underneath me and my whole right leg is dangling off the path! Talk about nerve-wracking! We all made it back safely, in case you were wondering. : )
Although, we did see a couple of snakes, I greatly dislike snakes.
"It got on at 42nd and off at 59th, where, I assume, it was going to Bloomingdales to buy a hat that will turn out to be a mistake, as almost all hats are."
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