Waterfalls in Yelapa

During my first few weeks in Yelapa ago, my friend Liz and some of my fellow Casa Milagros buddies went on a hike to the second waterfall, a 4 hour hike up river, through lots of farms, dirt paths, rocky climbs and two river crossings.  Getting there was a bit of a challenge if you didn't have good trekking shoes on, thankfully I did.  This was the jungle.  Palm trees, bamboo groves big giant twisted ropes of trees and roots with strange pods and fruit and some with severely nasty thorny bark worse than cactus.  Birds are abundant here and by the river I saw egrets, blue heron, orioles, vultures, hawks and some other beautiful birds I didn't recognize.  The path was rocky and full of silt/dust and donkey dung.  Laundry hung en masse in dirt yards, sometimes pop music or mexican rap would blast from a hacienda, placing me back into the present.  I felt like I was walking past people's living rooms, if you call a living room a dirt floor with a donkey tied to a tree outside.  There were also amazing trees along the rocky paths, some with huge thistles on the bark, mangos, guavas, gondo bushes (like blueberries) and a plethora of sleeping dogs, roosters, chickens and donkeys along the way.  

When we arrived, the waterfall was full and the pool deep and cool.  It was so worth the trek, being able to swim in the pool, hang out under the running water, watch fish jumping, lie on the rocks in the sun and eat lunch and enjoy the beauty of the day.  Near the end of the lunch, Cynthia who has a fantastic voice and Liz (also) started singing, then I joined in and we sang in rounds.  Great acoustics, the enclosed space by the waterfall.

On the way back we stopped at this cool one woman-run restaurant that had tables by the river and fruit drinks.   A fabulous day with friends.  Thanks to Frank, our fearless caballero and only man among a group of women (I think he liked it) to Cynthia who had the foresight to bring a map, Liz, my sweet and loving artist friend, and Margaret, the inspirational woman in her 70's who hiked like a trooper.