The Trek Begins

Awesome Waterfall
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So I begin my trek.  Having rented all of my trekking gear, we head out into the wilderness in the back of a pickup truck.  All of us were quite nervous as to the physical requirements that lay ahead, especially with a 10 kilo backpack on your back.

The first day was a six hour trek mostly uphill, through the thickest rain forest, towards the first village we would be staying at.  It also rained.  This was by far the hardest day for me.  I did not do any conditioning beforehand and boy did I feel it.  I kept up with the group though through sheer willpower!

How to clean bloody socks.

Green!
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Checklist of things for me to worry about, in no particular order.

1. Leeches

2. Large Ants,

3. Large Mosquitoes

Preparing to swim in the Waterfall
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4. Large Spiders

5. Small Snakes

6. Slipping and falling

7. Down the side of a mountain

The base of the waterfall
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8. Not splashing myself shitting in a hole

9. Avoiding shit while bathing in a stream

10. How to clean bloody socks.

Let me say that it was worth the effort the moment we walked into the village.  I've seen villages like this before, but it amazes me every time the simplicity of their lifestyle.  The happiness that radiates from these children is awe-inspiring.

Ruth soaking it all in
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The next few days were a lot easier for me since I got over my smoker's lungs.  We would all stay together in very simple, single room bamboo huts, and eat whatever the guide picked up along the way.  Without electricity, and nothing to do, you can say there was a lot of awesome conversation going on; politics, religion, sex, drugs, the meaning of life, music, philosophy, books, you name it, we talked about it.

Besides, I saw a crapload of beautiful stuff.