Activities my Mother would not approve of...

This is parque centro in Juayua. The old colonial church is famous for Cristo Negro, the black Christ.
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Juayua is a member of a group of villages in Western El Salvador that are collectively known as "Ruta de las Flores," which means "Route of the Flowers."  From Lake Coatepeque, it was two quick chicken busses away.  We checked into a very nice little Hostel that was recommended to me by one of my diving buddies in Utila.  So far, it has been our best accomodation in El Salvador.

One of the recommended activities in Juayua is the "7 Waterfalls hike."  Our hotel offered a guide service for the walk, which was advertised as a "pleasant way to experience nature with 7 very different waterfalls to explore."  The package also included swimming in a man made water hole at the bottom of one of the falls, as well as lunch.

Closer view of the church.
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There were a few minor details that were omitted from the description that they could have warned us about.  Here they are:

1.  You will be rappelling a 30 ft waterfall using a piece of frayed rope attached to a rotting branch with no safety harnesses.  Your guide Mario´s younger brother, who appears to be about 13 years old, will determine which branch looks the least stable, and attach the rope to that branch in particular.  Since the rock is slick, and nearly vertical, you will need to trust this rope and branch system to support all of your weight as you walk down the wall backwards.  In the process, you will get completely soaking wet and you will fear for you life.  If you fall, you will be seriously injured.

Parque centro.
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2.  You will be walking through EXTREMELY dense forest.  Did you notice how short Mario is?  We hired him because he fits through the narrow rock crevises and thick underbrush that you will be navigating.  When the brush is too thick even for Mario, he will use his machete to make a hole big enough for himself, but he will forget to make it big enough for your fat American ass.  You are on your own.  Also, remember those snakes you saw on your last hike?  Well, good luck avoiding them this time.  The brush is waaaaay to thick to see where you are putting your feet.

Marisa in the park.
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3.  Some of the waterfalls are terraced.  That is, they fall 20ft or so, level off flat, and then fall another 20ft or so.  You will be crossing these waterfalls at the flat points.  The large rocks in these areas have water flowing rapidly across them and thick algae growth.  This makes them extremely slippery.  Despite this, we will cross over these areas.  You will often find that the only way to successfully do this is to drop down onto all fours for stability.  Sure, you will look ridiculous, but at least you won´t fall that additional 20ft or so.  You will not be able to trust the shoes you are wearing or the ground you are walking on.  It will be scary.

The church alter, with Cristo negro.
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4.  At one point, we will be crossing a river on a large tree that has fallen over the river.  Unfortunately, the tree begins on one side river roughly 10ft above the water, and ends on the other side of the river about 30ft above the water.  The tree has lost all of its bark, so it is very smooth.  Think of this as a tight rope walk, because thats what it feels like.  Also, the water below is about 8 inches deep, so there is no safety net.  Despite the fact that we will have passed by several other, safer places to cross the river, this one is our favorite, so we will be crossing here.  To try to comfort you, we will have the 13 year old rig the old crappy rope for you to hang onto.  Of course, we know that you are not a complete idiot, and you probably realize that if you fall off the side of the log, you will go from supporting all of your weight with your legs, to supporting all of your weight by holding on to the rope with your hands while falling in a state of panic.  Of course we all know that the rope will slide right out of your hands as you fall, but we wanted to provide you with this false sense of security, because we care.

Up close.
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5.  Speaking of crossing the river, there are a few other crossings where you are likely to fall, and likely to severely injure yourself when you do fall.  One crossing is a cement beam, about 4 inches wide.  Again, tight rope time.  The next such crossing looks as if someone laid a ladder down across the river.  Watch where you step.

5.  The river is in a valley, and there are some very steep areas, hence the large number of waterfalls in the area.  Despite the fact that less severe grades are readily available, we find it more enjoyable to descend, and climb at the steepest possible places.  You will be climbing down in some places where the terrain is completely vertical.  You will need to use tree roots to support your weight as you climb down as if you were on a ladder.  Be careful which roots you use.  Some will seem trusty when you test them with 1/2 of your weight, but will then betray you when you place ALL of your weight on them.  Mario will be smiling up at you the whole time, giving you advice about how to descend in Spanish.  When you slide a few feet and nearly fall, Mario´s smile will widen, and he will encourage you onward with "Tenga cuidado! Vamos! Vamos!."  (Be careful! Lets go! Lets go!)

A beautiful church. Churches are always the nicest buildings in town. I thought I was in Europe for a minute here.
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6.  Why walk on the river bank when you can walk in the middle of the river?  It is far more adventurous to get soaked up to your knees.  We will cross the river by walking through it at several points as well.  Since your feet will be soaking wet, everything will be slippery, even on flat terrain that was not slippery before.  You will become aware of this after you fall the first time.  Make sure that the first time is not on the aforementioned ladder crossing.  It will be difficult to judge how the bottoms of your shoes will react to different surfaces.

A bird on top of the tree!
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7.  At some point, probably around 3/4 of the way through the hike, it will occur to you, as hinted at above, that we are picking the most dangerous, least conservative route through this valley.  You will notice gentler slopes, less intense crossings, and less densely forested paths.  Also, after the waterfall descent, Mario´s little brother will not descend the same way everyone else does.  He will walk into the forest out of view at the top of the falls, and then magically reappear further down the path.  He will not be soaking wet either.  As you come to realize this, and then recount all of the dangerous activities that you have engaged in because you thought they were the only way through the hike, you will likely get pretty pissed off.

Part of the local market.
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So our hike was full of things that I would not have signed up for, had they been listed in the advertisement posted in the hostel.  I will email these 7 recommended amendments to the hike organizers.  Its funny how people get when they are in situations like this.  We were all acutely aware of the danger, but we just laughed about it.  What else can you do?  "Hey, wasn´t that hysterical how I almost fell and broke both of my legs back there?"  We should have asked more questions about the hike before we ever left.

The fountain in middle of the city.
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On the upside, I am alive.  Marisa, and Michelle, the Canadian who hiked with us, also made it through without injury.  The waterfalls were stunningly beautiful, and the forest was unlike any I have seen before.  It was interesting to walk through part of this beautiful country, that so far we had only seen through bus windows as it whizzed by.  At the end of the hike, we did indeed have lunch.  This included the most amazing pineapple I have ever tasted, fresh tomato, onion, pepper, and avacado.  We also had the opportunity to swim, which Marisa and I both declined.  (cold!)  The swimming hole has a waterfall flowing into it, and it is very pretty.  Apparently, just being in this area of the forest causes people to do very stupid things.  A local was diving into the 2.5 meter deep water from a rock that was about 6 or 7 meters above the waterline.  I have attached a picture, because it is hard to believe without seeing it.

The mutt at our hostel.
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Well, thats it for now.  Hope you enjoyed the post!