I almost tripped on my way to dinner. I saved myself, no problem, the new knee is fine, but the irony wasn't lost on me. After what I physically survived today, a little bump on the way to dinner shouldn't have been a challenge. You see, today was our outing to El Yunque - the tropical rainforest (and national park) about an hour outside of San Juan.
Being clueless on oh so many things, I had noted it on the schedule, grabbed my purse and a bottle of water, put on my walking shoes and, thank all the gods above me, brought my cane. I envisioned a hike like the ones I do at Yosemite. I'd walk along a beautiful trail until it got too challenging. Then I'd find a bench or, better yet, a place where I could get some coffee, and shop a bit while waiting for the others to finish.
This is not what happened. Instead, our bus pulled up, we got out, and followed our lovely Sagredo University person to the top of the trail and started down. There was no discussion of options as the 14 young college students started leaping from rock to trail. I barely had a chance to look at the trail map but did note it was ranked as Moderate. I hesitated. Seven weeks out of surgery. Should I go? Okay, an Easy path would be better but Moderate was probably okay. The decision was made for me when I saw the back of our bus pull away. Okay, the trail it is.
Oh my. The first half (down to the spectacular waterfall and swimming hole at the bottom) was straight down, or so it seemed. Steeply down. Down is really tough on a new knee. I minced my way around the many twists and turns of the wet cement path, avoiding mud, wet clumps of leaves, patches of water flowing across the path - basically anything I thought would start me sliding. If there was a drop-off on the side of the trail there might be a railing (and I clung!), but not always. The cement path varied from 10 inches to 2 feet wide. When it became too steep to be anything but a slide, stairs appeared but usually without a railing. Carefully, carefully I worked my way down, listening to hear the sound of the waterfall ahead. We MUST be almost there.
Where were the college students? They flew down the trail and were enjoying the swimming hole for at least 45 minutes before I finally got there. It was fun to watch them and I was grateful that I had made it in one piece. Then I discovered something horrifying - the bus wasn't waiting for us at the waterfall - no, I had to keep going and climb back up to the road along another trail. Really, how stupid could I be?
So, onwards and upwards with emphasis on UPwards. If it was steep on the way down, it was equally chock full of twisting and treacherous muddy rises and stairs of irregular height (usually from 4-6 inches but there were those occasional doozies that were over a foot tall - really hard for me) all the way up. I was grateful anytime anyone approached us from either direction - it was an excuse to stop to rest while I waved them by - but no, here is where my cane became a problem. When other hikers saw the cane, they inevitably, and thoughtfully, stepped out of the path and waved me on! Nooooooo. I need the rest. Thankfully the other adults with me were supportive of all my rest stops which grew in frequency on the way up.
About 15 minutes from the top we passed a sign warning us that the path was dangerous (it showed a person slipping on his butt). Really? Who knew? But when I finally got to the top and looked at the trail map, I saw that this second trail was ranked Challenging. Not Moderate like the first trail we did, but Challenging. I must admit, I whispered, "Thanks!" To all those gods above and then walked to the bus with a bit of a swagger. I did it!
And that's why it would have really stunk to trip and fall over a speed bump on the way to dinner!
Being clueless on oh so many things, I had noted it on the schedule, grabbed my purse and a bottle of water, put on my walking shoes and, thank all the gods above me, brought my cane. I envisioned a hike like the ones I do at Yosemite. I'd walk along a beautiful trail until it got too challenging. Then I'd find a bench or, better yet, a place where I could get some coffee, and shop a bit while waiting for the others to finish.
This is not what happened. Instead, our bus pulled up, we got out, and followed our lovely Sagredo University person to the top of the trail and started down. There was no discussion of options as the 14 young college students started leaping from rock to trail. I barely had a chance to look at the trail map but did note it was ranked as Moderate. I hesitated. Seven weeks out of surgery. Should I go? Okay, an Easy path would be better but Moderate was probably okay. The decision was made for me when I saw the back of our bus pull away. Okay, the trail it is.
Oh my. The first half (down to the spectacular waterfall and swimming hole at the bottom) was straight down, or so it seemed. Steeply down. Down is really tough on a new knee. I minced my way around the many twists and turns of the wet cement path, avoiding mud, wet clumps of leaves, patches of water flowing across the path - basically anything I thought would start me sliding. If there was a drop-off on the side of the trail there might be a railing (and I clung!), but not always. The cement path varied from 10 inches to 2 feet wide. When it became too steep to be anything but a slide, stairs appeared but usually without a railing. Carefully, carefully I worked my way down, listening to hear the sound of the waterfall ahead. We MUST be almost there.
Where were the college students? They flew down the trail and were enjoying the swimming hole for at least 45 minutes before I finally got there. It was fun to watch them and I was grateful that I had made it in one piece. Then I discovered something horrifying - the bus wasn't waiting for us at the waterfall - no, I had to keep going and climb back up to the road along another trail. Really, how stupid could I be?
So, onwards and upwards with emphasis on UPwards. If it was steep on the way down, it was equally chock full of twisting and treacherous muddy rises and stairs of irregular height (usually from 4-6 inches but there were those occasional doozies that were over a foot tall - really hard for me) all the way up. I was grateful anytime anyone approached us from either direction - it was an excuse to stop to rest while I waved them by - but no, here is where my cane became a problem. When other hikers saw the cane, they inevitably, and thoughtfully, stepped out of the path and waved me on! Nooooooo. I need the rest. Thankfully the other adults with me were supportive of all my rest stops which grew in frequency on the way up.
About 15 minutes from the top we passed a sign warning us that the path was dangerous (it showed a person slipping on his butt). Really? Who knew? But when I finally got to the top and looked at the trail map, I saw that this second trail was ranked Challenging. Not Moderate like the first trail we did, but Challenging. I must admit, I whispered, "Thanks!" To all those gods above and then walked to the bus with a bit of a swagger. I did it!
And that's why it would have really stunk to trip and fall over a speed bump on the way to dinner!
You are so fearless. You are my shero. With your newly healed knee, that was incredibly brave. You deserve a glorious Pina Colada tonight! I think God was looking out for you, with the help of your guardian angel <3
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