Looking back on this day specifically, I can’t help but describe it as one of the coolest experiences of my life (I feel like I’ve said that every day this trip, but still). We woke up bright and early to eat breakfast, grab our boots, and head over to the forest for our water hike. It started out pretty timid, climbing through bushes, and mud, and leaves. But the further we moved, the more chaotic our hike became.
There were a few moments on this hike that stuck out to me specifically. First, was the cave. We caught sight of this cave, high up on the rocks, hiding a beautiful waterfall within it. Because we have an urge for adventure, each of us took a turn climbing the rocks and getting to swim inside of it. While my stomach was scraped to oblivion and the water ended up stinging afterward, I appreciate the very unique memories that came out of it.
The next was swimming through the deepest parts of the river. Each of us had to slide off our boots as to not track water, as we began to paddle ourselves through the forest. It was so deep, even the tallest of us couldn’t reach the ground, and that excited me.
I also really enjoyed when we all jumped off of the tallest rock together. After some of the boys had assessed that this jump was safe, we all banned together to epically jump off the edge as a group. While logistically this was slightly frightening, it was so rewarding as we jumped in unison, and rose back up from the water with smiles on our faces.
The last memory I reflect on is the clay fight. We had stumbled upon the last body of water in the forest, and containing it was large blocks of natural clay. They ranged in color and size; some grey, some brown, some orange. We rubbed it over our bodies, and began to decorate each other with patterns, and splatters of clay.
While we left the forest wet, bruised, scratched, and famished, this moment truly bonded us as a group (even for being later in our trip). We got to see sights that most never get to, and will come home with memories to last us for forever.
