There Was This Guy and His Cows

If you find yourself walking through the Andean countryside and happen to meet up with a cattle herder, I encourage you to proceed with great caution. Yesterday I was minding my own business enjoying a pleasant meander to el Chorro, just outside of Girón, when I met said cattle herder who answers to the name Jaime.

After a few minutes of polite conversation, Jaime asked if I was on my way to the waterfall; clearly the only reason for a Gringa to be walking up this particular stretch of roadway. My initial intent was to just head up to the base of the first waterfall, but Jaime assured me the trek to the base of the second waterfall was a mere 30 minutes through the rain forest.

I'm sure what he meant was 30 minutes if you have Andean lungs and you've lived your entire life walking to and from town. If, on the other hand, you have sea-level lungs and are out of hiking shape it's more like a two-hour tour. I hate to admit that he was more nimble on his feet in $3 rubber boots than I was in my $80 trail shoes. Pathetic!

The forest was overflowing with unusual flowers. I am constantly amazed that I see new varieties every single time I go hiking. How can this be? The orchids aren't blooming at the moment, but I can only imagine how glorious it will be when they burst forth in October.

As the trail grew narrow, steep and completely overgrown, I began to question the sanity of this adventure. Jaime, however, was determined to show off his backyard and who could blame him!

Thankfully we took the easy way down and about mid-way Jaime and I said our goodbyes. He had cattle to tend to before nightfall. I did the slip-and-slide the rest of the way through dense fog on a trail strewn with rocks. Before I knew it I was sitting on a bus back to Cuenca. Sweaty, exhausted, covered in mud and overflowing with gratitude for another amazing day!