my mount everest

yesterday was one of the most painful days of my life yet at the same time it was liberating. i also became known within this hostel as the "waterfall guy"

so as i mentioned last time, i met some swedes - one 30 year old dude who reminded me of ryan seacrest and his father. we talked about hiking up the waterfall and i was really hesitant. i only had flipflops and my shitty puma soccer shoes that have no cushioning...anyhow, the dad guilted/shamed me into joining them. this dudes was in his fifties so i thought i might as well give it a shot...

we were also joined by these two gay french canadians dude... who were super hikers. not only were they were in complete rythmn but they also had hiking sticks. Seeing them walk was like watching a octopus make its way across land.

the hike was fairly straightforward. we had a 5 km hike from the hostel to the base of the waterfall and then a 3km hike up to the fall.

like idiots we started at 130 pm when the sun was at its hottest. seriously, after getting to the base i was questioning if it was worth going up the mountain. however, peer pressure is a bitch and i decided i could not be the town fool and walk home. So i proceeded onwards.

After the first hill, i was out of breath. it was insane. the guys waited for me and when i caught up to them, they started going again. i quickly realized that i could not keep up their pace, so i sent the group of 4 ahead of me. Honestly, the next 3km were the most painful thing i have ever done. the climb was bad, but the heat made it 10 times worse. i would climb maybe 20 meters and take a 5 min break to catch my breath. midway through the hike, i felt light headed and
even puked a little. there were times where i thought i would end up on the side of the road.

i probably stopped over sixty times up the waterfall. every thought ran through my head. the book i am reading right now " some one knows my name" is about slavery, so i began to think if this girl in the book could survive the trip i could. i thought of every painful experience and realized it was nothing to the pain i was now feeling. i got annoyed for thinking i was in shape. i mean i play bball twice a day, and hit the gym every day. i lift, etc and of late have been trying to live a somewhat healthy lifestyle. however, this hill freaking kicked my ass. i mean literally i felt like i was 350 pounds and 50 years old.

what is more amazing is the type of mind games you play with yourself. the struggle was probably more mental than it was physical. to convince yourself to continue to endure this type of pain is not an easy task.

anyhow, as i ran into more and more people coming back from the waterfall, i got more courage.
but felt like complete shit when i saw that 1km left. as i saw a little stream to the left, i knew i was somewhat close which gave me some more hope. i pushed along and 100m from the fall i ran into my group.

They had made it to the top over an hour ago and were now headed down. i was kinda annoyed that they would not wait for me, mainly because i did not want to go down alone just in case. anyhow, i figured i made the journey up by myself i could handle it on the way down. one of them even joked that if they did not see me at the camp for dinner, they would send for help

when i saw the waterfall, i nearly cried. there was no one there, so i was able to enjoy this moment by myself. i stripped naked and enjoyed the newfound circulation. i was tempted to yell some shit, but decided that there may be someone coming up so i quickly put on my trunks. i ran into the fall and let the water fall on my head.

it was the best feeling ever! the water fell at such a force and was so refreshingly cold i instantly felt 10 years younger and alive again. i was so dehydrated that i even drank some of the water.

i was then able to join a group of two british girls and a british dude on the way down. the walk down was alot faster than the way up, partially because the conversation was so good.

when i got to the hostel, six hours later, my group of swedes and canadians gave me a standing ovation. they were impressed i did the hike in flip flops and were more impressed that i made it. apparently after we crossed paths and i continued upwards they watched me. the dad was like you took 5 steps and then rested and then 5 steps more. it was slow, but beautiful to see your determination.

i learned alot in that hike and was on a high the whole night. people came up to me and gave me a high five. i felt a little better when the canadians who hiked alot, said it was way harder than they expected because the heat.

anyhow, i did it. i freaking did it. it took me prolly 3x as long as it should, but i freaking did it.

now my friends want me to climb this volcano tomorrow am. its supposed to be 3x as steep and 3x as long.... lets see if i do it...fuck me.