Hike in a rainforest

“For the first three days, my pack feels heavy, digging into my shoulder bones and stomach as we roll up and down the small hills in the valley, entering the Reserva Forestal Los Santos, a 150,000-acre reserve where we will spend much of our hike. My mind is dark and my body sore. I collapse into a deep sleep as we set up camp for the evening. [...] I stop counting down the days, minutes and hours until the hike is over and begin to actually enjoy the act of walking and taking in the beautiful rainforest. My wet clothes don’t bother me anymore, and my pack doesn’t feel so heavy.”

“With the first step onto the trail we were engulfed within the tangled web of jungle vines and leaves. I felt like I was navigating through a salad. The trails were tiny and narrow, covered in brush. It was hot and muggy, and there were bugs everywhere; in the air, in my hair and all over my body. The birds were so noisy that I could hardly hear myself think, the insects were successful in covering any possible moment for silence.”

“A highlight of the hike was when the whole group took a couple of moments to turn all our lights and headlamps off, allowing our eyes to adjust to the darkness. Within a few moments, your eyes will read more details in your surroundings, and the layers of the forest start to form; slowly, you begin to see the canopy, then the stream banks, then people’s silhouettes. Eventually, fine details that you don’t expect start coming through, like stream pebbles and people’s faces!”