Concord Falls Hike

-October 8-12th-
Ross's midterm week was the absolute worst. I was on a downward slump and slipping deeper into the pit of boredom and despair (ya know, while Ross was gone having fun stressing and studying). With Ross being gone all the time with the computer (aka midterm week) rolled around, the situation was exacerbated. Amazing how no internet or computer makes you feel so cut off and medieval.

I love adventure. I am not a daredevil, but I love trying new things and going new places.
Imagine my glee when my friend Mindy called me one Wednesday morning and said her and some other girls were going to take a quick trip up to hike Concord Falls!

I was so happy to have something to do, somewhere to go, and someone to hang out with.
Before long four of us plus a baby were crammed in Mindy's car driving up north to what was for me, uncharted territory.

I got some great pictures but I wasn't fast enough to snap one of the man we saw dressed as a woman -in a pink dress with a matching hair kerchief and full on beard nonetheless. Lovely.

But up a tiny windy road...we made it!

I don't know that it is much of a "resort," but here it is....

We hired a guide to help us navigate up to the waterfall. His name is Sandy and he was great. He pointed out a mandarin tree, and cut us some guava. I guess since it is the rainy season not many people have been up this way in a while so he had his fair share of cutting almost a new path for us.

Long story short, Patty didn't have her baby carrier so Sandy just picked up the little one and hiked with her! He was legit -a machete and no shoes, definitely a tough guy.

It was a pretty easy hike, and we were kind of in a rush to get back so we made it quick.
On the hike you could see some farms along the hillside.

Mindy wanted to get some pumpkins for Halloween decorations, so she asked Sandy where she might find some. Of course Sandy's stepfather has a farm with pumpkins. This is another thing I love about Grenada -ask and ye shall receive. Chances are, some one knows someone who can help you out with what you need -for a price.

 

One of my favorite parts was just seeing all the tropical flowers. I learned about heliconia (left) and anthurium (right) in a class I took in college, and here they are just growing wild in the forest.

Our hike ended at this beautiful waterfall! I had to get in, the water was so cool and nice.
 

Here I am with Kim, braving the icy water!

It was a really fun hike and I know there are bigger and better waterfalls and hikes but I still had a fun time hiking, swimming, and laughing with friends.

At the end of our hike Sandy cut up some sugarcane for us and also gave us this cocoa pod/plant. I had no idea this is what it looks like. Along that main core are seeds and you pull them off and suck on them.

They taste gooey and actually pretty good! They use the seed/pod part to make cocoa or rather chocolate! It is weird that the outside looks like a gourd, the inside tastes fruity, and the seeds are used for chocolate.

On the way home we all snacked on sugarcane and cocoa fruit/plant thing. It was great. :)