Second day on the trail

2nd day on the trail
Since our first adventure on the trails in the jungle, we had two other ones. The second was far the most enjoyable. We had a map, we left at 9 o'clock, a bit late because it is hot when the sun is up. It would be better to leave around 7 o'clock in the morning to be back earlier. We had water and we found the beginning of the trail easily except we had to crawl under rusty barb wires. Not too bad. The first part of El montéon trail is quite steep but under a thick canopy of different palm trees so we are not sweating yet. The elevation gain of this trail is around 160m and we thought we were finished with climbing. Then we took the second intersection on the right, the Punta Raza Trail that climbed a lot more even if the description says the elevation gain is moderate : 112m. When you look at the contour lines, it is easy to see it is higher. We enjoyed that trail walking under different kinds of trees. We turned again on the right to go on the Mirador Point Trail. We had a meadow on the left side and the jungle on our right. After 600m, we arrived at a stunning look off over the turquoise water of the ocean. It is worth the detour. We went back on Punta Raza Trail and continue until we reach playa Coral. You could tell the end of that trail is crocodile territory, the dry bed of the river, the soft sand and the vegetation, we were careful and made noise to be heard just in case. Someone told us there is a big crocodile in the area but he is peaceful. Hum... I don't trust what people say about wild animals not being dangerous, especially if it is a gringo. I remember my dear mother's recommendation's when I was just two or three years old in France (we don't have crocodiles in France) : if I ever meet a crocodile, I should run in zigzag because they cannot turn their head and they won't be able to run fast following me since they have to move their whole body to keep me in sight. I don't know if it is true and I don't want to have to try it. These beasts are incredibly powerful, they can swim, they can jump high and far. We saw 2 big ones growling and fighting with each other at 2 or 3 meters from us only separated by a little fence full of holes in La Manzanilla. Very impressive. We arrived safely on the beach under a very opressive sun and in almost an unbearable heat but it was so beautiful and deserted. We could see the volcanic action on the rocks. They look like coral but it is the result of hot lava quickly cooled off under water. It created the little bubbly surface. Some of the rocks were covered by velvety green seaweeds. What a gorgeous contrast against the red and the black basalt. We stayed there for a while exploring the beach and went back by the Coral Beach Trail. By that time, still not feeling very well, and nauseous I found it a bit harder to enjoy my surrounding and I eventually forced myself to fake the energy I was lacking. It worked and Gerardo laughted when he saw me looking completely exhausted by the heat and so dirty. Chris looked a lot more fresh and jaunty. We will bring Gerardo and Karina, his wife, back on these trails on Monday or Tuesday.