alright, alright – how I survived a 250km trek
After finally figuring out the new username situation with my travel blog I have at last had a chance to sit down and give a much needed update.
Corcovado trek was, in a few key words, absolutely: epic, relentless, stunning, and successful. Both physically miserable & rewarding, it was an experience that was an emotional, physical, and social rollercoaster on both an individual and a group level. Nick and I had an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, top-notch, fantastic group of young people – truly, truly some of the most well-meaning and caring people I have met. Ranging from 18-23 we really pulled together and ‘savaged’ the trek; Nick and I received great feedback from the group who felt that we were truly equal members of the team whilst providing them with the appropriate level of leadership and sense of safety and security – such great indicators of success! Haha, this was definitely helped by neither of us holding back our opinions (imagine!) from the group or from each other (in front of the group!).
Some of the hilights of the trek included: connecting with local children (via Canada pins and making videos with them) in the small communities that we stayed (people are so hospitable here…we would literally arrive in a place and be offered a community centre, school, or even homes & showers…for 14 people!); partaking in river crossings and ‘lazy-river’ lounging along the routes (most of you know that water makes me a happy bunny); waiting out the rain for 2 hours in a hotspring pool; thrashing through jungle; stunning views of amazing rural areas; having a random, roadside breakfast @ 7AM complete with bacon, eggs, and hotdogs (a real treat – protein at last!) after camping at a very cool restaurant complete with a full mosiac tiles decor and organic coffee production; diving in and around waterfalls (fully clothed because of creepy and drunk farm ‘guides’ who probably haven’t seen women in awhile!) and camping on a farm strangely familar to scenes from ‘Wolf Creek/Texas Chainsaw massacre’; Nick literally having to pull one of the participants up the 1000m+ climb up a ‘hill’ using a trekking pole (and then engaging the group in a lesson/lecture on group cohesion a.k.a neither Nick nor I are martyrs…my pack was heavier than some of the 18 year old guys); doing shots of lime tang powder in a moral-boosting attempt; triumphantly walking like the end scene of a ‘Dawn of the Dead” movie after tackling some crazy challenges; eating (and guarding!) my Canadian jar of Kraft peanut butter with absolutely everything (porridge one morning was: peanut butter, jam, sugar, cinnamon, hot chocolate powder, and raisons!) grabbing a bus (completely FILTHY and smelly) to catch up half a day lost to group member illness (buddy beside me: “no offense, but I am surprised the busdriver let you on … what the hell have you been doing and who’s responsible for it?)…
Honestly, many moments of “not a bad life, eh?”. In total, we completed about 250km from the Panama border all the way to the Pacific Coast…sense of accomplishment much?!
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