After several weeks in La Cruz, we have done a fair amount
of exploring and are always keeping an eye out for new adventures. On the morning cruiser’s net, we learned
about a woman named April and the guided tours she leads. When April announced on the radio that she
would be leading a rather challenging hike through the rainforest, Trisha was
quick to get us signed up. It was a nice
coincidence that the hike would take place on Derrick’s birthday.
On Saturday morning, April and her friend brought a large
white van to the marina and picked up three cruising couples: the crew from Interabang, Brenda and Rod from Glory Days and Liz and Chris from Espiritu. The ninety minute drive took us south through
Puerto Vallarta and along the southern edge of Banderas Bay past Los Arcos.
Finally we parked the van reached Boca Tomatlan, the starting point for the hike to the waterfall in the
town of Quimixto. Here is a photo tour of our hike:
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| The hiking party |
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| The hike began in Boca Tomatlan |
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| Our tour guide, April, was full of great stories |
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| One of several dilapidated bridges along the way |
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| Sections of the trail crossed beautiful beaches |
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| amazing views |
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| This was NOT in the brochure! |
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| The view of the trail behind us |
We came upon a resort that had been abandoned in the late 1990's. It must have been quite a place in its day.
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| The headboard of a bed |
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| and the hottub |
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| This was a nice place for a dip |
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| Lunchbreak at a palapa in Los Animas |
We reached the town of Quimixto to begin the hike to the falls. Eighty percent of the families in the town make their livelihood renting horses to tourists hiking the trail to the falls.
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| The waterfall was worth the trip |
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| Derrick reported that the water was frigid yet refreshing |
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| A brief stampede on our way down the trail |
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| Trisha is happy on the panga ride back to the van |
All in all, it was a great birthday for Derrick!
