Day Five is going to require three separate posts - Extreme Hiking, Firewalkers, Kava Ceremony
Bula!
Here we are at day five of the Fiji vaca. While you may be hoping this will end sometime soon, I am not. I have discovered that blogging about a vacation keeps the memories vivid and in the forefront of your brain...not back in some "soon to be gathering dust" memory locker corner of the mind. In the forefront you are able to spin these visions 360-degrees and remember detail that you might have missed in the moment. It is very therapeutic.
Wednesday June 15th, 2011 - The Day That Will Live In Injury! PART I
Today things get ratcheted up a notch. This is extreme activities day at the compound (I actually caught myself referring to the resort as "the compound"). This first post for Day 5 will be about the Extreme Hiking adventure. Let's begin shall we.....
The day on Lost Island began like the others for the most part except for the slightly overcast skies and the light intermittent rain that fell in the morning. The divers were off at their usual early morning start and my day started as the previous ones had.
When the dive boats returned just prior to lunch the skies were still overcast though the rain had stopped. The staff had begun preparation earlier on the fire pit that will be used to heat the rocks to be used this afternoon in the Firewalker ceremony (this will be the subject of the next post for Day 5). Lunch was served around 1PM. Little did I know this would be the last meal I would eat with all my toes intact.
Around 2PM the drums sounded to assemble the group that was going on the waterfall hike. Complete with backpack, large bottle of water, and my camera we gather in the dining area for last minute instructions (put on the bug spray!). When the entire group is ready we depart, with our two guides, for our 40 minute hike through the jungle up the mountain to the waterfall. Doesn't sound so bad right? I watched Lost, running full-speed through the jungle in the rain with some invisible noisy smoke monster chasing you seemed like no problem. Did I mention as soon as we started out the rain came. Now we are hiking through the Amazon rain forest jungle. Woohoo!
You will want to jumbo size these pictures...
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| The skies were ominous and clouds hung half-way down the mountains (I should have grabbed the last pool towel) |
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| As we head off into the jungle...not knowing what we will encounter |
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| The view on all sides was panoramic and stunningly lush green...every shade ever named was here |
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| I absolutely freakin' guarantee you THIS shot was on numerous Lost episodes! |
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| My wife and her puny-ass walking stick looking good in the jungle! |
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| By this point the jungle canopy gave us some relief from the steady light rain that had soaked us through. It also beautifully framed the few pictures I was willing to risk my camera for. |
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| Lichen me some baby ferns!!! (a little lichen on the right side of the log, get it?) |
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| Wha-what??? We're going IN there!!! Notice the Blair Witch stick figure on the right giving us all much comfort. |
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| Fast forward to the falls. The trail was too treacherous to think of anything but staying upright. We had to walk upstream to get to the falls. My first step onto the rocks resulted in my right foot (with tennis shoes on) being completely submerged in the stream. |
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| Next major Lost reference...these were the people at the resort not part of our group... they became (of course) The Others! |
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| Rhonda cannot ever resist a chance to soak in a waterfall! |
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| Nothing major but it was a waterfall and is was our objective. The setting was absolutely pristine and quiet except for the running water. |
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| The fateful return journey begins. There are no more shots going back as I was at the end of the pack and, well you'll read more below...
I was quite proud of the fact that with a backpack, water bottle (large Fiji water, what else), and my camera, I managed to stay agile and upright for the entire trek TO the falls. This while it was raining and the trail littered with roots, coconuts, stumps and palm fronds was getting muddier by the second. Grabbing small trees on the side of the trail and stepping off to the side of the dangerously looking muddy sections success was had. The fateful step was the first missed stone while walking in the stream to get to the vine to pull myself up and over a hill to a rope to CLIMB a hill to get TO the falls. This all becomes relevant shortly, I promise.
Heading back from the falls the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to come out periodically. This brings out the other element of a rain forest: humidity and flying insects. The bug spray had long ago washed off in the rain and those foolish enough to "bath" in the falls had no protection. Fortunately many of the supplements I take act sort of as a natural mosquito repellent. Not perfectly but it worked today, thankfully.
Carefully heading back down stream and making sure to step solidly on each rock in the stream and focusing on placing all my weight when necessary, on my right leg (remember the right foot mention previously?) since my left knee is prone to going out at the most inopportune time. I reached the point where we turned off the stream and headed back onto the jungle trail. I saw my wife had left the water bottle leaning against the downed log in the stream so I grabbed it (might be a long night in the jungle if anything went south) and headed down the path. I need to mention the vast majority of the group was way ahead. There was one couple ahead of me about 10 yards...and I saw...no one in front of them. Rhonda (our friend) and the guide bringing up the rear were with me.
You've heard the story of walking to school uphill both ways...well I am here to tell you that you can walk up hill both coming and going! The muddy ground was even worse now that about 20 pairs of feet had traveled over it twice. I was still pretty proud of the fact I had not slipped at all but several times my right foot was jammed against a stone or stump so I could have a solid foothold. Clearing the highest point on the trail and heading along more level ground for a while I relaxed my guard.
WHAM! both feet slip and I sit down and hit the ground with the backpack (camera inside) breaking my fall. I was more pissed than anything else and immediately worried about the camera. Not gonna look at it now. I get up without any help and notice the couple that had been in front of me were now out of sight. It's me, Rhonda, and one guide. Had this been a TV show, bad shit was about to happen.
Since it's real life I continue down the trail. Ten minutes later I go down for a second time and this time with a little more force. I am really pissed now. As far as I know I am the only one who has fallen, let alone twice. The other guide had circled back so now it's Rhonda, me, and two guides. One offers to take my backpack and since he is two behind me in the "falling on your ass" contest, I give it to him.
We are finally near the bottom of the trail and the housing where the diesel generator that powers the resort is in sight. Confident I am home free, I really lose all focus on the trail and believing that level ground equates to it being impossible to slip and fall (at my age, really?) I begin walking more normally, versus little baby steps, and holy shit! both feet go flying out from under me and with nothing (aka: backpack) to break my fall, I am completely parallel to the ground and come down flat on my back! Fortunately there was not a stump or rock to break my
This was not something I could hide when I got back to the resort as I was wearing a white dri-all shirt and the mud had a very reddish tint to it. From a distance it could have looked like my entire back was bleeding. I looked like I had been in a Navy seal training mission learning how to survive in the jungle. My ass was whipped. Curiously my back felt better than it had in a while. Not that I would recommend that therapy.
Time for a cold soda, then a few beers before the Firewalkers. Damn, I'm still pissed...but I found out my wife (who had been miles ahead of me) had also fallen...once, not hurt.
Now, the reveal about the right foot mentions...When I was shoeing up for the hike I looked everywhere in our bure for the only pair of shorty socks I had brought (other than the ones I wore on the plane). Never found them. So I put on the plane socks and off I went. I am about to find the socks once the hike is over and I get back to the bure. My wife is at the pool so I came back to change out my my dirty muddy shirt and shorts. I take my left shoe and sock off..alls well. I take off my right shoe and the entire toe area is covered is watered down blood. Knowing this can't be good I remove my sock. I did not photo at this point because quite frankly I didn't think of it. I should have. My big toe is completely blackish-purple like it had been smashed with a sledge hammer. The first toe had been fileted from the tip through the nail and half way down the top of the toe (The fact that my shoe went in the water soaking my sock and shoe caused my toes to prune). The skin and nail were hanging by a thread so I just finished ripping them off. The next toe was also purple and to some degree the next one as well. Only piggy survived unscathed. The photo below is now two weeks and three days later... Enlarge if you dare...go ahead ya know ya wanna! 
The nail is still holding on for dear life but it is a hollow shell of its former self. The bandaged toe has a new nail starting and the top of the toe is better but the tip is going to take some time. I have had to wear my sandals to work since I've been back and I suspect it will be a while longer before I can wear shoes.
Oh yeah, the missing socks...they were jammed up in the toe of each tennis shoe! Which meant there was another soaking wet sock in my right shoe as I was hiking. I didn't find them until I was getting ready to put the shoes back on to leave the island. My two knee surgeries have left me with little feeling in my toes and areas of my feet so the bright side is none of this hurt a bit!
End of Extreme Hiking.
Vinaka til the Firewalkers.
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