Climbing Waterfalls in Costa Rica

Cucaracho was his name. He was my lifeline for an afternoon one hot and humid January day in Costa Rica. He brought me to one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen, and he brought me safely home again. He kept me healthy and happy. Cucaracho was his name. Cucaracho was my horse.

Cucaracho and I became buddies right away, struggling together up the rocky crags of the mountains and shuffling through the deep rivers that came up to the very tops of his legs and the very tips of mine. He was the only thing I had to rely on, so I decided I would trust him from the beginning. He was slow but steady, taking off on a trot - and a slow trot at that - only once. I think he knew that I hadn't been on a horse in years.

After stopping for a delicious breakfast halfway up the mountain where we hung out with toucans and lizards, and after my brother and his horse, Abuelo, took a nearly harmless spill while crossing a river, we finally reached our destination. I lovingly tied Cucaracho up in the shade with a delicate pat on the nose, hoping that he would be okay for the next few hours while I splashed and spluttered in the pools underneath the great Nauyaca Waterfall. I walked down the short hill, intently focused on where my footsteps fell amidst the roots, rocks, and branches in order to avoid a twisted ankle or an embarrassing fall. Finally reaching the bottom, I looked up and fell silent. The cliché word breathtaking comes to mind when I remember this moment. Because breathtaking it was. Upon the return of oxygen to my lungs, I hurriedly stripped down to my skivvies, scrambled over the large rocks that stood between the water and me, and jumped in without hesitation or fear. It. Was. Freezing.

Splishing and splashing, jumping off mounds of dirt to do back dives with strange twists and turns, swimming up to the bottom of the waterfall and sitting on a rock to feel the ice cold water running down my back my face my legs. My brother jumped in soon after my descent and swam over to meet me under the shower of fresh, clean natural pressure. We sat there for a bit, laughing. There was no better way to express our elation at that moment - no words, nothing but pure, hearty laughter from the guts. So we let it out. When we finished, we swam over to my sister who was sunbathing on a rock and pulled her in for a bit of sibling swimmery. Exhausted, the three of us jumped onto the larger rocks and simply stared.

There is a feeling that humans get when staring in the face of natural beauty. It is unlike any other feeling, any other thought, any other desire. It is as if we understand that this, this natural piece of the earth, this is so much more beautiful than anything we could ever dream of creating. No painter, no sculptor, no writer, no one could re-create this real beauty. This deep down to the core beauty. This everlasting and ever-growing beauty. As I stared at Nauyaca, I got that feeling. I recognized my insignificance in the face of Mother Nature. I felt inconsequential - and I liked it. In fact, I relished in it. In my mind I craved the presence of nature - Give me more of this beauty, give me more of this reality, this is what I want to be surrounded with - It has been a year since my visit to Nauyaca, and I still feel a little incompetent trying to write about it.

The spell was broken when Andre, our eighteen-year old guide, motioned for the three of us to follow him. About halfway across the large pool, I looked up and saw Jose, our second eighteen-year old guide, hanging off the front of the falls, watching as we swam towards him. I realized that we were going to climb the face of the waterfall. Excitedly, I looked back at my brother to share my realization while at the same time he shared his fear of heights with me. -No- I said. - You'll be fine. It's not that high at all. Come on! - I, of course, had no idea what kind of fear was pulsating through his body at that time, but he continued on nonetheless. My sister went up first, nearly losing her bikini in the process. I followed in her footsteps. Even the simple act of standing up straight under the pressure of the falls was a struggle, much less climbing up them without the rushing water ripping off clothing, tearing out contact lenses, or dislocating limbs. With the help of Andre below and Jose above, I made it. Placing my feet and hands exactly where they told me to, listening to their words of advice as best I could with the roar of water in my ears, I reached up and felt Jose's hand grab my wrist and pull me up to the final ledge. After a short moment, I was able to fully open my eyes. My sister was swimming in the pool below, laughing. My brother was just below me, climbing. I knew I had to jump quickly for his sake, so I looked back at Jose for his okay, turned my body forward and jumped as high and as far as I could. The exhilarating free fall. The shock of the splash. The short swim underwater back to the top. The peal of laughter that escaped my lips when I emerged...

Much sooner than I wanted, it was time to return.

On the trip back, the horses almost seemed to take on the personalities of their riders - at least when it came to my siblings and me. My sister, the speedwalker, and her horse, Russia, came in first far ahead of everyone else, smiling beautifully and bearing the proud glint of winner in their eyes. In the meantime, my brother and I hung back behind the entire group, giggling and making fun of each other, feeling slightly envious of our sister's winning place and then laughing at our envy. Cucaracho liked to race Abuelo, generally failing miserably in the line-up but successfully shoving my knee into the sweaty, stinky rear of good old Grandpappy. I remember getting ahead once, but in the end we came in dead last, Abuelo and my brother beating us by a full length. The two horses seemed to interpret and perform the silly, fun competition we like to have with each other - just for laughs, let's have fun with this one.

When we returned home, my brother had earned a war wound from Abuelo's plunge into the river, my sister had gained a few admirers in Jose and Andre, and I had spent the day wrapped up in nature. I think we all felt damn well satisfied.

For more information on traveling horseback to Nauyaca Waterfall, please visit http://www.cataratasnauyaca.com/.