Ok today has been incredible already and it's only 10am.
We got up around 8 (which is late for us), but we must have needed the sleep after our busy exploring the island // beach day yesterday. First thing today, I crushed out my workout from BeachBody on demand, which was honestly so cool. I'm halfway around the world and can access my BeachBody workouts just with wifi. Thanks Carl Daikeler for that one.
If you want to check out some of the workouts, simply follow this link to do so:
After my quick sweat session, we packed the day pack and set off on the bike to find this epic waterfall that our home stay host had told us about last night. We weren't sure if we would be able to find it, but figured it would be worth the try!
We located the entrance off the main road (between lamai and chaweng) that was set between the Family Mart and the Sizzling Stone restaurant. Up the little road we went. There were villas and resort style complexes along the road and then it got a little more rugged.
A couple miles up, the road got even smaller. The air was perfect - humid but enjoyable. The surrounded palm trees and mountains cascaded around us. Finally, we found what Jordi, our homestay host had called the "shit Africa road". And it was a beaut. Deep grooves and crevaces, not perfect for a bike, but doable. Huge rocks and mangy dogs. There were hens and baby chicks, litters of puppies just hanging out in the middle of the road. Just an animal party that we got to be a part of. It was seriously amazing.
Once we made it up that road, we had to park at the top and walk down to find the falls. It was awesome getting active and sweaty and finding this place on our own was truly rewarding. We entered jungle and made our way down steep stone steps that twisted and turned around the surrounding trees. Finally we could hear the pounding of the water through the cries of the tree top bird gangs.
We got to the last stone step before a clearing of smooth stone and it was truly one of the most magical places I've ever seen.
Cascading water falls, smooth stones, pools of water, crazy insects all around us (like we're talking 5 inch yellow and black spiders). We explored up and down the rocks and kissed in joy for having found it on our own. It was so perfect. At one moment we just held hands and took it all in. What a perfect moment.
On the way back up the hill, we both realized how thick and hot the air was. We got back up to the bike sweating and breathing heavy. The ride back was so enjoyable, as we recounted our adventure. The craziest part of it all is that, once we got back to the main road, the entrance we originally took was blocked off by constriction and a digging site. Had we waited another hour we wouldn't have made it through and there's no way we would have found our beautiful waterfall.
Adventure time with Marie and Brandon continues, as we plan our next place to stay and Beach to lay on. It's been incredible so far and I am just so grateful to be where I am with who I'm with.
Until next time,
Marie xo