Muckin' Around- Cascada de Bermejo hike
Trip Start
Jul 01, 2011
1
5
10
Trip End
Jul 22, 2011
Santa Fe, Panama
Friday, July 8, 2011
When I signed up to do the Cascada de Bermejo hike, I had no idea what I was in for. Sure I expected there to be some mud...but I got a whole lotta mud...nearly up to my knees in fact. We set off at 8:30. Our guide was Reinaldo, one of the employees at Hostal La Qhia. Two other travelers were on the hike as well. Phil and Sophie were clearly the outdoorsy type, so I knew that this city girl was already at a slight disadvantage. The hike began along the roads of Santa Fe and continued through small communities just beyond the town. There were many step downhill parts, which I filed away as "steep uphill climbs on the return". Forty-five minutes or so into it, we veered off the road and headed into thick forest. This is where things got muddy.
The paths were thick with mud, very deep in spots. At first, I attempted to avoid the spots with the deepest mud, stepping not so gingerly around what seemed to be trouble spots. Beyond the mud, there was cow dung and horse crap to avoid. Uphill parts were slick and tricky...and the downhill parts even more challenging. We also crossed these very marshy areas covered in reeds. It was impossible to see if you were about to step into six inches of water or not. Bottom line, the end result is that my clothes were drenched in sweat, my hiking shoes and pants were caked heavy with mud and sopping wet. YAY!
There was a small waterfall to visit on the way to Bermejo. To get to it, we had to walk through an area overgrown with reeds about waist high. Perfect snake territory. Luckily, there were no serpent run-ins. The small waterfall was lovely, allowing for some nice photos and a moment to catch my breath. We continued on quite a while more, trudging through a great deal more mud before reaching Cascada el Bermejo. Upon arriving, the area near the waterfall was surrounded by exceptionally slippery and steep rocks. It was so slippery, the only chance you have not to fall is to take your shoes off and hope for the best in your socks. By this point, Sophie and I had both had enough adventure. Reinaldo is a great guy and he did a good job showing us the way, but he did not assist us at all in the slippery, scary parts of the trail. We did not want to deal with these slip n slide rocks. We did climb down a few to get a better view of the beautiful Bermejo while we waited for the boys to scramble on over many more rocks to get a better view of the waterfall. In my climb down, I fell not-so-gracefully on my ass. At this point, I did not care. It was a miracle that I had not fallen prior to that...and that I did not fall after.
Sophie and I enjoyed snacks, water, and the view. The boys took their time hopping and slipping around. When they'd had enough, we began the long return hike to Santa Fe. After returning, it was time to clean up the foul clothes (the best I could, anyway), shower, and then head to the bus terminal restaurant (very good food, actually) for a feast of fried corvina (fish) with rice and lentils. Delicioso!
Cascada de Bermejo was beautiful. I love hiking. I do not love mud so much. Suffice to say, it was an adventure.
