crabtree falls

Ahhh...the serene mountaintop picture.  Is it me, or is this the absolute only time of serenity on a mountain trek?  It's either up, up, up or down, down, down and with four kids, I'm just glad we made it back in one piece.

Last weekend, we finally gave in to our desire to hike to a waterfall.  Ideally, we were imagining a waterhole with a nice waterfall trickling in where we could jump and swim and have the time of our lives.  That's not Crabtree Falls.

Carmen got the backpack elevator to the top and back down. 

She wanted me to carry her most of the time, but I'm not sure we would have made it up that way.

The only wildlife we saw were beetles and bugs....which is just fine with me...no bears, please.

This is actually an easy paved trail if you just want to see the bottom of the falls.  But who wants easy?

And this was about the strength of the waterfall...we hadn't really considered the effect of what little rain we've had this month.

The trail was very rocky and very UP.  There were lookout points along the way, but the signs saying that 23 people have died on the slippery rocks made me not want to look out.

This was my view for most of the way up.  Diego led the way...Juan Pablo called him our tour guide. Isabela and I trudged along behind.  I kept yelling ahead, "Don't you want to check on me to make sure I haven't gotten picked off by some wild animal?"  But they just kept going.

There were lots of fallen down trees.

Some had been cut right across the path.

And some we had to walk precariously under!  I pretended I was Indiana Jones and ran quickly under this one before it could booby-trap me.

A quick family shot with Isabela as the photographer...then more up.

 This cave was my favorite part.

That little crack is where we came out.  I imagined myself getting crushed by massive rocks.  I have a  pretty negative imagination, don't I?

Another little glimpse of the waterfall.

And here we are at milepost 1.5.  Isabela complained the e.n.t.i.r.e. way up (and down, I might add.  She's just like her mother!)  The porta-potty was too gross for her to use before we started the hike, but it took on quite a different feel three hours later.  She kept wanting to just go back, but we were so close to the top.

Later, I asked everyone what their favorite part was, and Isabela's answer:  making it to the top.

And this was a given...Diego in the water at some point.  I did pack extra socks, but not an entire outfit.

Here we are.

Joaquin taking a short break before Diego convinced him to follow him up the rock and he came back a little while later with a bloody knee.

Juan Pablo said the view reminded him of Coroico in Bolivia.  Me, too.

It turns out little Carmie had fallen asleep on the way up.  I wouldn't have known because JP took off ahead and disappeared for most of the way up.... to avoid the whining.  I knew it.

Time to head back down.

Cool stone monuments.

Joaquin took the dangerous way, like usual.

And back to start. Ahhhhh.  Freedom.

Family hiking is fun, but not when it's straight up and down.  PLUS, Juan Pablo and I both felt it in our knees.  We're too young to be old!!

double digits

Joaquin hit the double digits this month.  The big 1-0.

Ten years in the trenches with this little guy, and it's finally paying off.  While he might be an annoying little brother, he is a GREAT big brother; Carmen can testify to that.  Joaquin is extreme. He keeps us all laughing, but will cry huge tears over a tough homework assignment.  He can clean a room in minutes, makes a bed better than an army soldier,  but will drop his HUGE TaeKwonDo bag, book bag and soccer bag right at the front door so everyone trips over them.  And I can chase him through the house and never catch him for a simple hug, but he'll surprise me with a soft squeeze if I'm headed out the door without him...I'd say he's growing up.

He's all about soccer these days.  See that giant goal in the back?  That was his surprise birthday gift.

He tested out all his famous moves on it.

I set up a little scavenger hunt for him to find his presents, starting at his place at the table.  The clues led him around the house where he found two little World Cup souvenirs, all the while oblivious to the giant goal sitting just outside the window.

Another cake mishap by me, but it sure tasted good.  Lemon cake with homemade icing.  We can just pretend it's a soccer ball on top.

His good friend celebrated with us...at Joaquin's favorite spot...

SkyZone!  Jump, jump, jump....

Wow, Isabela!

This place is fun.  But don't just let the kids have fun!  Get a pair of orange socks yourself and try it out!  Although I'd stay away from the foam pit...that's definitely not as fun as it looks.

Dodgeball is highly addictive.  This little guy just jumped nonstop and rarely got out.  Overheard:  "Someone get this little kid outta here!"

Joaquin in action.  That's not as easy as it looks.

But that blurry smile means it was a REALLY happy birthday!

walkabout Bolivian style

This could be the greatest adventure of all time.  Enjoy it with me through the pictures, since I know I would have been petrified if I'd have been there.

Juan Pablo's mom took him and the kids to Rurrenabaque, a small tropical town on the Beni River.  If you want to follow the rivers, the Madre de Dios River flows out of Peru into the Beni River of Bolivia, which turns northward into Brazil where it joins the Mamore River to become the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River.  (Thank you, wikipedia).  So you may as well say they went to the Amazon River, right?

They traveled about an hour by plane and landed on what the kids called a farm.  It was a grassy/dirt runway, and they flew in a tiny propeller plane.  Joaquin made a joke that the plane was so small, it looked like it could be flown by remote control.  I asked if he wore goggles and had a scarf tied around his neck that flapped in the wind.  I guess he's never seen Snoopy.

These must be the cows from the farm.

They stayed two to a cabin.  Abuela always looks elegant, even on a trip to the jungle.

Would you believe these two shared a cabin, alone in the jungle, and it wasn't even next to their dad's?

They slept in beds with mosquito nets, and the windows were simply screens.  Apparently, the kids were spying lots of monkeys in the trees at night and laughing hysterically.  They got shushed with a bang on the wall from the people in the cabin next to them.

Their guide took them on a tour of the river where they saw all kinds of wildlife.  And by wild, I mean caimans...as in relative of a crocodile.

Shall we get a closer look?

Isabela and her Dad were actually in the water at one point...I guess because it was hot??  She said it was hard to get back in the boat.  My stomach is tense just typing this.

Look at the roots on this tree.  Incredible.

A selfie of JP and Joaquin.

So if caimans aren't thrilling enough, how about piranha?

Or a catfish and a piranha?  Isabela actually ate the piranha!

Joaquin just pretended to.

Check out those teeth!  They saved them to bring home, but accidentally left them behind.  That would have been the first thing I packed!

Each of them got a chance to steer the boat, which was thrilling for them.  I love how relaxed everyone looks.  Am I the only one freaking out here?

See that white blurb coming up in the water?  Joaquin is pointing to it.  What do you think that is?  It's a pink dolphin!  Remember the pink dolphin project Isabela did in third grade?  Their guide told Isabela that the river was pretty low, but if it were two feet higher, the water would be much clearer and you could see the dolphins even below the surface.

OK, this is not the best picture.  But there's a story here.  They played soccer in the jungle! And see that odd tattoo on JP's chest, the soccer ball got a little muddy and...it left its mark.

They saw many amazing birds on this trip.  Yes, we have those just up the street here...

...and we probably have owls somewhere, too....

but how about this one?

Or a flock of macaws?  Even the tour guide was shocked to see this.  He said that they are endangered and he hadn't seen a flock of macaws in years!

And who built this awesome nest?

These little animals are capybara, with the distinction of being the largest rodent in the world.

It turns out they are the preferred prey of the anaconda.

And speaking of anaconda....why do they have those big white boots on?

Let's take a little hike....

...to search for anaconda!  My first thought was why would ANYONE do this?  I noticed Abuela didn't have the boots on.  I think I'm staying with her.

Looks like someone didn't make it.

And what is that?!

How about this huge crab?

Joaquin somehow fell in the muddy muck and got his clothes all wet.  He started crying because it was his favorite outfit.  When I heard the story, I logically asked him, "Why would you wear your favorite clothes to go hunt for anacondas?"  That question doesn't even make sense.

Caps for sale!  What is that up in the tree?  A monkey!  So this next story doesn't have any pictures to go along with it, but it's definitely believable after seeing all of this.  Apparently, as they sat on the shore,  a group of wild monkeys came down out of the trees and the little ones came and sat on the kids' laps and wrapped their little monkey hands around their thumbs.  Isn't that simply amazing?

And it sounds like Abuela was the monkey whisperer...I think they said she had maybe five monkeys on her at once??  How could they not have a picture of that?

Time for a break.  Just chillin' in the jungle.

After a trip like this, the tour guide becomes a great friend.  This is one adventure they will never forget.  And I'm so glad they have a dad and grandma that would take them on it!