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Enjoying the cool waters of upper Diamante Falls |
Hello Everyone! It was such a gift waking up in the medicinal herb garden yesterday! It was misty and magical seeing the clouds drifting between the valley and trees and enjoying the stillness of the garden. I really felt safe and at peace the up there. It is truly one of the most awe inspiring places I have ever been, you can feel the energy in the garden radiating off the mountains! Sorry to get all spiritual on you but it is the only way to describe this place and I am not even doing it justice. After waking up we enjoyed some breakfast on the open air veranda of our little garden cabin and then packed up and headed for the upper falls of The Diamante waterfall. We hiked up through the mist for about 30 minutes and all the sudden through the mist is this beautiful waterfall in the middle of the jungle atmosphere! So gorgeous! The water was such a beautiful aqua color we just had to get right in there and swim! The water was cold but it was awesome being surrounded by jungle swimming in our own private waterfall pool! Once we were done swimming the rain started to come down pretty heavily so we got dressed and headed back towards our garden cabin.
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Katie and Kirby's Friendship Mandala at the Garden Cabin |
Our friend David has created a new type of art that he was kind enough to share with Katie and I. He collects interesting leaves and flowers from the forest jungle (and trust me there is an abundance of art inspiring plants) and arranges them in interesting mandala patterns. He showed us some of his art and it is beautiful. He creates mandalas with the pieces he collects and photographs them to keep a record but to see them in person is a real treat. So, on our hike down the mountain we took our time and found as many interesting leaves and flowers as we could in order to create a piece of art with David.
One thing we practiced while picking these beautiful plants was something we learned the day before from Marco about asking the plant for permission to be used as medicine, art, housing, etc... If you consult the plant first it is believed that the plant will enhance its qualities for your purpose of use. We liked this idea so we leisurely hiked down the mountain asking plants to be part of our art project. The rain came down most of the walk down and we were not only soaked but had a couple of close calls falling in the mud! Major mud foot!
Once we made it back to the open veranda cabin we spread out our treasures and got to work. David was gracious enough to explain his art and then let Katie and I create on our own, making a mandala of friendship. We had fun planning, designing, and creating a piece of art out of nature at times blending interesting concepts like life and death with the use of dying leaves opposite vibrant green leaves and colorful flowers. We felt very proud with our ending piece and are happy to "Blast it out!" as David would say.
Once back at our cabin we chilled out and enjoyed all the comforts of home! Stove! Hot water! Unfortunately, there is no dodging these mosquitoes though! They are really getting a feast from Katie and I. We are going to tally them up and we will let you know who has more bug bites in the next blog. We made a nice meal of pork (fresh from Fuente Verde, Davids farm) and rice with our favorite Lizano Salsa of course! We were even treated to some fresh home brewed Vanilla beer from David's friend Jeff. We loved the beer he made and it was very refreshing after our long day of hiking and treking with our packs.
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The Galloper!! |
Today was a nice lazy day and we were able to sleep in and enjoy our coffee on the veranda that we love so much! David was kind enough to let us borrow his Hyundai Galloper, a small yet sturdy little SUV, and we were so excited to take a drive up the road to see The Diamante falls from afar! We had tried to see it yesterday after we climbed down the mountain but that tricky mist was toying with us and we were unable to see it. Katie had a blast wrangling the Galloper, it was so fun having our own vehicle to romp down the country jungle roads!
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The view from the drivers seat of Kirby opening the gate to our cabin! |
It was a gorgeous day with a clear view of Diamante! We were so inspired we wrote a little song dedicated to the waterfall! Perhaps we will wait to post that til later...We pulled off to the side and enjoyed the view of the waterfall from atop our cool ride! Another highlight of the day was seeing a long trail of leaf cutter ants! So awesome!!! Que cheeba!!
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Katie's pet moth - Carmen |
Well, now it is getting late and Katie is getting ready to call in the moths. Katie is not just one with the moths now, she has officially become a real moth lady! They have been flocking to her, even in the shower. So, here is a picture of the first moth of the night, which of course came right to Katie! It even has hairy legs just like Katie!
We just finished up a huge load of laundry and I must say I will appreciate a washer and dryer so much more when we get home! Washing by hand is not easy! Now its time for rice and beans! Pura Vida to all!
Love the hairy leg comment! Whose dog is that? Oh, how I wish I was running wild with you girls!
ReplyDeleteLove the mandala plant art you made, and a very interesting perspective photographing yourself and Kirby in the rear view mirror. But my fave is the moth on your pants with your cute foot and toe ring, very nice:) What an awesome moth. They must feel the love. Kirby, your writing is fantastic, love the hairy leg parallel, made me LOL. What's the dog's name? Looks friendly. Love, Dad
ReplyDeleteDude, I love it--the posts and the pictures and the mandala and the giant tree that I want to live in, and, especially YOU GIRLS!!! I miss you and am soooo proud of you!
ReplyDeleteOMG, your life looks AMAZING right now!!! I can't believe I'm going to be a part of it so soon!!!!!!! Can we repeat and just do everything you did all over again? LOL. Much love xx
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