After one or two short rests, we have reached the first beautiful viewpoint (Mirador). A local farmer is selling roasted cacao beans and fresh orange juice for exhausted trekkers. I pick up and bite a free sample cacao bean. It is bitter at first but then the very familiar chocolaty taste is spreading in my mouth.
Our guide, Carlos is pointing down the valley, explaining the local farming of cacao, bananas and, yes cocaine plants -not for narcos, but for local consumption. It actually is easy to spot cocaine trees. It is said that chewing and leaving the leaves on your gums for 15 minutes will re-energize your tired body from your long walk. It is an acquired taste for me, but it does not do the same magic on me. Leaving the Mirador, the trail condition changes as we walk from uphill to downhill: it starts with white sand, which provides a soft, cushion on the bottoms of our feet, then changes to red mud.
Feeling the pressure on my knee, hiking down the trail, I contemplate the trail. Reddish colored mud deeply formed by previous rains has now dried to make an uneven and difficult walking surface for trekkers. Imagining that I would have to walk and climb back this trail on our return, I sigh and mumble to Nohemi, my fellow trekker. She reminds me that the return trekking has not yet happened. “Sona, porque preocupas ahora? Disfruta este momento” (Why worry now, enjoy the present moment)”. Nohemi’s words have echoed throughout my trip.
Finally, having reached the first camp site for the evening, I secure my bed then rush to the shower. The simple shower room which only has single water faucet without light, yet it feels like the most luxurious shower after a long walk on the dusty, rough trail. While waiting for the dinner to be ready, one by one, we gather around the dinner table area: sipping coffee, having a smoke, chatting, etc. Everyone looks happy that the first day has been completed and the day’s dust has been cleaned off with a nice shower.
Upon finishing the meal, Carlos, our guide, explains the 2nd day’s schedule and we withdraw to our beds. While my body is tired, my mind is so wide awake that it is hard to fall asleep. The thin mosquito net separates us from the jungle in Santa Marta. In the night’s darkness, whisperings of the forest echo through the night, and the fresh evening air feels clean.
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