An Adventure In Our Own Back Yard - A River Walk

Sometimes it just takes someone else to show you what has always been right in front of you.  Such was the case a few weeks ago when we tagged along for a "river walk".  We were always of the mindset that the river here in Sayulita, like many urban waterways, was something to be avoided.  Street runoff and who knows what made the thought of walking in the river an unpleasant one.  But go upstream just a short distance from where town ends a new world begins.

The hot days of summer were dissipating but not entirely gone and we headed out piled in the back of a pick up truck with a bunch of other day adventurers.  We followed a road that I was familiar with but soon we took a route that brought us well upstream of town.  Green, cool, quiet with the houses beginning to thin out considerably.

As we walked ankle deep in the river it didn't take long to start to see and appreciate the scale of the jungle.  Huge trees and vines covered the steep hillsides making the river the only path to follow.  The jungle in town is always controlled in someway as everything is cut back or burned each year but here it was allowed to grow naturally and wild.  A different world.

After close to an hour of splashing our way upstream we found the perfect spot for lunch and to construct a rock dam to create a small dipping pool.  Everyone pitched in and the effort was rewarded quickly as the pool filled up deep enough for the kids to splash around in.  Once the kids were sufficiently water logged we left our cool, shady spot and headed back down stream.

Again, it never would have occurred to us to go for a walk upstream in the river here.  But the three refreshing hours slogging through the river was definitely a highlight of late summer.  Sometimes it just takes someone with a different perspective and experience to show you the possibilities that have always been right in front of you.