Pulhapanzak Falls

While at the lake a group of us went to Pulhapanzak Falls and I think that it is one of the coolest things I have seen/done since being in Honduras. It is a 43 meter waterfall on the Rio Amapa a little ways from where we were staying by the lake. We took a couple of jalones (hitchhiking) from our hotel to the falls and considering we were traveling in a group of 8, we had pretty good luck and made it their safely and didn’t have to walk that much. Although the first jalone that we got was the fastest I have ever been in, we were probably going about 70 mph, which feels ever faster in the bed of a truck.
Once we got there we made our way down to the lookout at the bottom of the falls and it was really incredible and gorgeous. As we were heading down to the falls a group of three little Honduran boys came and found us and told us they would show us the way. Once we got down there a guide showed up who said he could take us into, under and behind the waterfall for $5/each. We weren’t sure and stood around debating for about 15 minutes. When we first saw the route we would take, a narrow, muddy path along the side of a cliff we said no way (especially since three of us just had flip flops on). Then the little kids ran out on that same path, either barefoot or with their school shoes on and jumped and dove off the cliffs into the pools below. At first we thought they were crazy, but then it looked kind of fun so in the end 6 out of 8 of us decided to go. We negotiated $25 for the 6 of us. So we set off on the incredibly muddy and dangerous path (it actually wasn’t that bad) towards the base of the waterfall. To get to the base we had to jump off boulders into roiling pools, and swim under the waterfall while getting pounded by the water (43 meters is high). I abandoned my flip flops on a rock and went most of the way barefoot. I was shrieking the whole time and kept thinking how incredibly dangerous this was and how it would never fly in the states. Finally we made it to a little space behind the waterfall where we could stand and watch the water come down. There was also a tiny little cave that we could crawl into. The little Honduran boys came in with us and even though they were half my size I was holding on to their hands for dear life. Then we made our way back out to where the little boys had originally been jumping off the cliff…now it was our turn. I am generally a pretty big wimp and rarely jump off high things, but this time I impressed myself by jumping off the cliff twice! It was probably about 25 feet high and although it took me a while to work my nerve up it was so much fun once I finally did it. After we finally made our way out I was so giddy, it was an exhilarating experience. After it was all said and done we paid our guide another $5 because we liked it so much and gave the boys tips. Then we went to the top of the waterfall and went swimming and slid down rocks. Again the boys went with us and were crazy diving and jumping into the rapids and sliding down the rocks. I envied their fearlessness and wished I wasn’t such a wimp with a strong aversion to the possibility of getting hurt.