Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls Part 1: Road to Hana Part 3

Part 1 of Part 1 of Part 3 is just a hole in the wall. The hole in the side of the mountain that crawled through (told you about a couple of days ago).

Don't know how this one got away from me when I was posting the other day, but my inbox lately looks like Pandora's Box so here it is a little late:

Don't know what we were thinking when we climbed into this thing.

Enough with the Cave Woman saga. It's like I'm calling myself some kind of prehistoric superhero. Anyway, on to our next tale of danger and intrigue--Secret Waterfall #1.

Part 2 of Part 1 of Part 3:
I told W to pull over between some mile markers because apparently, there was this cool pool and waterfall where you could dive into the water. Praying W wouldn't want to do it and that maybe some trained and skillful local happened to be doing it at the same time we were there, I wanted to see this place.

All we found when we stopped was the beginning of a path that led into some really congested woods. We were actually crawling at one point (which is not a big deal if you look at the whole day), but I mean these woods were just packed with every type of shrubbery. The trail disappeared within seconds after we started into the forest, and then we started relying on the sound of the waterfall to get us to it. I started veering to the left and following the sound, climbing over and swinging from branches and trees. I felt a little like Sacagawea.

All of a sudden, the woods opened up to a clearing, with a gorgeous clear pool, leading to a fast and powerful waterfall that pushed through two big black rocks and into a flowing, dark pool below. Surely, this is not where people dived. But what was really special to me was how these orange and red flowers had fallen on the black rock. They looked like they had been strategically and evenly placed all over for a spa effect, you know? At our hotel, they had placed those red hibiscus flowers everywhere: on our tub, by our sink, on the steps in the lobby, at the front desk. I thought that was a good touch and made things seem romantic and pretty. But when God and nature placed the flowers around a pool and waterfall for us, it was mystifying. They looked so perfectly and wistfully positioned.

W sitting at the mouth of the Secret Waterfall #1. Notice the pretty flowers on the rock in top-right corner. Notice the pretty moss on the rock too. 

En route to his place in the first picture. I said, "Concentrate. Watch every step. Do not fall. Focus. Now look at me really fast so I can take your picture."

Just sitting on a huge lava boulder, watching a powerfully strong waterfall.

Notice where this waterfall led--people dive into that--through there? What?  They might as well have an ambulance and lawyer posted here at all times. Notice the pretty orange flower to the left of the opening, perfectly placed.

We threw the phone across the waterfall so I could shine for a little bit. And then I came up with this sexy pose that makes me look like I have a back problem and no legs, face illuminated like Moses.

The flowing current. I love the way water looks before and after and during waterfall. 

The swimming pond above the waterfall that we seriously considered getting into, until I put one foot in and could not feel my toes for the next 5 minutes. I wanted to get in so bad, but was it worth it to be miserably uncomfortable for a few minutes just to say I had gotten in, just for the sake of doing it? We will never know.

Symbolism of my indecision. Shoe on, shoe off. Get in, stay out. Should I stay or should I go?  To be or not to be? I sat here like this for a while--you'd think I was considering a career or something, which I really should put this kind of mental energy into.  

Crawling around the rocks and waterfall like a monkey. 

So after we figured out that we were kidding ourselves if we were thinking we were going to get into the water, we headed back through the make-believe trail and found the way back to the highway. People were parked next to us, and they were standing across the highway next to a bridge. Oh! That's the place  where you can dive and swim in the pool. Where were we?

It doesn't matter. We had found our own little secret place. We had missed the big attraction, but found our own little treasure. Sometimes that happens, you know? You planned to go somewhere and ended up somewhere else, but it all seemed planned anyway and better than you would have imagined.

Secretly,
Liza Jane