The Gorge

Sunday, as mentioned in a previous post, the President came to the ship. 6 of us decided it would be a great day to be off ship. We piled in the landrover and headed to the Gorge. This is hike that reminds me of the children's song "Going on a Bear Hunt."  Complete with the potential of chimpanzees in the jungle part of the hike (they were sighted on Saturday). We parked at the bottom of the Gorge and began our journey through the tall lush green grass. They were so tall that you could not see directly over it in front you. We took the tactic of walking with our arms bent and raised to 90* in front of us. Not only did this protect the grass from hitting you in the face, it also prevented your arms from being scratched up too much by the sharp edges of the grass.

The grass transitions to jungle looking tree cover with red clay/mud bottom. The trail is fairly clear most of the way, but some times the forks in the trail get confusing. We only made one u-turn. The final part of the ascent is very steep and muddy for about 1/4 mile ending in a wooden staircase which is at an angle more like a ladder than staircase.

The view at the top was quite nice. You can see the grass, the gorge (red rocks that look similar to Zion National Park in Utah but much smaller), and the ocean as far as you can see. After cooling off/drying out from the humidity produced sweat and eating our picnic lunch. We retraced out steps through the bear hunt. I am happy to report. No chimpanzee sightings. 

When we returned to the bottom we could go swimming at the beach or sit and enjoy the intermittent breeze and view at the restaurant. The restaurant was plastic tables and chairs set up in what looked similar to picnic shelters. Since the President was still on the ship, we had unexpected time to "burn".  What better use of time than to get icecream! It was a wonderful way to end a relaxing day