A Walk In The Woods (by Sam)

This morning, I took Mom on a canyoning trip through the forest in front of our house. I knew the path because I had done it already last weekend with Dad. Some of the things you need for this hike are long pants, a t-shirt, boots or waterproof shoes with good treads, and not minding getting wet and dirty. Clippers or a machete are also useful. We didn't take the camera because it would have been tossed around a lot and probably would have gotten dirty. We didn't take Maeve because she was worried about the spiders strung across the path. She was right to be worried. We must have counted at least 60 different ones and all different sizes.

It's a really challenging walk. In some places, you have to get down, scooch along on your bum, risk landslides or falling into the rocky deep river, and scramble down waterfalls that are taller than you. At one point, Mom had to go up into the forest to get around a tough section of the river. When she had her body pressed against the ground, she found herself inches away from a tarantula hole!!!! At least we think that is what it was. Luckily, none appeared.

We saw lots of beautiful spots along the hike. One of the first ones we came to was where two streams converge to make one big one with the sunlight filtering through the trees overhead. Vines hang down that look like they'd be perfect for swinging from tree to tree. I didn't try it because I didn't want to risk falling into the river. Another beautiful thing was where the sun shone through the trees illuminating a perfectly woven spider web. Right in the middle, was a beautiful Golden Orb Weaver spider. That was when I wished I had the camera.

The end of our hike was really amazing. The creek ended right by Coconut Harry's Surf Shop and School in a clearing with vines everywhere. The vines felt very rubbery and when I shook it a little, the vibrations sent the leaves above trembling. We were walking back toward the house on the dirt road and Maeve and Dad stopped to pick us up. The real highlight of the trip was seeing a large Green Iguana right as we were turning on to our road. We could get really close to it. It had a thing hanging down from its neck that looked like a turkey's flip-flop thing (patch of loose skin.) When we got too close, it scampered off into the woods. When it ran, it looked like it was running fast on its two back legs alone. It had spines all along the body, even the head and the tail had dark black bands. I again wish I'd had my camera!! This picture I found online looks like the one we saw.

This walk was one of the most awesome I've had and I recommend it to people who are looking for a very challenging, adventurous hike. We won't be using it as a regular way to get to the beach, I'm sure, as it's a loooooong way back up. But, it'll be fun once in awhile. And, I really liked being Mom's guide.