Every morning I wake up with a
mountain of a journey looming in front of me. La Trocha is the name of the road that connects the rural
community of San Luis with the hustle and bustle of tourist-driven life in
Monteverde and Santa Elena. La
Trocha used to be a dirt road – as all other roads in San Luis still are – but
because of the steep incline the way was essentially impassible except for
four-wheelers and horses, especially during the rainy season. Instead of waiting for the government
to pave the road, the community asked for the cement and did it themselves.
The
steepness may be killer, but the view is breathtaking. Nine times out of ten it works out that
I make the trek everyday at sunrise and sunset, which serves to amplify the
impressiveness of the scenery.
While it may seem a shame to have to wake up so early, it’s really the
best time to do the hike – this past Sunday I walked up after lunch and the
heat made it so much worse.
However, an added difficulty for the morning trek is the fierce
wind. Depending on which part you're on, the wind will either try to push you back down the hill, or if you're lucky you may experience a few glorious moments in which you literally feel yourself
accelerate forward as the wind hits your back.
After
about 35 minutes on La Trocha, you’ve got roughly another twenty minutes walking
on relatively flat dirt roads.
After the abrupt switch from steep incline to flat ground you’ll usually
experience the strange sensation of “Spaghetti Legs.” You may have experienced this before after having run on a
treadmill or done some other intense physical activity and suddenly
stopped.
Occasionally
if you’re lucky you can avoid the whole process by getting a ride up La Trocha
from a kind member of the community who stops to pick you up, but I find this a
pretty rare occurrence. I don’t
mind though, I swear I’ll have the buns and thighs of steel by the end of three
months.
La
Trocha is a great analogy for a lot of the experiences I’ve been having
here. The trek has its difficult
spots and it’s mild points, but along the way I’ve always got something
beautiful to experience.
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