Field Trip to Chocoya

Our days off are usually spent hanging at home, catching up on administrative work, or spending time with local churches. Today we planned to just relax around the house a little. However, when Kemmel went over to our landlord's house to pay rent today he told us about a great little swimming hole nearby. We had heard about it, and even checked it out on Google Earth! But also heard that it was a little dangerous to walk down there. Well, apparently, the local community has taken back the maintenance responsibilities of the road and the pool and things have gotten much better. Our landlord is a director of a junior high, and reported having a great time over the weekend (with about 100 other people!).

So, this morning we decided to pack some water bottles and swim wear and head on down. The road to the pool is about 45 minutes walk from our house. Once we got there, we realized that we were passing by one our church elder's family's house. So we stopped by to say hi, and they said it was a great pool, very safe and clean. They often head out at 0600 to go for a swim before the masses of people arrive. We had another 25 minutes walk ahead of us (a little over a mile maybe), down winding switchbacks through the pine forests until we started hearing laughing and splashing. Just before we got there, we heard school boys running/sliding down the steep trails trying to beat the rest of their schoolmates to the pool. But, they were nice enough to chat with us the rest of the way down.

It was a beautiful hike in and out of the canyon.


It the center of the picture you can see the pool sparkling through the trees.

Awsome!




This guy was trying to get the nerve up to take a dive.

Kemmel taking a mini lap (he couldn't swim the length of the pool due to a hot and heavy water volley ball game at the other end).

What a beautiful little paradise at the bottom of the barranco (ravine/canyon), tucked away from site. The 15-20 meter pool is filled with fresh spring water that continuously runs, keeping the water fresh and clear. It was cold, but not unbearable--just right on a hot sunny day! We had such great time hiking and then swimming and talking with the other swimmers. After enjoying about an hour, we headed back up the mountain--this time a 45 minute hike!

It was a great day, and we enjoyed getting to know a local treasure like that. If you come to see us sometime, maybe we'll take you down!