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Favorite Experience:
When I was back packing across South America I met a young woman who was only a year younger than I am who had been fighting cancer since her early twenties. She was absolutely amazing. I met her while I was getting ready to do the El Mirador trek and discovered that since she had heard about this Mayan Temple, it was her dream to be able to hike there. For those of you who don't know about this crazy trek, it consists of a 132km hike through the jungle. It takes about 6 days to get there and back, the reward being and intimate experience with the highest pyramid of the Mayan Empire. Julie, as I will call her, had been working extremely hard to get herself to the point where she would be able to do this long and grueling hike.
Since we both had the same goals, we kind of formed a strong bond right from day one of our hike. Julie wasn't shy about talking about her battle with cancer and I found her point of view on life unique and inspiring. The hike was extremely spiritual whether you are expecting it to be or not. Walking through a jungle with a floor of sometimes what seems to be endless murky water and mud with a small group of eleven strangers all of whom are suffering, their feet aching, does something to you. You mind gets quiet and you just accept it all. You accept the pain and learn to concentrate on the NOW. Julie and I would talk incessantly while we huddle by the fire at night, during the day however we walked side by side in silence unless one of us saw something especially beautiful to point out.
When we made it to the pyramid, I cant even explain the elation I felt and can't even begin to imagine what Julie must have felt. That night, our guide decided that we should enjoy the pyramid to its fullest and allowed us to camp there for the night so that we could see it again the next day for a bit before heading back. For some reason, it was really chilly that night. Maybe it was the high starting to leave or the fact that we'd been damp and had wet feet for three days. I could see Julie shivering next to me even though we were right by the fire so I offered her my warmth, putting my arm around her. We put our sleeping bags together that night, and each night until we made it back to the village. Each morning, before the other would wake, we would have this slow, quiet and passionate sex that was not only the perfect way to wake up but also extremely profound. I've never had sex quite like that before or since then for that matter. I didn't fool myself though, I knew this was not something that was going to last. I've travelled enough to know that you meet people on your journeys that may change the very way you think about life but that inevitably, you both go on your own way, down to separate paths from which you both came. So I wasn't at all surprised when Julie gave me her email address and told me to keep in touch before continuing on with her travel plans, leaving the village. That's not to say that we didn't have a heart felt goodbye, but we both knew that if we stayed together any longer than we did, we'd just ruin our perfect memories of our epic hike to the pyramid. I still talk to Julie once in awhile and am happy to report that she's still cancer free and might even come on the Santiago pilgrimage with me!
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