by Mason

My heart is racing and my chest is tingling, as I stare at the the murky depths below.  Although I know the water is only 15 feet down, it somehow feels like a mile.  I launch, I’m falling, wait, pause… Let’s rewind…Where am I?  I’m currently in the small, colorful, mountainous town of Minca, Colombia, which sits at about 3,000 feet above the northern Caribbean coast.  When we first arrived, I wasn’t sure if I would like it here.  It was humid, jungly, loud.  I was sweaty just standing.  But spoiler alert, our stay turned out to be great!

Our apartment was a short walk from the main river flowing through town, the Rio Gaira, filled with  swimming hole and providing a corridor for wildlife.  My favorite spot featured two granite boulders to jump off, powerful waterfalls to duck behind, and a canyon of rapids to swim up into.  The river banks were stabilized by giant, ancient fig trees and bamboo groves, home to an assortment of butterflies, lizards, and birds.

Now you know how I got here, about to plunge into the cold, green river.  Splash, I hit the water and sink to the bottom, pushing off the sandy ground to get to the surface.  I gasp for air and immediately want to run up and do it again!  As we all know, agua es vida!!!