Fwd: Jungle, Day 2

We were served an enormous pile of toast for breakfast; some it looked pretty ordinary, but some of it was a type of bread with a green tint. A little odd to look at, a bit Christmasy with jelly, but it tasted normal. 

The plan for the day was to hike downhill-and when I say downhill I mean very down a very steep and muddy mountain-go by a waterfall, then continue on to the river for white water rafting. After that, time for lunch and then start heading back to Chiang Mai. 

The problem with that is that I could barely walk. Within five minutes my back was screaming at me, especially while carrying my bag.  After a few miscommunications, Johnnie found one of the other tour guides that would take me down the mountain by motorbike.  He would take me to the river, where I could meet the rest of the group at the end of the hike. 

The motorbike ride was pure torture.  First of all, all of the bouncing and jolting in the muddy, rutted dirt road is not at all what you want to do with an injured back. Second, it was steep and muddy; I couldn't help but imagine the tires slipping in the mud and us flying off into a tree.  There were a few spots that he let me off to make my own way and carefully walked the bike down. I did a lot of praying on the way down. 

Although it was bad, I suppose it was better than trying the hike.  I'm afraid I would have fallen again on the steep trail, as I was too stiff to move quickly.  I would have had to stop and rest a lot, too.  I didn't want to hold everyone else up; one of the worst parts about getting injured is that I hate to be the complainer, the one everyone has to wait on.  That's why I usually prefer hiking alone.  They were all nice about it, though; Saori especially would slow down to wait on me and kept checking on me.