Well…. 8/20/23 good good good adventure and experience
Me and Nicole so lost in conversation we ended up on top of a mountain in the rainforest 20 k’s from the ocean and any human and boiled our water and drank from it a frying pan while feeding the fire and burning all the huts logs, because we kept the door open (epic fail).
Such a fun night to the beach and with our friends drinking and partying before
Something so sharp was unimaginable
3 hour fun hike
2 beers 1 cig
7 of us walking along this "3" hour trail talks of all sorts of comfortable awesome things
Me and Nicole are newly friends but excited to talk as we know we have things to say and we do, we talk talk talk, and explore the beauty of the jungle, a landscape neither of us had experienced before. Cascading rivers below us through the jungle hills and we look on, and poke at the funny moss, and keep putting on foot in front of the other. Neither of us thought for a second about if we were lost, or anything, just talks of mother brother sister education religion relationships goals failures expectations hopes the eternal veganism books and how no one ever thinks theyll get lost til its them getting lost and then we see some mountain jungle goats staring at us spiritually through the trees Icouldnt see them too well but she pulled me over into the angle and my whole vision went blind except the eyes of this goat between the trees 30 feet away. Thoughts of how we are climbing this mountain and there wasnt supposed to be a mountain, we must get to the top we decide. She thinks we maybe should turn around but we havnt drank water or eaten food since breakfast so Ithink we shoudl get to top to see where we are maybe it loops around to ocean just a bit longer but we''re losing sun and we get to top and wow a house but so fucking far from the ocean and we see signs we are 20 km away from where we should be instead of looping we just trudged straight back into the rain forest
We check out the camp and its huge and new and nice looks like it sleeps 20+ but theres nothing, one fire pit and some gas burners to boil water (thank god) but no food, emergency blankets, nothin.
Decide to boil some water and rest before we do the hike back, as the sun sets we walk around outside and plau with the Wekka bird, same one that we fed a grape to in the parking lot. We are both aware of the seriousness of the situation, but accepting of it, there's no other way. Moreso thinking about our friends and how we were supposed to drive back to christchurch hours ago and how worried our dear friends must be. As we finish resting up and trying to get warm again we depart and Ipencil on the wall our situation for future blessings to see. It gets darker and darker as we descend the mountain trail and the rocks wet from the days constant on and off rainfall fills me with a bad feeling of our decisions. We have nothing, and are planning to simply retrace our steps 6+ hours back to civilization, in the pitch black, with only half batter phone flashlights, descending among slippery rocks, hoping that no bad storm comes, hoping that it doesn't become too cold, hoping one of us doesnt make a simple slip and hurt ourselves, or lose the trail in the dark only to never find it again. Iam anxious by all this. She is confident in going back. Ihad mentioned how Ithought we might want to stay in the hut, but she had been so sure of our return there was little room for me to feel sure of one way or the other. Finally Istopped and told her Ithink we should stop and talk and consider staying becuase of how dark its getting, Iliterally cant see where I'm stepping, it's not worth it. "The fact that my mom would cut off her arm if it meant me staying in that hut safely for the night and not risking our lives in these impossible woods makes me feel really deeply we should stay." Nicole accepts, and though Ifeel like a little bit of a bitch, for not doing the "crazy" thing, and making our friends for sure stay the night, and making a scene surely, Iknow Imade the right choice, and so we return. It was so clear at this point too. The stars were beautiful and the moon from disney. Could almost touich them, likely from tops of the jungle trees ida been able! We walk back up to the hut and I'm quite relieved, and yeah it sucks we are making our friends worry and spend an extra night, but our lives are secure and who wouldnt want to be out here in the middle of nowhere with a new friend and a crazy experience. We get the fire going and plan our night out, there's some torn magazines, the new testament, and a hikers diary that dates back since the beginning of the camp. Obviously we go for the new testament first, and reading John 15 has never made so much sense. We read it to eachother, no spark, but a shared comfort, Isit back to the fire back supported on propped benches, mattreess beneath us, and her the opposite, facing the fire and facing me, Irest my head on her knee as she reads the word of sweet gospel which lay in heart so dear to me.
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but Ihave chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what Itold you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[b] If they persecute me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If Ihad not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If Ihad not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
We thought of how crazy it is to read the bible here and now. The most popular book in history, a book which is responsible for the shaping of history and society today as we know it. A book which drives people all over the world to say, Iam right, this is truth, whatever you have been doing and done before is wrong, come to the light, or live in sin and die to hell. It was so interesting, still is, Ireckon I'll read the bible sometime in the next year or so. We tried playing cards but it was a bit boring, we talked more and more, about it all and increasingly about food, chicken sushIand burgers, her not so vegetarian when it comes down to it haha. We start to "gossip" about the group. Our gripes and findings. Two new people to everyone innocent intentions enough. As the night grows colder and darker around us we keep feeding the fire and grow closer for warmth, a bubble of life on the top of nowhere in who knows where, our hearts content when heated. Iwasn't even hungry. Annika Ilove. Michael Ilove but sometimes it feels like he takes his moods out on me. Diana perceives me and makes me anxious cause it feels like shes seeing a different version of myself which Idont like, and so she drives me to hate her, as Iwould hate the version of myself that she sees. Emily is great and so interesting but just talks too much and tells stories and cant read a vibe too well all the time, but is a good heart. Amee is a beautiful soul. Peter is funny and the man and I'm glad to have gotten a bit closer with him. Brayden has no obviois reason to be insecure and yet when we were all getting drunk and smoking his vibe was attacking as an insecure person sometimes does. Me and Ella don't share perception for some reason. And you Nicole, well Ilike you! I'm so glad I'm here with you. Trying to fall asleep but its a bit too uncomfortable to do that easily Isuggest we play the word game to take our mind off things, it works, its good, my arms around her and her head on my chest and we play thumb circles with our hand. A comforting rhythmic movement standing tall against the unforeseeable chaos of all events. Rain falls hard on roof intermittently all night, when Igo out to pee, and look at the stars, Igrin because who wouldve thunk it. We fal into a bit of a half sleep when we hear what sounds like a bird crying and then a man shouting, we are scared a bit, the serial killer paranoias which growing up in america has instilled in us runs rampant. We try to relax but it takes a while, it must haveb een nothing, a strange bird. Around 1 am we are falling finally into sleep hint of coldness still even in eachothers arms and Ihear "CLONK CLONK CLONK up the stairs outside, "THey arent in here! THey were right!" Ispring out of bed to find two men in police/ search rescue outdoorsy gear all strapped up and headlights shining at the door. HEllo! Hi, um well! I'm here! They are surpised and laugh at our setup happy to find us and happy to see us uninjured and looking quite the opposite us clearly curled up by fireside, they give us half a chocolate bar and we devour, so good, and we make half awkard half awesome talk of our situation and them and thanks and more chocolate but no drinks no blanket. We talk and they talk and me and nicole whisper until hours later and they sleep on mattresses in room around us. Cold cold night feeding the fire with coal to keep warm but hardly does it, Ifall asleep for an hour or two and come alive with the light sensor, and boots walking around, and its 6 am, oh thank god thats so close to day break, its pitch black outside tho, how is it only 6am? One of the police rescue guys makes tea for himself while me and nicole talk of the day and slowly the other wakes and here is the day all of the sudden, and they tell us they are going to get a helicopter to come and get us, not that we couldnt walk back, but it makes the most sense. They want to cross us off, found, safe, them, home, we hadnt eaten anything except candy in a day and so that was the smart thing to do in the wet cold early morning jungle. If they make us pay for the helicopter Idont know what Id do but their talk of it made it seem free and so excitement built. Wow, what a treatment, our friends are gonna be jealous. On top of that it seemed they were excited for the helicopter, this was most obviouis when they started tkaing pictures of the sunrise coming over the jungle mountains to our right, ahhh Isee, we are all tourists. One of them was an ex helicopter pilot and hadnt been in a helicopter in a year, im starting to feel like im doing them a favor for gettin lost! It was good vibes! We took pictures with our main man in the ocean view distant and got ready for the helicopter. ME and nicole tried so hard to hide our excitement of flying but it was impossible. The helicopter landed and we got stuffed in the back. It had 3 pilots working it, none of them said a word to us but our disposition was obvious, they thought it was a bit funny, and so did we! No reason to say sorry, only thank you! The assistant pilot or whatever bukcled me into my seat in the back and Igot handed a headset. Igave the headset to nicole and she gave me the ear protection she was given., no dont want that.Iset in on my lap and no other action than to smile as we lift off and Isee the jungle gorw smaller and smaller beneath us as we zip away down from our forever reservation and the helicopter glides like a car getting blown by heavy wind on the highway one side to the other but in control and nose down side to the right we are facing the earth and all below. Ecstatics of excitement for me and nicole we smile and the pilots and police look on at the earth stoically. We descend into a field by the road and nicole says something but Icant hear her and she points and Ithink its our friends in the field looking at us waiting for us to land and annika running on the road to meet us. Only when we land Iam told that they were horses and there was nothing on the road. Hmm. kept my head pretty good ill allow this comfortable hallucination. We exit, wave goodbye to the helicopter men, and our one police officer, and get in with our man, shaking hands and them even hugging nicole, a good experience for all! We get in the mans police car, and its just a boujee car with a crazy paint job and a radar! HE tels us of his bikepacking trip from england to new zealand and all the countries in between, and how in the middle east, even in war, all the people were so nice and only wanted a better future for their children. How universal this shit is! Iask him to rough me up so that our friends dont crucify us for our silliness when they see us. We meet in the middle and he turns on the cop siren when we pull into where our friends are staying. Oh so happy to see them. "We fucked up!"
Feeling alive is everything for me, and how blessed Iam to have had another experience and story which will stay with me alifetime. Our intentions were loving, and so the universe kissed our forheads and kept us safe even through our mistakes and irresponsibility. Now back in christchurch. FijIin a few. Working on this video. Excited for future. Happy with now. Drinking black coffee. About to work out. Working out is lit. Iwant to see change my body is my temple. Ruby is so sweet to me. Ihope Ifall in love with her when Iget back. Otherwise there would be so much pain. Ihope fihIis nice. Iwant to drink so muhc haha. Iwant to get tattoos soon. Iwant to kiss all my friends and have them stay by my side forever!
