CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

Janet stretched as she stood beside her pinto in the small corral at the restaurant waiting for David to talk to the young man who would be taking care of their horses while they had lunch and explored the waterfall.

The ride up to this place had been extra ordinary, much better than she thought at first when they walked up the hill, crossed the road and found the group of horses tied to a long railing waiting for them. The handler offered a guide but also informed them that none would really be necessary since the trail only went to one place and was not dangerous unless the riders were foolish, which of course neither of them would admit that they sometimes were.

David had selected a chestnut roan, a little bigger than the other mounts and Janet a pinto and soon they were walking along, mounts and riders getting used to each other, neither in a hurry on such a sultry day. They entered the trail through the jungle and almost at once were struck by the moist, scented air that vibrated with the calls of birds, hundreds of birds.

It had only been a short ride into the valley, steep sided and thick with growth before they saw them…. Parrots, large and small, love birds and wild parakeets, yellow canaries and some others neither of them knew the names of: long tailed black birds with vivid red slashes on wings, iridescent sleek green birds the size of gulls with meter long tails of shocking blue and yellow under-wings, tiny almost white creatures with splashes of bright blue around the eyes and humming birds darting in glorious color from one hanging spray of flowers to the next.

They spent a half hour photographing all the wonders, each one leading to another ‘must have photo’ until they rode on slowly, filled with sensory over load.

The valley went on in splendor for several miles then they crossed a shallow river near a narrow 60 foot falls and entered the dense growth once more, the trail now winding back and forth as it climbed and they came out at the top of the bluff, looking down on the valley below.

The trail followed the river now, well marked and gently curving, the lush growth mostly bushes interspersed with tall deciduous trees that they weren’t familiar with, some species with huge bark-less boles that branched out with many trunks several feet from the ground, looking at first like dead wood until the eyes met the lush green tops of the silvery grey limbs which dripped with clusters of Bromeliad and long fronds of tiny yellow orchids.

Another half hour and most of the birds were behind them and they could actually smell meat cooking on a grill, wound around yet another of the huge trees and before them was a large clearing with several corrals, a small lean-to barn and a sprawling thatched building that seemed to be mostly decks jutting out over the river, bubbling here as it churned over boulders and found a path to the top of a gentle falls. There were pools at the bottom of the 10 or 12 foot falls, a few people swimming or sitting on ledges under the cascade allowing the water to fall on their shoulders.

They had ridden to the small corral when the boy waved at them to approach and now were ready for the next part of this adventure.

All that fresh air had made them both hungry and they used the facilities, laughing afterwards at how primitive they were, then went on to the restaurant.

David looked for a menu vainly then glanced around and saw the few other diners all partaking off of platters, a nice variety but apparently a set menu.

There was a choice, however, of drinks and they both opted for icy cold Cerveza which came wrapped in a napkin to catch the condensation on the bottles.

Even the restaurant was a little unusual, built seemingly haphazardly out over the rocks lining the river with a domed, thatched roof with high ceilings and netting that they soon saw was to stop inquisitive birds from landing on the beams…. Roosting birds over head in a restaurant with the unrestrained habit that birds had of letting droppings loose anywhere…. Well, they were glad to see the netting.

The food started coming to the table without delay: platters of the giant grilled Scampi so popular in the area, perfect with a lime marinade and garlic seasoning, a bowl of salad with 3 kinds of dressing available, a steaming lidded casserole of Spanish rice, the usual salsas… mild like the stuff in American super markets, a medium heat salsa de Casa much like Cena’s and a green chile salsa that their server called ‘WATCH OUT!!’…. next came a platter of grilled pork, seasoned and perfectly grilled, that the server pulled into shreds with two forks and the ever present tasty fresh, hot tortillas wrapped in a cloth. They both had learned the traditional way of flipping the cover open, reaching for the second tortilla then closing it to lay the warm Mexican bread on one palm while salting it, sprinkling salsa and a dollop of meat on the surface and rolling it up with the swift swipe of a hand across the palm to enjoy.

“I’m going to have to jog back to the UK if I keep eating like this,” Janet teased but didn’t hesitate to reach for yet one more of the palm sized Scampi.

David leaned closer to her to say softly “I’ve heard that you can use 90 calories an hour just having sex, so we should be alright.”

Janet snorted.

“Whoever said that was obviously not recording the way we do it….. 900 is more like it, my energetic husband.”

He laughed and she had to pound on his back as he choked on the mouthful of ‘WATCH OUT’ salsa he had decided to try. After a few minutes the raging fire he had in his throat faded to a mere flicker and he warned Jan to stay away from it.

They finished their meal and to their surprise could actually still walk, went out to the wide rocky edges of the river to discover the reason for the mist they had noticed coming from the ground in places.

“Thermal pools!” Janet exclaimed and held her hand near the surface of one to test the heat. David looked around and saw that some of the pools were occupied, watched as a young couple exited one and dashed across the tops of rocks to jump feet first into the river and let themselves be swept in the current out of sight to disappear over the short drop to the ponds below.

When he turned back to Jan she had already stripped off her jeans and top and was stepping into the water with a sigh of pleasure. He followed quickly. It was hot but not unpleasantly, felt soothing on his skin and muscles and he submerged as she had, right up to his chin, resting his butt on the rounded rocks at the bottom, his feet near the inflow of water.

“What a bonus…no-one told me about these natural hot tubs,” David commented as he let the water relax his muscles.

“Doesn’t it feel wonderful? The few places your massage missed are loosening up now. I could stay in here for hours.”

“I sure hope we got lots of good footage in that bird sanctuary. That was so amazing, I didn’t know which way to point the camera at one point.”

“I’d love to try to get the scene on canvas but, you know, I don’t think anyone would believe it was real.” David smiled at her knowing how she loved to dabble in oil painting, was quite good actually though she had little time to indulge herself.

“Well I’d like to see you do it. When we get back to the UK we should look for a larger place, with space for a nursery and a studio. I love the style of your work.”

Jan levered herself off the ledge she had been sitting on and took a step across the pool to stand in front of David with one long leg on either side of his.

“And I love your style, Rodeo Divo. Do you think anyone would notice if we played rodeo in the pool?” He grinned at her, their minds as always on the same wave-length. She leaned on to his rangy, warm body and kissed him sweetly as he fumbled with the top of her bikini.

“Where did you learn how to be so naughty?” he whispered in her ear when she snuggled against his neck.

“I used to be a sweet innocent little heifer until I met this tall, handsome cowboy,” she teased and he laughed as he put their swim suits on the edge of the pool.

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