The Seven Waterfalls Hike is a wet dream for a photographer, pun intended. Even so, I doubt many have ever packed a tripod to enable long exposures that turn the falling water into silk. The reason is that it is a grueling 5-hour hike in the sweltering heat over very slippery rocks, mud, and through rapidly flowing stream beds. First, let me say that attempting this trail without a guide would leave you hopelessly lost in the jungle. The trails are not marked and are virtually impossible to identify.

I wanted to hit the trail early so I could photograph the falls without people in the foreground and to beat the afternoon heat. I went to the office where guides have to register every day, an hour before most tourists arrive, and requested an English-speaking guide. Phone calls were made, and I was told a guide would meet me at 7:30 AM. I was almost ready to join one of the group tours scheduled to leave at 8:00 when my guide finally showed up at 7:45, and she did not speak a word of English. I decided the head start trumped the language barrier, and we set off. As we started walking out of town to the trailhead, it registered with me that she was not carrying any rope, something the other guides had stowed in their backpacks. So far, things were not looking great. At that very moment, she asked if I would like to stop and pick up some bananas and pupusas. Music to my ears, as I had not had breakfast or been able to locate a single healthy snack for the trail.

The head start paid off, and I had each waterfall to myself. Despite our inability to communicate, my guide kept me safe, and to my utter amazement, I did not fall once, despite ample opportunities to do so. To reach the very end of the trail, you have to ascend the face of a waterfall as it pours over you, using a rope to pull yourself up. When we reached this point, my guide told me that it was too dangerous for me to try. What became clear to me was that she never intended to do this section of the trail before we even met. To be honest, I think I had a better chance of getting to the top than she did, despite her 40-year age advantage. That said, in retrospect, I am glad we turned around then. By the time we reached town, my legs were Jell-O, and I could not imagine their state had we climbed the falls.