It was the Best Day and the Worst Day.

My very favorite day we spent in Choco was the day we just went exploring up the coast in a boat. First, since we hadn't seen many whales the day before, we did try to find more whale, and we did see more!!! All of our best sightings were that morning.  Then the tour guide tried to take us to the Cascada El Tigre, but he couldn't get his boat through the tide, so we stopped at other waterfalls.  Literally we passed more than a dozen waterfalls as we rode by the coast. Anyway, the picture above is us at one of those waterfalls.  This wasn't my favorite stop though.

This was us at our favorite stop.  There was a river coming out of the jungle there and the water was so bright blue!  I know it doesn't look it in this picture, but it really was.  Nicolas spent an hour riding the current down into the ocean.  

I'm not for certain, but I think we were at this beach, just north of Cascada El Tigre.  

We also hiked up a stream here for a ways into the jungle.  It felt like you were in the middle of nowhere with no one around (which is was the truth), but it felt magical in a surreal way, like "Where-am-I?!?!?" type of a thing.  We played in pools and waterfalls and it was crystal clear water. 

So just to be clear, all the pictures above this line are of us from that day.

The photo just above and below here are all ones I stole from the internet and I was going to give credit to the blogger but I accidentally closed the tab.  Errr... anyway, another of our stops looked like this, with rocks and tide pools and caves even.  

Yeah, the tide pools were incredible!! We found so many cool animals and fishes! We could have spent forever there.  Sebastian even climbed into one of the caves--it was across a sketchy, rocky, pounding waves area so we all didn't go.

And there were HUNDREDS of crabs on the beach.  It was insane!!!  We started walking onto the beach and it looked like the whole beach just moved.  And we passed this huge, long, fallen log and it was completely COVERED (not an exaggeration) with hermit crabs.  I've never seen anything like it in my life.  And later, Sebastian caught this gigantic blue crab that was a different species than the hermit crabs or the ghost crabs on the beach. 

But yes, none of these pictures are mine.  The few that actually had us in them at the top, were ones another couple from Spain shared with me over WhatsApp.  Because after being utterly stunned all day with the gorgeous beauty everywhere, I lost my phone in the ocean, and all my photos with it.

This is my Facebook post about losing my phone:

 Oh, and just fyi, the Pacific Ocean ate my phone.  It's literally the only phone I've bought new since Leo and I bought flip phones together back in 2003.  So my 307 number is currently on hiatus.    I took it with me because it took so much better photos than our Colombian burner phone, and I was SOOO careful with it all day, and it was my FAVORITE day of all in Choco--seriously paradise--and I had GORGEOUS photos, and then walking back to our hotel, a wave came really high and it, along with the logs on the beach, knocked me over and washed it away out of my pocket. All that after my death grip on it while motor boating through the ocean and climbing through waterfalls, etc, but no, a stupid wave on the way home ended it.  So sad.  Especially since I had a water proof case clipped to my backpack and I had thought not 5 mins beforehand that I probably should put it in there. 

Not us in this photos, but we were at this waterfall and swam in the pools.

Now, if you look at this beach with all those huge logs, remember that when the tide comes in, right up to the tree line, those logs are actually being tossed around by the waves with ease.  Those aren't from storms or anything like that, just every high tide they are being picked up and slammed back into the surf.  So after spending the most magical day ever, we were dropped off near the bay at El Valle (which made us all cringe to walk through that water into town because of the smell and oil that was everywhere).  And we had dinner in town and then started to walk back to our hotel, but by then it was getting dark and the tide had come in. And there was lightening and thundering and while we were never caught in a downpour it was windy and starting to storm.  So yeah, we were stuck walking home on that beach in the utter blackness with only the light of our cell phones to guide us and those huge logs being smashed everywhere.  We stuck to the tree line, but it's actually really hard walking there, and the kids were scared and honestly I was so worried a kid would get swept up by a wave, and in the pitch black with those logs, there's no way we would have been able to find them.  Thankfully, by the end of the 2.5 miles, the tide had started to go out again and it was much safer.  We made it all back okay, and the hotel workers and other guests were so worried about us.  But um, during that time, not even minutes after I thought I should put my phone away, a sneake--which came up much higher than the other waves had been--caught me off guard and I was holding two pairs of sandals, my cell phone was in my deep hiking shorts pocket, and I was trying to keep Efraim safe beside me, and a log rolled right by my feet, and I was trying to avoid that and not drop my kids' shoes, and in the process, I stumbled and my phone was lost.  And I don't even care about that so much, more so I was devastated that I lost the photos from that day.  It really was my favorite day in Choco.  

And this is the video of the whales we saw that was from the footage the Spanish couple shared with us.  

At Tortuga Bay Eco Hotel

The hotel we stayed at was gorgeous!!!  It was the only place in El Valle with room when we decided on our last minute trip. I can't say that I was sad about that.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

We had most of our meals there,  and it was typical Colombian fare, soup, rice, patacones, and a side of meat (fish, chicken or pork), and a fruit juice.  It was okay, not the best, but far from the worst I've had in Colombia.  

And we discovered we could have fresh coconut whenever we wanted and it that was the most delicious thing ever!! Yum!!!

The guy would just cut us open one with his machete.  

I love Efraim's cute face.

Coconuts--delicious!

Swimming really tires every one out.

And one of the many painted ghost crabs my kids caught.

Sebastian is amazingly patient and adept at catching things!

One day in and we all were already sunburnt.

Leo's and I had one of the lovely private rooms on stilts, but the kids were in a large bedroom that was on the left and part of the main hotel above.  It had two sets of bunkbeds and a queen bed, and a bathroom.  The kids said their bathroom was like their own nature show with ants everywhere and geckos eating the ants, etc.  Leo and I had a few spiders we shared our bathroom with too.  But it was all good, we loved it.

This was in Leo's and my room.  I had taken better photos, but that's a tale for another post.

 

And our room while we tried to dry everyone's towels.

The kids just hung out at our room anyway.

We saw so many Jesus lizards, and I can't believe how fast they are.  I mean I knew they ran across water, but I'd always seen them in videos with slow motion, in real life, I couldn't even really follow them with my eyes.

This was the on the porch in front of the kids room.  They really couldn't complain about their view either.

Sebastian also caught this giant toad.  It was massive!

And everyone's combined seashell collection.