Tuesday - Best night of rest so far on the trip last night. We were all in a rustic lodge but the chill air and thick blankets were perfect for sleeping.

Much of today was on gravel road, but the highlight was a slow, careful walk on a narrow jungle trail with Nelson. He is a fungus expert and is passionate about mushrooms!

Part of the trail was used in the 1948 civil war by fighters as a secret route to move equipment and Nelson's great-grandfather was one of them. Along the way, we saw a few fungi but also some flowers, birds, and a pair of spider monkeys.

Coming out of the jungle, we visited a hummingbird garden and had a nice lunch at Nelson's parent's house high on the mountain looking over the valley below.

The road walks were steep as usual but we seem to be getting used to them. We again avoided rain today as it sprinkled after we reached our lodging spot.

This place is a brand new spa resort area with a gathering lodge and many beautiful cabins. It will be difficult to outdo this rest stop on the rest of the trek. There were many birds and even a coati to watch as we relaxed on the veranda before dinner. Dinner was salmon and potatoes and very good.

We only have 4 more hiking days so people in our group are starting to look towards the end. Two of these days appear to be our hardest, longest ones and some pains are developing, so there is icing and stretching and a little worrying going on in the group.

You can see our progress at Hikers Social