Today we are aware that, getting off the tree, getting off the tree house, we head again towards civilization, towards those places where nature has necessarily had to leave room to manpower.
Yet, if not for civilization, the airport where the plane that allowed me to get here landed would not exist, nor would the factory of steel cables that allowed me to swim in the air, nor the climbing gear attached to it. Though I am conscious it is very difficult leaving this enchanted place, this waterfall, this Mother’s breast that fed us during three days.
You have to be kind, with the spirit abandoning these places and the body that still has to comply whit the demanding climbing task. It has been beautiful to be carried down, floating on zip lines’ cables and enjoying gravity strength. Now it is hard, sweating in order to climb up the mountain, climb a vertical wall in order to go back to the plateau where we came from. Speaking about vertical wall is not too much as this is real row rock and perpendicular, standing in front of us. Home ahead and we follow, in single file, along the grips of “Via Ferrata”.
A step ahead with the right foot, then left foot, right hand, left hand and the carabineer snapping a meter ahead. Repeatedly, a mechanical and ritual act that is not boring, because the precipice grows step by step and the sky, firstly extremely high on the trees’ crowns and on the mountain’s top, gets closer and closer.
Through climbing and going up the look has its benefits too, the horizon widens and the landscape embraces the whole valley, with the 7 cascades of the Tiger’s waterfall and the Monkey’s waterfall in the distance. It is the first time that I climb a mountain in this way, the effort of the first 10 minutes shortly disappear, the limbs relax and once we arrive at the top of the wall rock I feel stronger, as if instead of loosing energies they rather had entered my body. I will strongly need these energies, added to those of Katia, excited like me. We will need them to manage to leave these places, to let go the road leading to Pakse in a pleasant way.
We will need them not to feel as if we were saying “farewell” to something, because we prefer “goodbyes”. With extreme lightness we get on the last Laotian Tuk Tuk to go back to the Thai border.
We leave in silence, full of gratefulness to nature and these people; we leave on tiptoe, the same way we came.
Full of gratefulness to Mynatour and Teamworkz for having made possible these days. With great enthusiasm we say to all the travelers reading us and seeing us happy in the pictures they’d better contact them to experience some special emotions!
Day 1 – Day 2 – Day 3 – Day 4 – Day 5 – Day 6 – Day 7
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This trip is the 3rd Prize of the Mynatour Ecotourism Contest. Mario has been voted the 3rd winner of the last Mynatour ecotourism contest sponsored by Teamworkz – Laos part of whl.travel.
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