Waterfalls

NP 7 tazas – Salto del Laja

We arrived at a very nice campsite just outside the NP “Siete tazas”. The name translates as “seven cups” describing the river as it falls in several spectacular waterfalls into little bowls that the river had carved out of the hard rock here.

We camped and had a nice evening with 2 guys from Israel before we took our bike to the entry of the national park. A little hike brought us to a canyon. A small trail led through a colorful forest and down the canyon, offering fantastic views on the waterfalls.

We continued south and after a stretch on the PanAm we found a nice hotel close to another great waterfall, the “Salto de Laja”. Our hotel happened to be right at the edge of one side of the waterfall and we had a view on it directly from our room.

The next day we wanted to have a better look at it.

It was closed though. As we approached the gates we could see a lot of people with tired and sad expressions. A police officer stood in the entrance of a little path that led to the waterfalls. A rescue vehicle stood aside.

A little girl of 13 years age fell into the water underneath the waterfall and had been pulled into a powerful undertow the day before. She was still trapped there and we could hardly imagine what the poor parents went through, sitting there and waiting for the officials and rescuer to bring them the body of their daughter.

We felt very bad, standing there with our cameras, excited tourists that hoped to see a great natural site… and there the poor family going through the most unimaginable pain.

We turned our bikes around and left.

It was a quite ride and we both wished the best for the poor family.