Nothing like rappelling down the slope of some steep hill, precariously hanging off some tree vines, in the middle of the jungle forest found only in Vincennes (Grenada) on a Saturday afternoon.

Which is how we got our Muddy Butts.

****

So we were sitting around Victory Bar the other day, enjoying a Reunion over Rum Punches with Friends, and the subject of Hashing came up.

"There's a Hash Saturday... " said SomeOne.
"That's day after tomorrow" I thought out loud.
"Hmm..." we both said noncommittally.

We eyed each other trying to determine in one glance or two, whether we were ready to tackle the hot jungly woods and steep hills that is Hashing in Grenada.

Well, truth be told, you're never quite totally ready for the Hashing Experience, it's different every single time.

"I don't know anyone to call for the bus" said Someone to which Dave quickly volun-replied "I know Someone... I can organize that" .

The next morning people started calling us.
"Dave, put me on that bus you're organizing".

And that's how we got signed up for our first Hash of the year.

Standing around waiting for Start Time. Look how clean I am.



Listening intently to the Hash Instructions,



and always great to meet up with friends



that we haven't seen a while!!



And at precisly 4:00, the runners started running and the walkers started walking, a frenzied motion of moving legs and feet and with excitement in the air, each and every running shoe and bare foot going uphill, and fast.



As the steep incline of the hill slowed us down, our hearts pounding, the sweat pouring off our foreheads we made our way through a cemetery field,



and always, always looking for those precious clumps of shredded papers, pointing the way,



that this time, led us deep into the very dark thicket of trees that swallowed us whole in its canopy of foliage and vines and leaves and 50-Shades-of-Green.



Which is where life got downhill very fast. The sun slowly disappeared, eclipsed by the largeness of the leaves overhead. Our feet slid here and there and sideways, the ground slippery with wet mud, sometimes inches deep, that threatened to suck the the shoe off your foot as we mucked our way down what looked like it might be a trail.

The plastic yellow Caution tape that was strung from tree trunk to tree trunk, did nothing as a handhold as I slipped a bit, instinctively grabbed hold of it, found out it wouldn't hold me as I landed on my butt with a resounding thump, and proceeded to gracefully slide downhill.



It's always a little bit of a chore to get up after a fall, brush your butt off, which then makes your hands muddy, wipe the sweat off your face, which then makes your face muddy, and with a laugh, keep on going.

Life got a bit blurry as we clambered down the muddy slopes, over slippery wet rocks obscured by large wet leaves, and boulders jutting out of streams, ducking our bodies under trees, and making sure we lifted our feet high enough so as not to get entangled in the overgrowth of vines and fall face first into the muck.



A short long time later, we saw the light. Quite literally. And as we scrambled up the hill we emerged right into the tallest and bushiest set of thicket we'd seen. As we tried to make sense of where to go, parting the leaves with our hands so they wouldn't scratch our eyes out, it felt like we were going through those old Car-Wash mechanisms, remember those?



Did nothing for my muddy butt though.

There the paths took us through some nicer walking trails



until we emerged from the forest, still muddy dirty and with a few extra scratches



to our bodies.

Back in the sunlight we found what was a much better path to follow, wide and very manageable,



except that it all went UpHill. For a Very Long Time. On On!

The views extending off into the distance are mountainous, majestic and magnificent!



Look at that lone palm tree standing tall and proud.



Always follow the clumps of shredded paper that point you to where you need to go.



Don't stop for too long lest you might end up overgrown with vines



like a few of these abandoned places we came across.

When we lived life on land I used to like to go for walks in the evening, and sometimes we could sneak a peek in open curtained house windows as we passed by, and get a glimpse of life inside. Which made me wonder who had lived here, and when, and what might their lives had been like?

"Do you hear what I hear?" I asked Dave?
"Couldn't be, could it?" He replied.

And sure enough, it was !!



Pistachio for me, RumRaisin for Dave and Izzy, and A Double Strawberry for Jeff. OMG words cannot describe how good this was.

When we got back, we found out we weren't the only ones with muddy butts,





Hashers. Defined.



Drinkers with a Running Problem.



Or not. On On !!