Orote point hike

AKA The hike that showed me that medium hikes should not be attempted without 2 adults.

View of the cove from above

After being kept in a bit over the last few days, I was anxious to get out and hit the ocean again. Threw Adam the hiking guide and asked him to pick one. He chose Orote point, the westernmost point in the US. Reading the description, it said it was a 160 ft elevation change and a one mile hike, figured it couldn't be bad.

The beginning.....

Wellllll, it wasn't too bad (we obviously survived it) but were not prepared for the 160 ft to be as rapid as it was. Should have paid more attention to the description part where it called out ropes (left there by others) and a ladder I guess. It wasn't too bad, but I was nervous about the kids and the baby we were carrying. One adult was at the front at all times and the other was at the back. This was needed to help kids down (and then back up) and could not be done with only one of us.

Old bunker

The site itself has so much history to it. At the top there are ruins from both the American and Japanese during WWII. On the way down you hit sections of stairs put in when the Spaniards colonized the island and an old Spanish well archaeologists think was used supply water to the colonists. There is also evidence that the island has been inhabited since     3500 BC.

Spanish well

After the decent and trekking through the jungle a bit, we were richly rewarded for our efforts. It was so amazingly beautiful and quiet.

We quickly drank some water and jumped in the pools. It was so much fun exploring and swimming.

The only real hiccup of the afternoon was when the middle child gouged his foot on a rock. There was blood everywhere, but he was a trooper and calmly dealt with it and hiked back up without complaint after I dressed it. (lesson learned today #2-I really need to go buy water shoes). He did so well and made us very proud!




We're now relaxing as a family after showering and eating. I have a feeling we will all sleep well tonight!

In other news: we're progressing well towards move in. If all continues as planned we and all our household goods will move in on June 1! Here's hoping :)!