30/01/2015 I nearly blacked out in a packed train in Costa Rica’s Capital San José yesterday; guess my immune system was down after the small fever I had the day before. But now I feel much better after 2 days of resting in Casa Mariposa, just next to the Chirripó National Park. I actually feel so good again that I will attempt what promises to be one of the hardest hikes so far: 40km to 3727m high Cerro Chirripó in a single day, starting this midnight! But before I try this (the guides might send me back as I have no permit), please enjoy the last live update from my short visit of El Salvador. Visiting the El Imposible National Park was the main reason for my visit and trekking through the jungle and seven waterfalls was simply amazing!

>> Full Picture Gallery <<

The transfer to Tacuba in two Chicken Buses was nothing special for me anymore, having used so many of the legendary buses in Guatemala already. It kind of became a habit for me, even though they are not the safest moving vehicle around. There are not many options in terms of companies that would take you into El Imposible, actually there is only one and it is also one of the few options to stay the night: Hostal Mama Y Papa. A friendly old couple with an energetic son, who runs must of the tour business now, will provide basic rooms and food. Together with another girl and her private driver, two guides got us into the National Park in a 4×4 jeep. We booked the seven waterfalls day tour for 30$ and even though it’s not cheap, it is certainly worth doing the tour unless you have your own 4×4 vehicle.

We were hiking deep into the jungle until eventually reaching the first waterfall. One of the guides would always take our cameras and use an alternative route along the water, while the other guided us through the various jumps from the waterfalls. We jumped from five of those, skipping two others which required a three meter forward-jump and seemed to be a little bit too dangerous on the slippery rocks. Instead, the other two were repelled down the waterfall while I decided to climb, which was pretty fun. The tour ended by walking down a huge waterfall, which should be even more impressive in the rainy season, although I am not sure if the tour can be done then at all. I certainly had a lot of fun with our group and could also play around a bit with the machete’s 🙂