LOST Mountain

So...I will never complain about the Turkey Trot, eva again. Today I hiked up the mountain next to my neighborhood I frequently like to call the LOST mountain. Earlier this week, Anne and Ashley decided that Sunday was going to be the day we conquered the hike. Knowing I may not get this opportunity again while I was here, I immediately caved and joined in the decision along with Katy. At the same time, I knew I was in no shape to do this. The best line of the day came from Katy at the end of the climb, best put, "I almost puked, and then died." We got home from church around twelve, changed, and set off. I knew I needed to eat something, but I grabbed very minimal too worried that I would regret eating too much as we hiked. We started off walking through a couple of towns along a not so steep road, and that is when my pride kicked in. I thought oh psh sure I can do this, easy. I was way too quick to speak! Soon after, the steep parts dominated me. It took us two hours to get to the top. We got a bola (ride) along the way for a few minutes, but it was way too short. Thankfully the majority of the hike was shaded, not to mention beautiful, so that helped. Every once in awhile, we would stop and take in the scenery, which was incredible! You could see other mountains, cliffs, random homes scattered about, and the ocean. I would have to take in the scenery while at the same time catching my breath, which never wanted to be caught :). We finally got to the top, which I thought would never ever happen, and I wish I could describe the view we had. I would not do justice so I took some pics of course. You could see the whole town of Puerto Plata, which you can see from one of the pictures above. You might be confused about the picture with the hatch looking object with the number 21 on it...don't be. If you have seen Lost, it will all make sense. If you have not, then well do not worry about it. It further confirmed the name I gave the mountain because it would definitely be one of the many hatches on the island. I know at this point you are thinking I am such a loser (Kelly if you are reading this, I am mostly referring to you haha. and Mary you are loving this). So the way down the mountain is by going in a gondola, basically a cable holding a box...I know, safe right? I took a picture from the top where you can see one of the gondolas going down. It is very tiny, to prove how high up we were. I am terrified of heights, seeing that I hated the blob at camp because the part of jumping off the platform onto the blob freaked me out. The gondola though was actually quite nice. All that to say, climbing the mountain was one of the best decisions I have ever made even though I felt so defeated at different parts. If you ever come visit me, be prepared to have your own experience :). Two blogs in one week...booyah.