Our last day on the beach. It had been so enjoyable. I love exploring a new area of this beautiful country. Doing so with friends was even more fun. We had done so many fun things up to this point. Our flight would take off this evening and return us to Bangkok but we had all day to enjoy ourselves. This meant relaxing on the beach for Cheri and Nate and for me it meant getting up early to meet my climbing team.
I was the first to arrive at the meeting point. I got my harness, shoes and chalk bag and then waited for the others. Two other girls showed up and one man. None had done any climbing which meant our guide would have to go through all the basics of climbing. I hoped they would catch on quickly so we could move on to the fun stuff...climbing. Once everyone had been issued equipment our guide gathered the necessary ropes and gear and we headed to the climbing site which ended up being just a short walk from my resort. There were several other groups already set up and ascending the limestone cliff. There were about 5 different routes. We dropped our gear at the foot of one climb and the guide began to take us through the important safety instructions and then he began to teach the role of each piece of gear and the basics of knot tying. I was glad that we were able to move through this quickly and then our guide started the climbing with the initial ascent to secure the rope and prepare the way for the rest of us.
It felt so good have my hands on the rocks, to use my muscles differently than I usually do and reach the top of a climb and then have the enjoyment of looking back to see the view, the sea, the sand, the cliffs, all from a different angle. Then then comes the fun part, the belay back down to the start only to start all over again on a new route.
After 4 climbs my muscles were exhausted! The last was the most difficult as my muscles had given all they had and the technique involved challenged my strength and nascent skills. About a third of the way from the top my body failed me and I was grateful when I fell, to be in the able hands of the guide. He held me steady and I clung again to the cliff and gave it another try. Again I failed and again I fell and again he caught me and held me until I have it one final effort. Determined to not to give up despite my fatigue and raw hands I drew all the energy I could find in my body and directed it to my arms and legs in an effort to hoist my body upwards. The efforts paid off and I finally reached the top. Once there I turned to enjoy the view one last time. The sense of accomplishment filled me as did the thrill of doing something I thoroughly enjoyed.
I left my climbing friends, the quiet girl who methodically took 3 times longer than anyone else to climb to the top, the valley girl who about drove me batty with her "Oh, that's totally cool" and other annoying mannerisms and the guy who tried too hard to impress everyone around him. Gee, I wonder how they are describing me in their blogs. :-) I went to find Cheri and Nate at the beach where they informed me they would be when they passed by between my second and third climb. I found Cheri basking in the sun and Nate swimming in the cool water. Starving, I went for a walk down the beach to where several vending boats were set up selling a varitey of food including sandwiches, noodles, omelets, smoothies, roti and more. I ordered a roti with egg and banana for Cheri and pad thai and a mango smoothie for me.
We spent the next few hours on the beach, in the water, soaking up the last drops of the salty water and the last rays of the Railay sun. Nate decided to go for a hike to the summit of one of the cliffs as Cheri and I were enjoying our final moments on the beach. When it was time to pack up we waited for Nate at the bottom of the path and when he descended we headed off to the pier. We had to wait for 8 people before the boat would take us back to Krabi or pay the equivalent of 8 people. After waiting and waiting I negotiated back and forth with the captain and finally decided that for 300B each he would take us to the pier as well as drive us to the airport.
Well, the rest of this adventure is very uninteresting. We caught the plane back to Bangkok and instead of being greeted by the warm evening air there was a surprisingly cool breeze, unseasonal for March, the month before the hottest month of the year. We breathed it in and made our way to the taxi line and headed home.
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