Well, we are just past one month on this journey around the world and to describe it so far as epic would be a massive understatement.  People always ask us what we expect to find in each country, what we expect to discover.  I try to explain to them that every encounter is a surprise.  Every country we land in, every corner we turn and every day that we adventure, we discover something new, we are surprised with something unexpected and we are blown away by something unbelievable.  Today in Ecuador was the perfect example of how this entire trip has been one 'best day of my life' after another.  Today, a joke I made turned into one of the best moments ever!  It was the epitome of the Expedition 206 experience.

I promised myself long ago that I would always be a kid at heart.  I think you can see it in the way that I explore life.  So when we set off to the rain forest of Ecuador this morning, you could say that I was as happy as a kid in a candy store.  There was a steady rain coming down as we started our trek into the forest.  For me, that just added to the atmosphere, I mean, what's a rain forest without the rain?  It also did a great job of keeping the mosquitos away. 

Our guide was super energetic and he had the bounce in his step of a child as he skipped, hopped and ran through the trail.  Once he saw that I enjoyed this too, he made a game of it, seeing if I could follow in his footsteps, which I did adeptly.  I was as surefooted as a goat!  Baaaaaaa!  We got so far ahead of the others at points that we'd often have to wait for them and we would spend that time talking about the amazing plants and wildlife around us.  I felt like a kid, exploring something new, soaking in the experience with fresh eyes, drinking it all in.  I enjoyed the rich forest smell, I relished in the sight of every leaf and I often stopped to marvel at the many strange bugs.  I was in an alien world, alien to me at least, and I made sure to enjoy every second. 

Eventually we made it to a small rickety bridge.  Our guide turned to tell us to make sure we held onto the rope and no sooner than he said it, Antonio slipped, legs flying over the edge with his back landing hard on the slippery wood.  Actually, the only thing that kept him with the group and not sliding down a river was the fact that he'd followed the guides advice a split second earlier and grabbed the bridge.  I tried to get him to do it again so I could film it but, no dice. 

The bridge led to a dead end that held a small waterfall, maybe twenty to thirty feet high with a pool under it that feed the fast rapids that ran under the bridge.  We all stopped to take in the beauty, being surrounded by high rocks and rain forest, standing in front of this waterfall in the rain in Ecuador.  The feeling was surreal.  This is when things took one of those 'Expedition 206 unexpected turns.'

Me being the funny man I am, I joked to the tour guide, "Hey, wanna go for a swim?"  The dude immediately started taking his flippin' clothes off!  I mean, it was a joke... a real joke, like ha ha, funny joke.  Yeah, let's swim in this cold water in the middle of the pouring rain, in the middle of the rain forest, while we've got rapids running under the bridge that lead down a steep slope that disappears into the mist... and yeah, actually, that mist is a cloud, really, because we're that friggin far up in the mountains that clouds appear on the ground.  Yet, our guide doesn't catch my sarcasm and the dude is still taking off his shoes.  He looks at my ghost white face and our ensuing conversation goes something like this:

Guide: "Ah, you're just joking me.."  With disappointment in his face.

Me: "Umm... you're serious?"  With shocked horror in my face.

Guide: "We go for a swim, yes.  You said."  With the 'this is normal stuff' face.

Me: "Umm... you're serious?"  With the continued shocked horror mixed with some 'this dude is nuts' face.

Guide: "Ah, you're just joking me..."  With complete disappointment in his face.

Me: "Umm.. no... Umm.. I'm serious..."  With the 'I'm no wuss, but is this dude serious?' face.

Guide: "You're joking me..."  Still, this dude's face shows extreme disappointment that he won't get to take me into water that will probably wash me away to my death, while it's raining in the middle of a rain forest that has things that would love to eat me for a snack, some of which probably live in this water. 

Me: "You're serious!"  With the face of horror that is mixed with the face that says, "yo dude, if you can do this crazy stuff without blinking, I'm no wuss, I'll do it to."

Me:  "You're serious!?!" this time completely with the, 'I'm no wuss HOMIE' face on. 

Guide: "You're joking me??"  this time with a questioning face that says, 'Don't come now and you're a wuss my man and on top of that, I'll be disappointed at your wussiness.'

Me: "I'm down dog. Let's go." with a determined, 'If this dude can do it, I can do it to because I'm no wuss,' face.

At this point, dude takes off everything but his pants and hops right in the water and starts trudging towards the waterfall.  At that same moment, Antonio turns to me and says, "Tony, look at how fast the water is going man, you can't go in there."  I respond, "If that dude can do it, I can do it too!  I'm no wuss!"  Although, to be honest here, I have to admit that you should substitute all occurrences of wuss with a different word that better describes the emphasis of the situation and how I felt.

So, I stripped down to my shorts and hopped in.  I fought the current out towards the guide and the waterfall and suddenly I fell as the ground dropped from under me.  Actually, the bottom of the water in that little pool just dis-a-friggin-peared.  It always scares me a bit when I can't touch the bottom of water, not because I can't swim, I'm the yellow flipper, I'm just afraid of what's lurking down there.

I swam towards my guide at the waterfall and he assisted me while I submerged myself under the torrent.  It was one of the greatest feelings ever.  Despite everyone's first impression, despite everyone's initial reaction, I was there, under a waterfall, in a rain forest in Ecuador, while it was raining, inside water that I would have NEVER thought about entering under any circumstance.  The feeling was enormous! 

Then the guide started climbing the rock beside the waterfall.  When I looked, although the rock was pretty steep, it offered pretty easy hand holds for climbing up and I followed my guide.  He reached a level that offered a rock to stand on and he looked at me with a smile on his face.  This guy lives this!  This is his home, his house, his playground and he was gifting me with the pleasures of his life.  This was something special and I caught it all in just that look and that smile.  He was thankful that I allowed him this moment, that I wasn't a wuss and that I came with him and gave him another opportunity to play in his playground, despite the pouring rain.  In that moment, I saw it all.  I saw it all in just a look and a smile.  Then he jumped.  It was a perfect dive, right into that deep spot that I fell into before.  I climbed further and stood on top of that rock and relished in the moment.  I stood on that rock like a king, like Mufasa standing on the edge of the cliff looking down at his kingdom.  If I had a small lion at that moment, or even a kitten, I would have thrust it into the air with both arms like the pink butt monkey from the Lion King.  Ah-whem-a-way Ah-whem-a-way, Ah-whem-a-way, AH-wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I was surrounded by rocks.  I had a waterfall to my left.  There was a deep pool in front of me and rapids beyond that.  Rain forest, trees, animals and bugs I'd never seen, smells of pure earth and green, rain pouring around me, drenching me, running through my hair and dripping from the tips of the curls.  All my dreams, all my desires were there, everything I've worked for, all around me...  I cannot say it was like a dream because I was so self-aware, so in the moment.  I felt everything, EVERYTHING!

And then I jumped.  I could feel single raindrops smashing against my face as I fell through the air, eyes open and fully aware.  At the last moment, I curled up in a classic cannonball and splashed into the deep spot.  When I surfaced, it was triumph.  I looked up at the bridge and I could see Kelly and Antonio desperately pulling their clothes off, eager to come in after me and share in the feelings and emotions that were dramatically splayed all over my face. 

That's what I love most about those two.  Their minds aren't made up.  Although there are things on their do not do list, give them evidence contrary to their beliefs and they will change their minds in an instant.  That shows a lot about a persons character and it makes me proud to share this trip with them.  The three of us, our guide and our translator, Josue, proceeded to leap off of that rock in a variety of styles over and over again, relishing in the moment over and over again.

Before we left, I stood there in the water, absorbing everything around me.  Our guide looked at me again with that smile that said, "Welcome to my world buddy, it's good to have you here and I'm glad we got to share this moment together."  That moment, that day and that surprise, represent the essence of this trip.  We are surprised at every corner, unexpectedly finding the time of our lives around each bend.  We are sharing special moments with temporary friends, people we will never meet again, yet whose memory and company we will treasure for a lifetime.  We could see every site that the world has to offer but it is these special moments of shared happiness with people across the globe that make this trip something extraordinary.  This was the classic moment of us finding and sharing in someone's happiness and it was one of the greatest moments of my life.  I seem to say that a lot on this trip.