The sun was scorching hot and beating on my face; the temperature had to have been almost 110 degrees. My dad and I had left our resort and made our way to a little barn somewhere I wouldn’t think was still in Mexico. We got on a buggy with open sides, and we headed up a long, gravel, bumpy road. At the top were five horses and six mules waiting for us to mount. I got a horse and started up the huge mountain. This wasn’t my first time on a multi-hour trail ride, but my dad, nevertheless didn’t know what he had gotten himself into.

            We were about .4 miles up the trail, and it had already been one hour and 30 minutes. We passed tall, beautiful trees and the view everywhere were bright and alluring; I didn’t want to leave.

 Along the trail was a little shack that had snacks and beverages, and everyone got off their ride. I grabbed a water and a banana and ate it while being mesmerized by the sights. Everyone got back on and since there were two tour guides, I guess my dad had paid extra for us to keep going and see more. We left with one of the guides while everyone else went back down with the other guide.

We rode for another .2 miles and then got off. The guide led us down a path that ended at a clear blue, calm waterfall. It wasn’t very big, but the water was so clear, you could almost see through to the other side. There were big rocks everywhere up above and a little creek that only reached up to your ankles down below. “This is amazing,” I commented to my dad. We couldn’t think of anything else to say except for just how beautiful it was.

We were the only three there. In the quiet, I felt all the pain in my back and butt from riding suddenly release. All the pressure was gone, and I wanted to stay forever; we couldn’t, though, so we got back on our horses. It didn’t stop there; I kept riding till we got to the top, and there it was, the main event.

I was enthralled by the breeze from almost 4,000 feet above ground and the bright, beautiful, green trees that are almost everywhere in sight. It wasn’t the sunniest day, but that didn’t stop how unbelievably vibrant the trees, the water, and the sky were. The green was so vibrant that it almost appeared blue from far away. The air smelled like earth, wood, and the freshest trees. After riding what was almost three hours to finally get to the top, I felt relaxed, calm, and grateful.

The trees were swaying and dancing in the wind. The whole mountain looked like the waves clashing in the ocean. Sounds of birds chirping, the wind, and the small waterfall down below was all we could hear. Being there for only ten minutes was long enough to create a well-formed memory in my brain.

Speechless is what I felt, and the only thoughts that would pop into my brain were about the good things in life. I was so blown away I had almost forgotten to get a picture to savor the view, but luckily, I did. Up there, high above this spot in Mexico, the heat and scorching hot sun beating on my face didn’t matter anymore. What did matter, was this moment in the beauty of the mountains with my father.