🧗The Stairmaster 🔝

Looking for a stairmaster workout? The place to find this would be in the large colonia in Sandy Bay. With elevations ranging from sea level to up-up-up, the cardio and leg strengthening grind makes it the ideal workout. The land is folded, sort of like a fan, with roads, houses and buildings originally being built in the folds. As the land has filled with people, the houses have been built up and over the folds and up and back to the crest of the island.

Estimates of how many people live in this colonia are - estimates. Numbers suggested range from 7,000 to 10,000 people. Many of the houses are accessed by side roads/paths some quite steep running up the folds.  

In order to get to the houses beyond these side paths families and communities have dug into the rock (sometimes mud) to create steps. Over time many have built cement steps - up, up, up you go (and of course down, down when you leaving. )

Recently, we started taking pictures of the stairways we encountered in our visits. The people we visit have no trouble with the stairs and scamper up and down quite easily. I wonder if it is because many have feet smaller than mine, or possibly they are double-jointed in their ankles. Most definitely they aren't nearly as fearful of falling and breaking as I am. I do not scamper!

Some stairs are quite easy to navigate but many seem to smile a jagged smile at unsuspecting - or suspicious! - guests. 

One set of steps we navigate has over 100 concrete steps from bottom to top. Our friends live at the top of the gradas and then on up a little slope. Bella vista (beautiful view) I always say (as I catch my breath). One of the challenges is to explore the variations in depth and width of each step. Always there is the nagging reminder - down is harder than up.  Every 20, or 15, or 18 steps there is a wider cement landing where paths extend to houses on different levels. It really is a housing community with side-paths branching off the main path. 

The picture to the left is likely the most challenging set of steps I have maneuvered. This was taken in February a few years ago shortly after the worst of the rains so the "steps" hadn't been dug out recently. The beautiful family at the top are all smiling.  I think possibly it is a smile of relief that there was not a calamity as I reached the bottom and stopped to wave and take a photo. The going up is a matter of digging in and being confident. The going down?  “Where is my toboggan??” I wail in my imagination. Happily, Larry accompanied me on our last trek up and down and was available to pick me up IF I fell. (My hero....) That provided a bit of confidence. The point of showing this? There are four families living up at the top. They traverse this path frequently, rain or shine. Real heroes! 

A friend I visit lives on the second floor of her building. The steps are on the outside of the building. As with ALL steps I navigate - there is no handrail. So, in this case I twine my fingers through the fencing to secure my balance. Other stairs are bordered by barb wire. My brain has to concentrate on the steps and on a nagging reminder "don't grab the barb wire". 

Stairs make really good shelves and resting places. While visiting next door, I happened upon this cute little stair ornament. Hi Assad - will you share your mud pie?

While stairs offer an interesting challenge and the stairs provide a mighty intense  workout, the visit is a good reward. Would I miss going for visits because of the workout? Of course not. But I don’t schedule visits every day either. I am so in awe of the hundreds of people who hike these paths daily - up and down, flip-flops flapping, babies tucked in their arms, (or still in the womb), sweat or rain running down the faces.

The above and below pictures are greetings I have had going to visit Sandra. Above - these kids scurried down from above and below for a greeting. And the photo below? Happily this little stair ornament had a collar, a strong chain, and his people were just a call away.