We’re completely lost, I thought. That may have been a little dramatic, especially as I knew we were still on the trail, because we’d passed a trail marker only minutes before. I started chewing on my thumbnail, while Josh put his phone away, scowling.

Just then, a young couple appeared from around a bend on the trail ahead of us. “Hiya,” I called out. They slowed their pace as they approached. “Just wondering how much further?”

A Californian accent replied, “You’re about halfway, but it’s totally worth it. Keep going.”

“Thanks.” I smiled at them as they passed us. I looked at Josh.

He shrugged. “I’m game,” he said. “They said it’s worth it.” He pulled a bottle of water out of his backpack, took a swig, then handed it to me.

I nodded a quick, sharp nod, determined to finish the hike. “Less time to chill out when we get back to the resort, but I vote we keep going. Go on ahead; I’ll follow.” I took a drink from the bottle and handed it back to him. He put it away, slung the backpack on his back, and headed off. It was starting to warm up.

Not long after, we came upon a bamboo forest. I’d never seen one before and it was beautiful. A wooden-slatted pathway cut through the middle, shaded by the bamboo. It was much cooler inside the forest, and even though we were still walking uphill, at least we had relief from the heat.

“First time!” I called ahead to Josh.

“What’s that?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Being in a bamboo forest.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I kinda love it,” I said.

“Yeah, me too. I mean, I wouldn’t build a summer home here, or anything, but the bamboo trees really are quite lovely.”

I fell about laughing, which made it hard to keep up a decent hiking pace. He hadn’t done the English accent, but I loved that he’d quoted The Princess Bride. He’s so fun. I picked up the pace and caught up to him, walking by his side. “Not likely that you’ll have to rescue me from an R-O-U-S, here.”

“I would, though,” he replied solemnly.

“Good to know.”

He grinned at me. “I kinda want to run through this. Is that weird?”

No, not weird—awesome. With a quick glance his way, I started running. He was fast on my heels and I squealed in delight. When he caught me around my waist and spun me around, my squeals turned to laughter. He put me down and turned me to him. “You’re fun,” he said, planting a kiss on my lips.

“I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

“We may never get to this waterfall, you know?”

“I kinda don’t care right now.”

Then he kissed me right there in the bamboo forest. Trust me, it was super romantic.

Eventually, we came to a river. Some might call it a “stream”, but we had to cross it, and it was daunting enough for me to think of it as a river, or at least a “river-stream”. Josh jumped across three boulders and was on the other side in about four seconds.