Darn it, I just wrote my post and it's too long!! Now it's lost so I have to retype it. Argh...
Thursday, May 1 - afternoon
Sharon and I volunteered to be the front of the raft. Behind us were a French couple, Shally, and a tall blond medical student from NYU(?). When we reached a calm part of the river, our guide told the other side of the raft to jump into the river. Rescue practice! It was pretty fun rescuing and being rescued because it wasn't real.
We saw a blue morphos butterfly flitting along the river a few times but no other animals. The other raft did catch a glimpse of a toucan though. (So jealous!) There was one part of the river that I especially remember. It's one of those scenes that words cannot do justice. In prose, the scene was a narrow gorge with soft green vegetation clinging to its walls with the mist from a small waterfall providing a damp atmosphere. You can find this scene under paradise in the dictionary.
W floated by several other rafting teams that had paused for lunch on the river banks. Since they had reached these spots earlier than us, we had to continue down the river until we could find an empty suitable picnic area. Since the start of the trip, our raft did a high-five with our paddles and cheered after each rapid. I think the guide insisted on this to keep up our spirits and excitement levels. It worked but by the time we had landed for lunch, I was feeling less excited and starving. Since our guides had forgotten the bread, we ate a salad made of sandwich ingredients. Also, there was a yummy treat of guava jelly and cream cheese on a wheat cracker. At the end of lunch, our guide crushed a fistful of tortilla chips in his hand and flung them into the river. A frenzy of bubbles appeared on the water's surface formed by river fish feasting on our unfinished chips. The river is so clean that you can see the fish while standing on the river edge.
Had some exciting experiences on this rafting trip: successfully surfed twice, which is basically riding the rapid in one spot. On the second time, we were positioned such that the other side of the raft was completely drenched. There were a couple times when I almost fell into the water because I was forced into a half-standing position by the rapids. We also ducked into the raft once or twice to prevent anyone from falling into the water. Good times. The second half of the trip was less exerting because Sharon and I switched to the back of the raft. :p
Thursday, May 1 - afternoon
Sharon and I volunteered to be the front of the raft. Behind us were a French couple, Shally, and a tall blond medical student from NYU(?). When we reached a calm part of the river, our guide told the other side of the raft to jump into the river. Rescue practice! It was pretty fun rescuing and being rescued because it wasn't real.
We saw a blue morphos butterfly flitting along the river a few times but no other animals. The other raft did catch a glimpse of a toucan though. (So jealous!) There was one part of the river that I especially remember. It's one of those scenes that words cannot do justice. In prose, the scene was a narrow gorge with soft green vegetation clinging to its walls with the mist from a small waterfall providing a damp atmosphere. You can find this scene under paradise in the dictionary.
W floated by several other rafting teams that had paused for lunch on the river banks. Since they had reached these spots earlier than us, we had to continue down the river until we could find an empty suitable picnic area. Since the start of the trip, our raft did a high-five with our paddles and cheered after each rapid. I think the guide insisted on this to keep up our spirits and excitement levels. It worked but by the time we had landed for lunch, I was feeling less excited and starving. Since our guides had forgotten the bread, we ate a salad made of sandwich ingredients. Also, there was a yummy treat of guava jelly and cream cheese on a wheat cracker. At the end of lunch, our guide crushed a fistful of tortilla chips in his hand and flung them into the river. A frenzy of bubbles appeared on the water's surface formed by river fish feasting on our unfinished chips. The river is so clean that you can see the fish while standing on the river edge.
Had some exciting experiences on this rafting trip: successfully surfed twice, which is basically riding the rapid in one spot. On the second time, we were positioned such that the other side of the raft was completely drenched. There were a couple times when I almost fell into the water because I was forced into a half-standing position by the rapids. We also ducked into the raft once or twice to prevent anyone from falling into the water. Good times. The second half of the trip was less exerting because Sharon and I switched to the back of the raft. :p
posted by pc at
3:12 PM
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