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Well the rain finally stopped and we joined up with friends from the yard and went white water rafting last Saturday. What a day! The Rio Cangrejal was flowing fast and furious still being quite full in places.
We took a rocky ride up a 'road' deep into the rainforest. passing shacks where people live by the river; it supplying their everyday needs for cooking, bathing and washing their clothes.
After a safety briefing on paddling technique, basic commands, and what to do in event of capsize, we got into the raft and began our decent downstream. Our Honduran guide David had already decided that the usual route would be too full for us novices so we entered and headed towards some class 3 rapids.
The forest is breathtaking; we saw toucan, mahogany trees and massive waterfalls along the way, before stopping for a fruit lunch. The rafting at this stage was quite tame, but that was about to change.
We reached a section which was still quite full, and our two friends decided it looked a bit too rough for them so they opted to walk along the rocks. Pete and I decided we would give it a try, the odds our guide told us were 60/40 towards the raft flipping, but we'd been through what to do (hang onto the raft, lay on your back so your feet point downstream that way if you hit a rock your feet will hit it and not your head).
We weren't 20 seconds into the ride and we hit a massive rapid and I lost my paddle, the next one we hit Pete lost his balance and took me out the raft with him. Nothing could have prepared me for the force of the river. Even with life jackets on the rapids took me under the water and hanging onto the raft took all my strength. It felt like I was in a washing machine, being pulled under and having the raft swirling around my head. I was caught in an eddy (a part of the river where the water just swirls round and round). It felt like forever and I remember thinking "if I inhale too much water and pass out, Pete knows CPR." He by this stage had been spat out of the eddy and was sat on a rock stretching out his paddle and was shouting at me. I finally made the decision to let go of the raft and that freed me. The raft went downstream and I reached for the paddle and Pete pulled me out.
Needless to say it was pretty scary (hope my Mum isn't reading this!). We did get back in and paddled on downstream, but I think my adrenaline seeking days are over! Our next trip should be a bit more relaxing. We are heading overland to visit Copan sometime this week. Copan is an archeological city where the great Mayan Civilization developed and flourished.
added by Claire on 08-11-2005, 21:43 GMT
Half a year
29-08-2007, 01:20 GMT
First 4 months
20-06-2007, 15:22 GMT
Its a girl!!!!!
23-02-2007, 18:00 GMT
Gringo Bay
Leg 2 / Day 76
N15°45.21', W088°50.49'
27-01-2006, 18:00 GMT
The Rio Dulce then becomes a large lake called 'El Gofete' meaning The Little Gulf. There are many b...
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