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Published: October 28th 2012
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We met our tour guides (Eduardo, Ruben & Mario) early in the morning and bundled into the minibus. The journey was mainly through winding dirt track up and over the peaks to reach the part of the river we would begin our rapid adventure! After gearing up and having a spot of lunch by the river, Ruben, our captain, taught us all the commands he would be using, then we were off. Having never rafted properly before i was quite nervous but excited at the same time, the adrenaline was definitely flowing. Ruben took us through Class 3 rapids to get us all settled in then we set up camp just in time before the rains started. Despite the rain we gathered firewood /trees and made a great campfire. Dinner was steak and mash potato..... on a camping trip!!! amazing!! we sipped rum and coke and played cards until we'd all been bitten by sand flies too much to take any more and retired to our tents.
The next day we set off early for a long day of rafting. We came to a Class 4 rapid and were asked if we could portage, get out and walk on the
Campsite 1
Campsite 1 bank, we asked why and would be told the full story when we got to the other side. it turned out that a women had been killed recently on the rapid and as a mark of respect and our safety we had to walk. The circumstances of her death were very sobering and we all were very contemplative for the next few rapids. i wont go into how she died on this blog but they didn't recover her body for 2 hours which is horrific for everyone involved.
Ruben asked if we wanted to go cliff jumping....of course i was delighted to partake so we pulled alongside a rock face. i eagerly clambered up the slippery rock face to the launch point. it always looks higher from up there! but the water was clear and inviting so i threw myself off! i did the same three times before it was time to get paddling again. On to the next series of Class 4 rapids, we maneuvered the first parts well then we became stuck on a rock just before a drop. Ruben left the raft to a nearby rock to try to dislodge it. we all leaned to the
campsite 1
campsite 1 left of the boat to prevent it from capsizing, however, by this time i, being at the back and on the right of the boat, was going down!! a gush of water and i was knocked from the raft, about the same time as it started to right itself, consequently i fell into the water and the boat came over the top of me. Luckily i had taken a big breath before falling in and didn't panic, so easy to do when you're being pounded against rocks and water! but its good news, i managed to push the raft away and popped up a few meters away downstream. my crewmates hauled me back into the raft and we set off trying to recover everyone's oars and most importantly our captain!!! it wasn't until we stopped for lunch a while after that i realised how lucky i had been. having hit my head i was feeling a little nauseous but not enough for it to stop me having lunch!!! The rest of the day went by without event fortunately for us all, after the experience, which was quite exciting, i have an amazing respect for the power of water and patchimama
Some wild river hair
some wild river hair (the mother earth in Incan belief). To top a great day off, we made a pretty awesome campfire!!
It rained the whole night so when we awoke, the river had risen and was murky from all the churned up mud from the highlands. We all got back into the boat and paddled hard to reach our first rapid which was great fun. Then for our first class 5, we made it through well and after paddle fiving our success, Ruben steered us back toward the bowl and the end of the rapid for us to' surf'. we got canned with water, the boat was full of it but it was so much fun and Ruben thought it was hilarious to watch us all get pounded. We left surfing behind to do more cliff jumping, this time only Harry, Richard and I decided to jump. i followed the guys up there and as i got to the top saw Richard jump off. i took his place but he wasn't in the water, which was still murky so you couldn't see the bottom or rocks and i couldn't see the boat either.....mmmm... to jump or not to jump??? i jumped!! the
campsite 2
campsite 2 current immediately carried my under the overhang and round the corner to the boat and my crewmates. We left the boat for another portage and another sad story.
Ruben asked if any of us wanted to swim the rapids, again i said yes.... mental! We asked if there would be rocks we couldn't see, Ruben shook his head, 'stay in the middle of the river' he said. Donald, Harry and I launched ourselves into the water and began to float down the class 3 rapids. it was immediately clear that there were rocks!!! having hit a couple it was really hard to adopt the 'safe' position of floating feet downstream. i was knackered by the time it finished and we'd all swallowed A LOT of water!! Ruben shouted 'want to go again' and pointed downstream to the fast approaching rapids, 'Rescue me' i shouted and started swimming against the current to the boat. i got hauled in with Donald whilst Harry had to be rescued by the equipment boat behind!!
we finished our rafting experience a few hours later with a lunch on the shore whilst we packed the kit away. More sand flies attacked us, i even
The Crew - the end
The Crew - the end got bitten on the lip and had a taste of free collagen!! i wont be getting my lips plumped any time soon, the trout pout really isn't a great look!!
I had an amazing time, a very exhilarating sport. my new found respect for water still raw we headed back to Cusco and the warm hotel showers.
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