Friday, March 30, 2012

Splish, Splash, Gulp!

View From our Balcony

Today, I finally was able to leave the dreaded bed that held me back from so many days of fun.  In the morning,  Dan came by the hostel to help me outfit my boat,  lend me some gear, and simply pick us up for the long day ahead.  Once we had all our gear sorted and were loaded up in a taxi, we headed towards the river.  From the car, I could see our run and it looked pretty big.  I have to admit, I was a little bit scared.

Once Dan had gone over some brief review, we all jumped in our boats and slipped into the water.  From the put in, I could see that beyond a short and steep rapid, the river turned around the bend into the distance.  This rapid was a little too hard for me so I went down holding Dan’s boat, or “rafting up.”  There were some big waves and there was not much space to avoid them.  I was glad I rafted up with Dan.  Once we had turned the corner, we caught an eddy on the right side of the river. 

Around the corner, we came to a confluence and the river became murky, brown, wide, and powerful.  I was a little intimidated and became even more so when I realized Dan’s style of teaching.  He wanted me to lead!  I thought this was a little crazy, but it gave me a couple of advantages.  He said he could rescue me faster in the case of a swim.  Also, he wanted to have me learn how to take my own line down the rapids.  I agreed, and scouted the rapid from my boat behind a big rock at the start.  I had a great time, but it was very scary!  I hit some huge waves and boated over a drop that snuck up on me.  For the most part, I followed my line well, but cussed all the way down.  The following rapids were not as violent or as long, but still harder than most water I have paddled before. 

Once the hard section of the day was finished, we stopped for a lunch break.  The rest of the day was mellow  and I had some opportunities to practice my roll.  I did some small rapids but none as hard as in the morning.  It was raining pretty hard, and we were all tired when we arrived at the take out.  

Back at the hostel, I took a shower, put on fleece pants and a sweater, and curled up in bed.  I read my book as the rain fell on my window.  “What a day,” I thought,  “what an adventure!”


 


Thank you for reading Rohan Geographic!    

8 comments:

  1. Rohan, being sick is a bummer no matter what, when or where, but it really is rotten away from home where at least you can curl up in your own bed and pull the covers over your head. Charlotte and I both got a nasty case of dysentery several years ago in the Marshall Islands, and understood at once why people died of it in the days before antibiotics. I am very glad you are not only well but filled with your usual spirit of adventure. I liked the picture of your Dad and the tapir. His nose looks a lot like mine. ( I mean the tapir not your Dad.) Love to the terrific trio, Grandpa Morgan

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    1. Thanks Grandpa Morgan, for understanding me. You are right, it is a bummer to be sick anywhere at anytime! I hate to say, I think the Tapir, beats you on the noes competition!

      Love,
      Rohan

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  2. What a couple of weeks you all have had! Great pictures in Quito and the Amazon. I like the tapir pictures too!

    What do you mean? Cussed all the way down??? I hope it was 'rats' or 'yowza' or 'yikes!' :-)

    We also like the comic flair you've added to a couple of your blogs!

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    1. I think the curses were a lot worse than that! Thanks for the complement about the humor. A blog is boring without it!

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    2. Svet also likes your humor. So from our home you get a full complement of compliments! :-)

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  3. Woo hoo, Rohan is back!
    "I was a little intimidated and became even more so when I realized Dan’s style of teaching. He wanted me to lead!" What a great line! :-)

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    1. Thanks Svet! You should have been there! He made my stomach go to my throat!

      Love,
      Rohan

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    2. I'm glad you've managed that challenge. You know what they say - What does not break you makes you stronger... and you never really know how strong you are until you test yourself!
      Great job Rohan! We are very proud of you!

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