(This was Monday) I only have a second before we run off to Nagojje for a business class. Just wanted to tell you about our little vacation this weekend. We went on a class 5 river rafting trip down the Nile! It was so awesome. The scenery was incredible, and one of the kayakers that followed our raft to save us when we were thrown out was named Moses!
We got up early and went with several of the girls from our group. After a few of them went bungee jumping, we hopped on our rafts. We rafted for six hours through a series of about 10 rapids. I knew from the beginning that it was going to be intense because they spend about 20 minutes teaching you what to do "when" the raft flipped and you were thrown out. (Not "if" it flipped) One of the girls got scared in our group and went on the safety raft for the rest of the day. It was interesting because she had gone bungee jumping that morning.
The first couple of rapids were awesome. Liz and I were in the front so we got the most intense action. It was amazing that we could survive crashing into 10 foot walls of water and not get flipped. By lunch time, we were ready for something a little more intense. (Liz speaking) We thought we would be fine with our 15 SPF but the sun is so hot and with the combination of our malaria meds we got pretty burnt. Nate got burnt pretty bad (he said it was the worst he's ever been burnt.) The top of his knees looked pretty painful.
The next rapid was called "Vengeance." If the raft flips at the beginning, you are carried about 500 yards before it is even possible for a kayaker to pick you up. They said that rarely happens. Well it did. Almost right after we started our raft flipped and we were thrown into the rapids. There were several times where you were thrown under for 5-10 seconds before finding the surface. It was a few minutes before I found Liz and the raft. It was the best water slide I have ever done! When a kayak finally found me and began taking me back to the raft, there was no sign of the other 7 girls. I came back to find one of them had stayed with the raft...under the raft. Her eyes were as big as anyone's I had ever seen. She was in shock, and truly thought that she was going to die. Still no sign of Liz though. Slowly the other girls were brought to the raft. Some happy, some near tears. Then finally, I saw Liz, giggling and making small talk with her kayaker. Then there was Kerri. She is engaged and makes sure we don't forget how wonderful her dear Jeffrey is. Like Breeann, she had quite the wild ride. She spent the rest of the day telling how she had let go..given up on life.. and felt so horrible that Jeff would never see her again. We still don't let her live it down.
When we were all safe, Liz and I just talked about how we loved it. Not all of the girls felt that way!
When the rafting was done, they fed us meat! Real meat! Not eggplant, not peanuts, but real meat! I ate like it was the last time I would ever have it again. And it's true, haven't had any since.
Then they took us back to the campground. It's basically like a KOA overlooking the Nile river where we paid for the rafting trip. Included in the trip was a free night stay. Even though it was a nasty public shower, it had HOT WATER. I spent at least an hour in there. Then we went to the bar and had pizza and said in a chair with a back on it, it even had a cushion. Ah, life's luxuries. It was a great weekend.
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Wow! What a grand adventure and I'm so glad you're alive to talk about it! The pictures are wonderful and I am so happy for evidence of your existence and well being. What beautiful people you are spending your time with. Those children are precious! We miss you but are grateful you are having this opportunity. XOXO
ReplyDeletePS I think my sentiments would be the same as the girl who bungee jumped in the morning, but wanted a calm river raft ride. Being under a raft and trying to depend on my swimming skills for survival would be frightening indeed. Good thing you are both such trusty life guards!