We woke up at the crack of dawn today to drive down to the Pacuare River to brave the rapids that made it into the top five rivers for white water rafting in National Geographic. At six o'clock in the morning, our bus departed from the university, and we all settled into our seats for the two hour drive to the lodge where we would have breakfast before our departure.
After changing, we loaded the buses again to drive to our final destination at the beginning of the river. We donned our life jacket and helmet, and I donned my video camera, attaching it to my head. We were given the basics of the controls of the raft, and even practiced rescuing people if they fell out of the raft (practice accomplished by pushing members out of the raft and then rescuing them).
Quite soon, we made our way out onto the rapids, warming up with Class I and II rapids and then later advancing to Class III and Class IV rapids. Somewhere in the middle of the run, we stopped by a clearing of rocks for lunch. At this clearing there was a cliff which everyone took the time to dive off and into the water. The fishes in the water weren't too shy to nip at us either. Greg was holding his hand above the water and a large fish with teeth jumped up and bit his finger.
Afterwards, as we were finishing the run, we went through a place called “The Two Mountains.” This was a particularly beautiful part of the rafting trip, as we floated between two mountains. However, a large electric company is looking to build a dam here. To do this, they need to turn the river into a lake in this area. This work will be done in about six years, which is a real shame, since the beauty that was there was incomparable to any other.
Throughout the whole trip, vegetation surrounded us. There were also calm parts of the rafting when we had the opportunity to jump off the raft and swim around as we floated down stream. The three hour rafting trip was nothing short of a roller coaster of a ride. As we paddled, we observed the Indian Reservation to our right, and even saw some Indians. There were also lodging stations for multi-day trips from which came camera flashes from visitors taking pictures. Maybe one day I'll be taking the picture as I wait for my own rafting trip to continue for the second or third day.
After every rapid, we celebrated our survival and success with a “high five,” which included raising our oars into the air together and yelling “Pura Vida!” So, here's an oar to you - “Pura Vida!”
