All prepped and ready to head out! There were 9 of us in our group, but we were also joined by several other vacationers making our group a total of 17 people not including guides.
Here’s our group during “training.” The guides had us practice swimming across the river with our paddle in hand so we would know what to do if we fell out of the boat.This information was very handy when I actually did fall out of the boat…everyone was very impressed that I managed not to drop my paddle even during a collision with a rock wall!
These are our guides! They made our trip super fun and safe. They were great at getting us through the rapids and at showing us secret places in the river that are good for jumping in and doing different tricks.There was one area in the river that swirled like a toilet bowl. If you jumped in at one spot, the water would carry you around in a circle until you returned to where you started!
I was too chicken to jump off this rock from a standing position, so instead I slid off very ungracefully! Once we were in the river we floated feet first back to where we left the boats.
Alex and I are in the yellow boat (he’s in the front and I’m right behind him). We traded seats during the trip so that we each had a chance to sit in front.The rafting trip was 6K total, stopping in the middle for a snack break of local fruit and a chance to jump off some rocks.
A view of some of the rapids we rafted through. During our trip down the river we did class I, II, III, IV, and V rapids!Our friend, Ellie, took this video with her underwater camera. Although Alex and I aren’t in it, it will give you an idea of what the trip was like. Jesse, Jenna, Ellie, and Julia are all teachers with us here in San Pedro.
From Russia with Love 