The action started right off the bat! We were transported straight to the river for rafting. It was more like brown water rafting because it had rained all night. The guides were not very informative and basically said jump in and when I shout these demands you do it. Me and Kirstie got split up because it was only 5 a raft. The raft was not pumped up very well and when we paddled straight into a rock through lack of instruction it folded in the middle. Luckily I was at the back this time and sat down in the middle for safety. There was no way I was coming out of that raft like the disaster I had in Costa Rica. For those of you that don't know the story here it is. We went on class 3-4 rapids in La fortuna - Costa rica. Once again it had rained a lot previous to our tour and the river was running a lot faster than normal. I was sat at the front with Albert our tour guide and each rapid section we hit everybody had to work really hard to make it through safely. Kirstie and Karine had already fallen off but it wasn't a strong current and they got back in the raft quickly and safely. We were nearly at the end of the run when at the top of a rapid section the front of the raft hit a rock and I bounced out. At first I was ok, I just floated down feet first and didn't panic. The one thing they tell you is that if you fall out not to put your feet down because they can get caught in the rocks and trap you. So I didn't at first but then I had to because the waves were that high as i was floating the water was gushing in my face and I couldn't breath. So I considered my options for a second: keep floating with my feet up and drown or standup and maybe risk an injury. I didn't feel like drowning that day so I slowly placed my legs down and luckily found a big rock to press myself against. I managed to stand. I turned around and the raft was heading straight for me at some speed. It knocked both my shins against the rock and pushed me back under water. The raft crashed down on top of me and then I think I must of blacked out because the next thing I know Albert had pulled me back into the raft and I layed there like spaghetti. When I opened my eyes everybody was looking at me in pure terror. I looked down at my body assessing the damage and I had taken massive chunks of skin off my shins nearly to the bone as it appeared white and raw. Karine said to me "I thought we killed you" I finished the trip with a smile on my face but it did literally scar me for life!!!
Anyway back to present day.... This trip was very short and tame in comparison and it was a good way to ease me back in. :)
Next activity was ATV's. I remember going on one of these as a child in Menorca around a little track marked out with tyres and i remember crashing into the sides so this was going to be a challenge for me too. Kirstie got her lesson first and failed to stop when the guy shouted and nearly run him over. To be fair though she did exactly what he said. I got on and didn't move anywhere because I was too afraid to accelerate too fast. We both got the hang of it in the end though and it came easy after a while. We drove through villages and on dirt roads. My ATV looked pretty old and decided to keep switching itself off when I eased off the accelerator and then I found out that the wheels didn't turn right when I moved the handlebars. It's OK we didn't turn right much anyway! At the end of the ride we went into this little forest and got to do a few laps of a dirt track with small bumps we could jump over. So we did what you are meant to do - ride hard and put it away wet! Nobody fell off and parents before you ask.... Yes we wore helmets. We were nice and muddy for the third activity which was a small hike to a waterfall that you could swim in. We got there and people were sliding off rocks and plunging into the water at the top of the falls. Obviously we wanted a go. Firstly we tackled the smaller one that all the kids were doing and that was a peice of cake. Next was was the biggy. I went first. I sat at the top ready to slide. I must admit it looked quite scary because you are effectively sliding down a rock that had split in the middle and then landing in shallow water with rocks at the bottom. It seemed like you could get wedged between them but this didn't happen to anybody else so it must be OK. I know what your thinking and that didn't happen to us either. I went down and everything was OK but you do get bashed about a bit, I was also quite shocked when i hit my side on a rock in the landing zone. Kirstie went down and ended up laying back which wasn't such a good idea. She looked like a pinball going down, bouncing off each side. When she emerged from the water she said "ouch" She had hit her head on a rock underneath and done a complete flip underwater. This girl is one tough cookie and soldiered on anyway.
After an exhausting day we got back in the mini van absolutely shattered. Had a nice shower at the guesthouse and headed out for some food. After wandering around a bit we settled on an air conditioned (which is very important when choosing) American burger joint called big daddys. It was very good food. After we slowly walked back and went straight to bed.
Xoxo