On the Nile
To cap off a fruitful week in Uganda, we went white-water rafting in the Nile this past weekend. It was my first time really doing white-water rafting (we did some baby ones in Malaysia which totally did not count at all) and I was one part scared, one part excited to be in the Nile.
There were 4 rapids in all, 2 Level 5's and 2 Level 4's. The very first one was a level 5, and it was a straight drop! Note my wide open mouth.
In between rapids the water was calm. Because we got so hot paddling in between, it felt great to jump in the calm water and paddle and float with cormorants from time to time, and to enjoy the view of the lush river banks.
We had gone through three of the rapids and I was feeling pretty good about it - enjoying them kind of like intense boogie boarding. Perhaps we could get through without flipping! (We had practiced flipping once before we started, in calm water, and it was harder than I had expected to get out from under the raft.)
The last rapid didn't look as bad as the straight drop from the first, but the waters looked tumultuous. Our guide told us to paddle hard (I should have known! Paddling hard was to get us into the roughest waters!) and we went straight into the heart of the rapid. The raft flipped, and it was like nothing we practiced. I swallowed water from the start and was pushed by the current below the water for what seemed like minutes. I remember opening my eyes in the water and it was dark. At one point I resurfaced, found the boat and held on to the floating raft, but the water pushed it right over my head and I was sucked under water again. As I choked and drank more water, I started panicking, wondering if I was going to make it to the surface. After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally washed out of the rapids and above water, spitting up. (I was surprised to let out a giant burp, like Zeke does after milk!) Gasping hard as I held onto the rescue kayak, I had never felt more relieved to be alive.
One day I think I'll do this again, when the fear is less fresh. For now, I have newfound respect for water, and life insurance.
There were 4 rapids in all, 2 Level 5's and 2 Level 4's. The very first one was a level 5, and it was a straight drop! Note my wide open mouth.
In between rapids the water was calm. Because we got so hot paddling in between, it felt great to jump in the calm water and paddle and float with cormorants from time to time, and to enjoy the view of the lush river banks.
We had gone through three of the rapids and I was feeling pretty good about it - enjoying them kind of like intense boogie boarding. Perhaps we could get through without flipping! (We had practiced flipping once before we started, in calm water, and it was harder than I had expected to get out from under the raft.)
The last rapid didn't look as bad as the straight drop from the first, but the waters looked tumultuous. Our guide told us to paddle hard (I should have known! Paddling hard was to get us into the roughest waters!) and we went straight into the heart of the rapid. The raft flipped, and it was like nothing we practiced. I swallowed water from the start and was pushed by the current below the water for what seemed like minutes. I remember opening my eyes in the water and it was dark. At one point I resurfaced, found the boat and held on to the floating raft, but the water pushed it right over my head and I was sucked under water again. As I choked and drank more water, I started panicking, wondering if I was going to make it to the surface. After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally washed out of the rapids and above water, spitting up. (I was surprised to let out a giant burp, like Zeke does after milk!) Gasping hard as I held onto the rescue kayak, I had never felt more relieved to be alive.
 |
| The last rapid - right into the heart of the beast. |
One day I think I'll do this again, when the fear is less fresh. For now, I have newfound respect for water, and life insurance.
Comments
Post a Comment