Squelch, squelch. Squige Squige. Some how the even scorching midday heat just isn't enough to dry out the sodden wet-shoes provided as part of the kit here at 'activate water-sports'. They suck onto my feet like soggy limpets. "Oo it's quite refreshing really, putting on wet kit on such a hot day," mum says, proudly yanking on her 'size small' wet-suit which the nice instructor-man picked out for her. Somehow I can't agree with her. It feels like I have wet-fish wrapped around my feet. Not a pleasant feeling.
We've all already signed our lives away on the form which basically states "if you break a leg, don't blame us," so I suppose there's no turning back now. White water rafting, here we come.
One rickety land-rover drive along the riverside later, we were clambering into our assigned places according to weight. My family were all in one boat along with a foreign family - possibly polish - so the two Dads where the driving force at the front, then my sister and I just behind, the Mums behind us and the other children at the back. To my delight, our boat was governed by the more lovely-looking of the two instructor-men, who turned out to have the wit as well as the looks (score!), and told us later that he actually used to be a banker but is now 'trying something different' this summer... Pretty huge contrast!
After a regulatory instruction about how to survive in the 'unlikely' event of falling out the boat, our boat was the first of two to set off onto the raging river.
'Rivers for rafting are measured by their difficulty - 1 to 5, five being most difficult, this is about a 2 to 3,' our instructor had said before we set off. OK, so maybe my hair won't get too wet then...? This prediction was entirely wrong, of course!
We took what felt like the paddle of faith into the central flow of the river, and within 3 seconds it was as if we'd hit the mother of all speed-bumps. The front of the boat flopped downwards and, with that, a white water wave propelled it's way over the top of the boat and got us all completely soaked. Right, I will need a hair wash and blow-dry later after all!
The roughest bit of the river was over and it had settled down a bit, just as we naively awaited the next challenge. We were instructed to pull into a little cove on the side of the river and hop out the boats. Too much excitement was flying around the group for me to notice how mysterious and secretive the instructors were being about why we had stopped. The whole group was lead round to a spot on the edge of the raging river, just upstream from the cove where our boats were. The group of us stood on a pile of hefty riverside rocks whilst the instructors demonstrated that we were to jump one at a time into the river - exactly between two piles of rock, "Zere are stones here, and zere are stones zere," the instructor of our boat says, as he points at one place, then at another, just two or three feet to the left of it, "we will jump in middle." Excuse me? My sister and I exchange an 'are you having a laugh?' look. But no, they may be laughing a bit, but I reckon it was more from seeing our shocked faces of disbelief than because they were having us on. They were deadly serious.
One by one the group tentatively shuffled forwards towards the front of the queue ready to do the death-jump. "Active swim! Active swim!" Shouts the instructor to each person as they struggle to shuffle themselves out of the main flow of water and into the safety of the cove. My turn. I had shotgunned the first jump between my sister and I so that I'm not left lonely to take my leap of faith (got in there first, score!). 1, 2, 3... Jump!
After watching a small boy in front of me flop down on the rocks and knock his knee on the way into the water, I knew I could not afford to have any reservations with my jump! I propel myself into the water exactly between the two death-trap-rocks (thank god!). Injuries received: Zero! My plan worked ;)
Once the initial disbelief had passed that I hadn't dived headfirst into a jagged rock and knocked myself out, a few long seconds after entering the water, the cold hit me. It was about 30+ degrees up here in the mountains, but that made no difference to this stubborn ice-bath of a river. No, this had remained an ice bath from what felt like the ice-age. Struggling just like everyone else to avoid the unlikely, but terrifying fate of being swept away by the river, I wish I could say the water was refreshing... Well it definitely was exhilarating to say the least!
Well somehow leaping into body-numbingly freezing, raging river water appealed to me, because I found myself queuing up - along with most of the others in the group - for a second jump! Oh how this strange, wonderful world works!
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