the guadalupe
so the phrase, 'floating down the river' has taken on whole new meanings since our trip yesterday. its not just a kick back, relaxing sunny float. let me just start at the beginning. first of all i'll say that it was ten times better than the may trip...maybe because the water wasnt 30 degrees. so, rielly, eileen, christian and i arrived in new braunfels - excited to float the river. our dear friend alison totally gave us the hookup at the place she worked at...and by totally i mean, it was completely free!! alison you are amazing - thanks so much again!!! so we were pretty excited especially bc we were going on a different part of the river than i had been on before and it was supposed to be better with more rapids and such.
speaking of rapids...yeah...so about five minutes into our 'float,' we came upon some rapids. well...i decided to take the 'near-death experience' route. i go down this one part and next thing i know im flipped outta my tube and being pulled down by the current i guess? well, whatever it was, it was real strong and kept me under for a while...i lost my tube and one of my chaco sandals...which are def. strapped on my feet but the water was so strong it pulled it off. so i reach the surface to my utter relief and am pretty much freaking out.
so then the search for my shoe starts. everyone coming over that same place is doing the exact same thing - flipping out and losing all possessions. there are guys with scuba gear hanging out looking for peoples stuff - we're thinking its like their day job. after about 15 minutes ive given up all hope of finding it and christians magic eyes spot it up on the bank...thank goodness for the scuba men!
so then we were able to continue on our ride...oh did i mention that the river had MILLIONS of people on it? yeah..it was insane. and it wasnt just people in tubes...an abnormally high number of people got the idea that renting a canoe or raft would be fun...so they were fun to maneuver around. so we went thru some other rapids and of course i flipped outta my tube..again. yeah, i dunno. so then this is the best part. we reached a part of the river where there was this big rock overhang and of course the same thing is going thru every boys mind - 'how can i get up there so that i can jump off?' well, it didnt take long to figure out that you could just climb thru the private property up to the top...shimmy down a part of the rock and be able to jump off the overhang into the river. so after rielly sees some guys do it successfully hes already climbing out of the river and goes and jumps off. so then us girls start thinking...'well, we could do that...' so we finally decide that we're just going to go up there and 'check it out.' so my heart is pounding as we're walking up to the top but im thinking...it cant be that bad right?? we get to the rock..shimmy ourselves down and riellys like, 'ya know, theres only one way down now.' so christian and i are like, cool...im terrifed..you? yeah. so i end up jumping first and its amazing how many things go thru your head while youre jumping..like...man, i wish i hadnt jumped..oh too late..oh, hold your breath. so the second im in the water i realize that something has gone terribly wrong bc my legs feel paralyzed. however, i realize they arent luckily and kinda doggy paddle over a rock to hang onto. what had happened was..while i was mid-air i decided it would be cool to land in a sitting position so that i wouldnt go into the water straight, but that my thighs would pretty much break my fall into the water. yeah, that is NOT smart. one day later, and the backs of my legs are just huge black and purple bruises. yeah, its real neat. sitting has suddenly become a challenge. plus, my whole upper body is sooo sore bc we decided we wanted to shorten the five and a half hour ride so we paddled a lot of the way. at least its a great workout!so all in all...this river trip was pretty intense...a lot more effort involved than past trips, but honestly, a lot more fun too. was it worth nearly losing my sandals and thinking i was dying? totally. do i regret jumping off a cliff and as a result having legs that look like someone took a baseball bat to them? absolutely not. if anything, it was a learning experience - jump in straight and always tighten your chacos. oh i love the river...lets go again...
speaking of rapids...yeah...so about five minutes into our 'float,' we came upon some rapids. well...i decided to take the 'near-death experience' route. i go down this one part and next thing i know im flipped outta my tube and being pulled down by the current i guess? well, whatever it was, it was real strong and kept me under for a while...i lost my tube and one of my chaco sandals...which are def. strapped on my feet but the water was so strong it pulled it off. so i reach the surface to my utter relief and am pretty much freaking out.
so then the search for my shoe starts. everyone coming over that same place is doing the exact same thing - flipping out and losing all possessions. there are guys with scuba gear hanging out looking for peoples stuff - we're thinking its like their day job. after about 15 minutes ive given up all hope of finding it and christians magic eyes spot it up on the bank...thank goodness for the scuba men!
so then we were able to continue on our ride...oh did i mention that the river had MILLIONS of people on it? yeah..it was insane. and it wasnt just people in tubes...an abnormally high number of people got the idea that renting a canoe or raft would be fun...so they were fun to maneuver around. so we went thru some other rapids and of course i flipped outta my tube..again. yeah, i dunno. so then this is the best part. we reached a part of the river where there was this big rock overhang and of course the same thing is going thru every boys mind - 'how can i get up there so that i can jump off?' well, it didnt take long to figure out that you could just climb thru the private property up to the top...shimmy down a part of the rock and be able to jump off the overhang into the river. so after rielly sees some guys do it successfully hes already climbing out of the river and goes and jumps off. so then us girls start thinking...'well, we could do that...' so we finally decide that we're just going to go up there and 'check it out.' so my heart is pounding as we're walking up to the top but im thinking...it cant be that bad right?? we get to the rock..shimmy ourselves down and riellys like, 'ya know, theres only one way down now.' so christian and i are like, cool...im terrifed..you? yeah. so i end up jumping first and its amazing how many things go thru your head while youre jumping..like...man, i wish i hadnt jumped..oh too late..oh, hold your breath. so the second im in the water i realize that something has gone terribly wrong bc my legs feel paralyzed. however, i realize they arent luckily and kinda doggy paddle over a rock to hang onto. what had happened was..while i was mid-air i decided it would be cool to land in a sitting position so that i wouldnt go into the water straight, but that my thighs would pretty much break my fall into the water. yeah, that is NOT smart. one day later, and the backs of my legs are just huge black and purple bruises. yeah, its real neat. sitting has suddenly become a challenge. plus, my whole upper body is sooo sore bc we decided we wanted to shorten the five and a half hour ride so we paddled a lot of the way. at least its a great workout!so all in all...this river trip was pretty intense...a lot more effort involved than past trips, but honestly, a lot more fun too. was it worth nearly losing my sandals and thinking i was dying? totally. do i regret jumping off a cliff and as a result having legs that look like someone took a baseball bat to them? absolutely not. if anything, it was a learning experience - jump in straight and always tighten your chacos. oh i love the river...lets go again...
posted by Kate at 4:01 PM
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