White-Water Rafting

The white-water rafting on Sunday (23rd) was excellent fun and definitely one of the highlights of our time here. I had never done it before as was very keen to have a go and tick another "extreme" sport off of the list (and especially as I had seen my brother´s video of his trip down the Zambeze). As we are in mid-autumn at the moment the rivers running through the Andes aren´t as high as they can be and because of this the rapids aren´t as dangerous as they can be (they are currently a class II or III, but in the summer they are III and IV - and I think V is the maximum classification). Even though I knew this I was hoping for some good action, and I was glad to be placed at the front of the raft.

The backdrop was sensational as we drifted/rowed/floated down the River Mendoza. The Andes are very impressive and we were lucky enough to do it on a cloudless day so the views of the mountains and the Condors that flew overhead were uninterrupted (and their wingspan is more that ten feet). Most of the rapids were pretty tame and we got a good soaking but I did go overboard on one occasion. It all happened in slow motion, and I seemed to lose my balance and foot hold as the front of the raft went down into this wall of water. I fell over the side, but manged to hang onto the raft. I was then rather unceremoniously hauled back into the raft by the guide. It was FREEZING in that water and a definite shock to the system. It is one thing being splashed by the water, but another to submerged in Andean river water at this time of the year. It has definitely given me a taste for more white-water action though, and hopefully the rapids will be of a higher class when we do it again in the future.