You'll have to excuse the quality of the photos, they aren't digital but the waterproof disposables. I figured that was the best way to go so each of us had our own camera which the boys truly enjoyed as they could snap whatever they wanted.
Mr. L's good friend, the guide, did "dumptruck" us and I apologize there are no action shots of that wonderful experience. There are photos of the aftermath but I have to order them from the company that sits like vultures at each of the rougher spots on the river and takes photos of people flippin' and dippin' and nose+toesing it. Let's just say that when Mr. L told me that on all his trips with his friend, no one had ever fallen out of the boat, I KNEW it was going to happen to us. You don't bring Murphy's Law Girl along and not get dumptrucked! I've had it happen before in the early 90's when I went whitewater rafting with my best friend J. So when the boat tipped, we all fell out except the guide and Mr. L's oldest son. The guide was hauling people in right and left and I was the last one in the boat, of course. (That happened last time with J!) We lost three oars out of seven. I'd been sitting towards the front of the boat and when I fell out, that's where I popped up. I was able to open my eyes once to see where I was, heard the guide yell everyone to grab the boat, so I grabbed the rope along the side, and then promptly went under a wave which was the end of me having my eyes open coz my contacts were no longer centrally eye-located. I still had my oar at this point but the waves were so big that I made the instinct decision to "screw the oar and hold the rope with both hands". While I was doing that, Mr. L, his oldest, and the son of the other couple on the trip all were holding on to me but because we were still going thru very big rapids, they couldn't pull me in the boat. The front of the boat where I was is the highest in the water so they had to wait for calmer water. All I know is that my eyes were shut, I had a death grip on the rope, whoever was holding me had a death grip (I didn't know who it was until I'd been hauled in and they told me), I could hear Mr. L's oldest telling me to hold on and they had me, and I felt the boat tilting in the rapids before I would get deluged each time and my legs sucked under the boat. I was trying very hard not to hyperventilate once they got me in the boat. I did swallow quite a bit of river water and had some pretty big unladylike belches for about half and hour afterwards.
This is us at a MUCH calmer spot in the river. Mr. L is on the far left, then the couple we went with, Mr. L's friend the guide is in the sunglasses in the back, Mr. L's youngest is lounging in the middle while his oldest takes the photo, and all the other kids are the other couple's. Such super nice people. Not sure why the girl has that expression as that is not how she was actually feeling.
This was taken by Mr. L's oldest as he was drifting in the swimming part of the river. That's all of us in the boat. I'd had enough of being in the water so I passed on floating.
Me and Mr. L resting directly after our spill. I should have taken my life jacket off too, it reeked of mothballs.
Mr. L's youngest was experimenting before we got on the river and got us in the corner, I cropped the pic and made us front and center.
I had a blast, the boys and Mr. L did too!
1 comment:
Nice blog ^_^. seems like you all have a great time in the river. the pictures are great too. im a rafting fan also and i do rafting every vacation. thanks for this post?
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