We got up early and packed up camp. Cassela misplaced her GoPro cord so we went to buy another one so we could film our upcoming adventure. We didn't have to be at the rafting base until 11:45 so we took our time driving there, which was a little ways out of town. We stopped by the place just to check in and then went to the local store next door which was really cute and small. We ordered food along with an amazing coconut pineapple smoothie which happened to go really well with tequila.. Back at the base, we got our life jackets, booties, and helmets. After signing the waiver, all of us walked across the street to the river. We helped unload the rafts, went over a short briefing, and then we got the boats in the water.
In our boat, there was a girl from Texas who was with her roommate from Auckland, a guy from Sydney, and our guide's name was Cam. We were one of the first boats down the river for the 12 o'clock float. All of us jumped into the water in a calm area of the river and the water was quite warm and the three of us were glad we didn't wear wet suits. A little further up, there was a small cliff sticking out into the river that we climbed up on and jumped off. We went over a few small but fun waterfalls and a good sized one too that we actually had to get down low in the boat for and hold on.
It was a gorgeous sunny day and the narrow canyon through the jungle was so pretty. Everyone was having a fun time on the river and we were splashing the people and guides in other boats when they'd splash us as they were going by. Before we went over the big waterfall, all the boats huddled up and we went over what we should do for it. We also said a chant/prayer to respect the natives for going over their sacred waterfall/burial area. We floated a little closer to the falls and Cam reminded us what to do. We watched a few boats go over before we did. Once it was our turn, we all ducked down really low in the boat and held on tight. I got a good view of the falls before tucking my head down like we were suppose to. We all screamed and the raft nose dived and we became completely submerged. As the boat surfaced, it shot straight up almost vertically and I was so happy we didn't flip. We all started celebrating that we made it over successfully, it was a cool feeling. It all really happened so fast, one moment we were drifting towards the beginning of the falls and a half a second later we were down in the pool below it.
Cam kept the boat in the pool as we watched the rest of the boats come over the falls. It was pretty neat to watch everyone else and only one boat flipped over. The people went for a little swim while a few were trapped under the boat for a minute and then the guide had to flip the boat over with a rope. After a bit, we continued down the river. We went over a few more little falls, one where Cam said we could get out and go over on our own. We all drifted on our backs with our feet going downstream and plunged over the falls. It was pretty sweet even though I got pushed under. Back in the boat, we went over another little rapid and we all stood up on the edges of the raft with our oars jammed into the crevasses below us. As we went over the falls, no one was able to keep their balance and the six of us all fell on one another like dominos and we all started laughing. We tried this one more time and only some of us fell. All along the way, we were splashing people in other boats and everyone had so much fun playing in the water, it was an awesome trip.
We reached the ending point and we helped haul the boats and oars up the hill to the trailers. The bus ride was short back to the base where we returned the life jackets and booties. We chatted with other people while we waited for our pictures to be sorted. We viewed them all as a group and a lot of them turned out really great. Our facial expressions in some of them are quite comical. We split the cost of the USB with our group and then headed for the car but not until Michealla got Cam's number ;)
On our way back to town, there was a guy standing next to his car practically in the roadway on a blind corner and hill as we went over it. It was a freaky situation and we just barely missed him. We were a bit shaken up and glad nothing bad happened. We stopped at Pita Pit for lunch and then shopped at a small store next door for veggies and fruit. We made a stop at Liquor Land and then headed towards the lake to find a spot to relax at. After a lot of driving around, we didn't find much of a beach or a public area near it so we just settled on laying at a dock across the road from the rafting base on the lake. We figured we'd stay another night in this area since it was treating us well. We hung out for a bit and then Cam and one of his coworkers walked over and chilled with us for a bit.
After some time, the three of us and Cam walked across the street and up to his place. We hung out for awhile and cracked a few beers. Then we made our way over to the base where a lot of the guides and a few other visitors were at. It was a big day for all of them so there was reason for a little celebration. Their highest number of clients in a single day was about 160, but on this day they had 198. Everyone was having beers, listening to music, and chatting. After a bit, we got out our deck of cards so about six of us played a game of go fish, which was a hilarious mess of a game. Then someone brought over paper cups and we played flip cup a few times. They taught us this other game with a single cup which was fun. It was getting dark and everyone was getting a bit more buzzed so everyone rounded up and we headed towards Cam's place nearby.
On the way there, Cassela being a bit drunk and "slightly" stubborn, thought she knew the right way to go, so she headed right and we went left. Her way was towards a patch of trees (and remember it's quite dark out) and I'm in a small group and I hear one of the guys say, yeah go towards the sewage hole. The next moment Cassela disappears and falls straight down into the pit. It was so funny. We keep walking and I look back and see her coming out of the hole and then she decided to come in our direction.
At the house, everyone was drinking and having a good time listening to good music. We busted into Cam's big box of cookies (biscuits) and someone who showed up brought a sleeve of crackers and a block of cheese. Everyone loves snacks when they're drinking. The night went on and someone turned on a strobe light. After awhile, the party dwindled and some people left and some passed out in the living room. I scored a couch with a blanket.
