calling from some city...

Today was a clear highlight of the trip so far for me. It was the day of our canyoning excursion. So when Sara and Scott first mentioning the trip and they definitely wanted to go, I was hesitant. It looked thrilling and fun, but given my fear of heights and the fact I am not an adventure junkie, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go. But I watched the little video shown about canyoning at the hostel and then looked it up online and found it was something I really wanted to do. It’s definitely an opportunity I wouldn’t have elsewhere, so I was really looking forward to it. Of course, I was nervous about the cliff jumping.
Canyoning is basically trekking along streams up in the mountains and doing fun stuff along the way. It involves some climbing up, over, and down rocks, wadding through streams, sliding down rocks and mini waterfalls/streams, rappelling down some cliffs, and cliff jumping. So it definitely is a pretty intense type of trip. We woke up at 8:30 and ate breakfast. I was a little nervous so I didn’t eat much. Luckily at breakfast, we happened to meet 4 other people who would be going on the trip with us that day. Jason, Kelsey, Brianna, and Victoria were from Canada and traveling together. They were very friendly and nice so I knew it was going to be a fun day.
A little after 9, we met our guide and picked out our wet suits. The suits were very thick because they had padding in them and also were lifesavers. So we had  overall-type pants to put on and then a jacket over that. But first we had to drive about 45 minutes to the cliff we were going to. Along the way we stopped to get sandwiches for later. We also met the 8th person in the group, Matt, who was Australian.
We got to the parking pull off area and pulled on our wet suits. It was pretty tight and uncomfortable and difficult to walk in. We also got our harnesses and helmets. We then started walking and climbing up some rocks- and then I saw the first thing were where doing to do: rappel down the side of a cliff, which also had water spouting down it. The cliff/rock dipped down gradually at first and then just shot straight down into a little pooled area, which was where we needed to be. I immediately got nervous because it seemed like a really far way to go. After Scott and Jason went, it was my turn. Now, we didn’t get any training at all how to do this. I get really nervous going to the edges of places, because I have this fear I am doing to slip and fall. So I was teetering close to the edge and the guy is just telling me to sit back and go. I had no clue what he wanted me to do. After about a minute, I got in position and he kept hitting my knees to keep them straight. Basically you just lean backwards, keeping your legs straight out in front of you and walk down that way, letting out some of the rope a little at a time. It was pretty tough at first but luckily Scott was at the bottom shouting instructions at me. I slipped and had a little trouble getting back in position because I couldn’t get my legs back on the very wet and slippery rocks. Anyways, it was fine and once I got halfway down, I got the hang out it and enjoyed myself.
We all got down and then had to rappel down a smaller cliff, but one with even more water. This time was easier and went quicker for me. It was fun, though a bit scary when you’re just leaning backwards. I knew I had the rope, but still it was nerve racking.
The next 2.5ish hours were filled with climbing through the streams, over rocks, and jumping off cliffs along the way. So there were 3 main big jumps that you could choose to climb up to and jump or stay at the bottom. I’m really terrified of heights so I did not know if I would be able to do this. But I did the first jump! It was about 7.5 meters high, and it just felt soooo high standing up there. I had to think about it a long time before just going. The guide was funny. He pointed to Jason, who was waiting behind me. He told me he was a member of the Taliban and was coming after me. That loosened me up a bit and I jumped! I was very surprised at myself and glad I did that. The other 2 huge jumps were about 8.5 meters and then 11. I didn’t attempt those; I felt happy with what I did earlier. When I landed in the water though, my feet hit the water and then kicked out, so I landed on my butt and it’s very sore now.
Along the whole trip there were mini jumps to take. Everything seems so high! Even a jump of only 4-5 meters that I had to take (it wasn’t possible to get down any other way. The others jumped from 11 meters, which was sooo high). That actually was a pretty scary moment. To get to the smaller platform, me and the guide had to cross a realllly big waterfall, not slip and fall down into it, and then shimmy across some rocks (again, and not slip) and then get to the platform and jump. It also seemed high to me. Anyways, I did that jump though.
Some other areas involved climbing up some pegs that had been drilled into the rocks, and they hung over a cliff/waterfall, so I was sure to be extra cautious and not slip. It was a ton of fun just floating down the rivers and climbing through the rocks. We also got to do several rock slides. Basically you sit where there is a current doing down rocks, and use that as a slip-n-slide! It’s a lot fun. The second one we went head first and there is a rock that overhangs at the bottom, so it looks like you are heading straight for it, but then you drop into the water and swim right under it. Very cool. The last one was huge, with a very strong current, and then a drop of about 8 feet that you fall down into the water. Scott went first and warned me beforehand that the water would drag me under at first, but I would pop up. And thats exactly what happens. You gain a lot of speed really quickly (you start laying down on your back) and then you slide off the rock and fall and land in the water. You get pushed down further from the stream of the water, but it brings you right back up. It was a ton of fun, so I went again.
We eventually made it to the end of the trip, and had to hike up the cliff. It wasn’t too long- maybe 10 minutes, but it was steep and tiring and difficult to move in the wet suits. It was also rather cold and cloudy out today- easily the worst weather day we’ve had in Europe cause we’ve been so lucky, and the water was freezing, so we were cold.
But we made it back to the van and got driven back to the hostel. Sara and Scott packed up, and after warm showers, I headed to the supermarket for snacks, while they headed for their overnight train. I got back to the hostel and immediately met a new girl in my room, Kristen. She’s from Canada and we spent the next 3 hours sharing stories about our travels and eating delicious ribs cooked by the hostel. So that was great getting to know someone new. Now I’m off to bed early because I have a very early wake up for my train in the morning. I’m off to Paris!!