1 post tagged “mexico”
There are certain charasitics of the adventures of Egg, Face and Boy... they must involve running out of money... or almost running out of money...getting things for free and meeting strange people.
The girls kidnapped me the morning of my birthday and told me i would need togs, my crocs, a towel, and a fresh change of clothes. I thought we might be going canyoning but really had no idea.
We jumped in a taxi and got to the bus station at 7.30am. Then we got on a bus for an hour to a tiny town called Jilcomulco. From there we took another taxi and finally arrived at our destination at 9am. We were taken to sign one of those wavers saying that if we die we wont sue. We read the clause in English which had great phrases such as "I declare I have full possession of my physics and mental faculties". We corrected his English, then signed the form in Spanish as it was easier to understand.
Finally we headed off... White Water Rafting!
We got geared up... stood in the fridged water before jumping into the boat... announcing that the aim was not to have to get into the water at anytime. Tho it is summer the water is from the melting snow on one of the highest mountains in Latin America. Flipping cold. We headed off and were stuck in level 4 rapids within seconds. We went down a little waterfall and into the 'belly of the devil'. TThere was one rapid called the kiss of the frog. I asked why but the guide told me he would explain after we had done it. We flew down the rapid paddling as hard as we could to get down... but at the bottom there was a cliff wall. The guide screamed 'Atras! Atras!' (back, back) but we still hit the wall hard. The guys in the seat behind us flew forward into our backs. The guide smiled and just said... 'you have been kissed by the frogs' .Clever.
There was a point where we stopped and were allowed to climb a 5 metre rock and jump off. Our 'lets stay in the boat' ideal went out the door and we were up climbing the rock in our oversized lifevests and helmets that kept falling foward over our eyes. We had to miss other boats coming down the rapids. It was impossible not to let out the scream as i fell... losing my stomach and then trying to fight the urge to inhale sharply apon hitting the freezing water.
We continiued 28km down the river trying to translate the Spanish instructions into English as quickly as we could for the Americans in the boat with us. Sometimes I would yell forward and Cara would yell backward at the same time. It was all a little confusing.
When we got out of the river we had the first good shower we had had in a while (more on that later). Then some people asked us to have a beer with them to celebrate making it down the river. They found out that it was my birthday and invited us to lunch... but none of us had enough money for lunch so we tried to deny politly but we didnt have a reason to give them. I hate beating around the bush so finally i said that we didnt bring enough money for the bus and lunch. They laughed and said they were planning to pay anyway. We went down with them and sat there chatting over lunch for a couple of hours. They bought a piece of cake and put matches in it as they didnt have candles. Then they made an announcment over the loud speaker wishing me a happy birthday. They gave me a shot of birthday tequila which im sure was 2 shots and was way too much. Finally we left... a little tipsy. It was the first same day hangover I have ever had... that will teach me for having bad midday tequila shots. ha
We all fell asleep on the bus on the way home... waking to the stares of 3 children... who didnt stop staring when we stared back. Finally we got off and all stumbled painfully home and into bed for a rest. We had planned to continue the festivities over red Chilian wine and Camerbert cheese at La Chiva (where Jem got my mask) but we were all so exhausted that we couldnt move.
It was the best birthday ever and a great first adventure with the girls since we have all been back together from the ends of the earth.
