It feels like surfing

Take a breath before the plunge. Do you feel nervous? You shouldn't. People around you do this for fun, the locals seem to be enjoying themselves, but the river heightens your awareness. You count to three as you cautiously glance at your friends...then you jump.

Disorientation. Water splashing all around. Action is everywhere. You feel the sharp rocks scrape your feet and remember to pull your legs up. Vision blurred, so you squeeze your contacts to focus. Veering right, a bridge looms ahead. As you attempt to grab the edge of the bridge something feels a bit strange. Your bikini bottoms are slipping down your legs. You desire freedom...but not that kind! Letting go of the bridge pulls you underwater. Coughing you reach the surface and realize you are being pulled at a rapid rate down the river. You see locals clinging to rocks and branches, you remember to swim left to disembark, but the journey isn't over. Pulling yourself out of the rushing water is a challenge. The rocks are slippery with green moss and other living organisms. Essentially, you a pulling yourself up into a forest with branches that poke and scratch. Once out of the turbulence you do it all over again. You realize it was totally worth the bruises, totally worth the initial disorientation. Such a rush!

I hear a conversation between another first timer and a local, who replies after his first go, "It feels like surfing, man!" I agree. What a beautiful July afternoon it turned out to be.

*An amazing picture (shown above) taken by Kelsey...thank you :)