Up ahead I could see large churning rapids. “FORWARD!” Ferdinand yelled. And we all furiously paddled as hard as we could. Copa zipped past in the little kayak and we watched the fragile boat bounce off a rock and flip upside down. Our big raft was bearing right down on him. Surely, we were going to go right over Copa and crush him!
Suddenly I heard another cry from Ciel and I turned to see her mouth covered in blood. “What happened?” I yelled, loosening my grip on my paddle.
“FORWARD! DON’T STOP! FORWARD VERY FAST!” The boat was bucking through the rapids, pitching from side to side. What ever happened to Copa? As I paddled, I sneaked a look back at Ciel and I could see her blinking back the tears as she raked her paddle through the rapids.
After we got through, Copa came sailing up as if nothing had gone wrong, and Ferdinand came back to examine Ciel. Apparently in her dismay at seeing the near accident she whacked herself in the chin with her paddle and split her lip. The blood was still gushing, but the guides waved it away with big smiles, saying “Nada! It’s nothing!” They gave her a tissue and some water to rinse her mouth, and I winced at how hard she was trying not to cry. I smiled as reassuringly as I could and wondered how much longer till we get to the take-out.
I turned my attention back to hard paddling, and before we knew it we were back at the camp, excitedly interrupting each other with our individual stories of the trip. We joined the other rafters at the café and sipped Quilmesbeers while Spanish and English blended in waves of conversation as we waited for the bus. We were now best of friends with the four Israelis, and Ferdinand and Copa sat at our table and laughed with us for a while. Even Ciel was smiling through her swollen lower lip.
On the bus ride back down the mountain, I drifted off into a doze, dreaming of the day’s adventure. The Argentinean classification system for white water rafting is clearly a bit different than the one we use here in the U.S. But would I do it again? In a red-hot second! That heart-pounding adventure was one of the highlights of my trip.
Next Story: Philippines
Also Read: Peru - by Sarah O'Leary
All photos in this story courtesy of Sarah O'Leary