Rafting--Take it or Leave it

Thursday from La Ceiba, we bused to a small town nearby called Sambo Creek. It is a Garífuna village that supposedly has lots of culture, music, and dance overflowing richly. Nope, not at 9 a.m. The Garífuna are the afro-caribeans that live on the coast of Honduras, Nicaragua, and in one town in Guatemala. They have their own language and lots of good hip-shaking, drum-beating music that we didn´t get to experience. We did, however, walk to a local creek (the Sambo? no sé) ,buy some CDs from a local restaurant owner (his personal copies!), and had a great lunch with a fabulous juice called Jamaica.

Back in La Ceiba, we decided to go on a rafting tour. Christie was initially excited, but then got all apathetic and we practically had to drag her there. After a half-hour drive to the Jungle Lodge, we put on our life jackets and our helmets, and drove 5 km up river. We first practiced following orders--Forward! Backward! Right Turn! Left Turn! On the floor! Lean back! Once we were skilled enough to row, we headed down the river, successfully passing through level 4 and 5 rapids, with a victorious Paddles up! and water smack after each. When we made it back to the lodge, we got out to eat some pineapple and watermelon before getting back in.

The only way to get back into the river was to jump off the cliff into the river below. That may be one of the most terrifying things I´ve done, but it was great! Back in the raft, we navigated much calmer rapids, but our 18 year old guide managed to flip Chrstie off on his second try. Later down, I really did fall off, right in the middle of all sorts of rocks and currents, racking up quite a few bruises on my elbows, knees, and bum. Added to the sunburn, carry my backpack felt really great after that! We were all sad to get to the end point, though, and Christie was convinced she was going to return the next day to do it again. Take it or leave it? She´s changed her mind now!