On Saturday I wasn't feeling too hot. We had done two hikes back to back and I knew that I needed rest. I met up with my best friend Hannah
*talk about rehearsal*
We ended up uniting with some more friends at the weekly farmer's market in Old Town.
This farmer's market is far more gourmet than anything you've seen in the US though.
I grabbed a schnitzel sandwich (that's right, like in the song "My Favorite Things") and some grapes, and we all headed to the river!
Victoria had also picked up some wine, and Hannah bought a few Mozart chocolate balls. John accidentally bought way too much salami, and Jesse did not realize that he was buying an entire loaf of bread. Needless to say, we all kind of shared and had a marvelous time. Christine had perfectly planned for her sandwich with the right amount of meat, cheese and bread...don't ask me how she did it. We all had a lovely time chatting and enjoying the view.
We walked around town and took care of a few errands, then went to Cafe Tomaselli, where Mozart used to dine, and drank coffee and ate delicious cake.
SUNDAY--
Canyoning. I must preface this entire paragraph with a warning: There is absolutely no way that words, nor photographs, not even VIDEOS could do this experience justice. It is truly indescribable.
The night before, even day before, I was freaking out. It only got worse as time inevitably ran out and it was time to meet up with everyone at the college. I couldn't stop expressing my worries to my friends, or just standing around quietly until hearing something that worried me, and then piping up to hush everyone from freaking me out even more than I already was...!
Finally, the canyoning guides from Crocodile Sports arrived at the college and drove us to our destination. I'm still not exactly sure where that was lol but I will let you know when I do. I know that it was around the area where the Salt Mines are.
Anyways, we soon arrived and stripped down to our bathing suits, were assigned a wet suit and put it on with further equipment (shoes, helmet, and harness). Putting the wetsuits on was a struggle. Even more than squeezing into skinny jeans right after they come out of the dryer and you had 5 too many brownies the night before. But something like that.
"This is already an adventure", I remarked to a friend as I watched everyone writhe in the stretchy material and crack up with the people around them while asking for help and reassurance.
After I put all my equipment on I felt pretty prepared for anything. My shoes were sturdy and fit properly, my head was protected, and my wetsuit was incredibly warm. My nerves started to fade.
Eventually we were all suited up and were following one of our leaders down the side of the canyon below.
Somehow I was leading the pack.
He instructed us to walk down the "ladder", which was made of ROOTS! Lol. Hardly a ladder. Barely able to move in my tight wetsuit, I did my best to quickly step down without falling. Soon I reached an actual metal ladder, so my confusion subsided.
We were given a safety talk, which stirred some of our nerves a bit. He mentioned that it was important to look up and around from time to time, to realize the beauty. I liked this bit of advice.
Before I knew it, it was time to get up and start the adventure, for real. My friend Leann and I sang "I Have Confidence" from the Sound of Music softly to each other in an attempt to get pumped. (I know, we're such girls).
All of a sudden, half of the group had disappeared around a bend, and I heard hooting and hollering followed by splashes
*Gulp*
They're already jumping in. We're jumping in. I'm jumping in.
To get to the first jumping area, we had to climb a bit. I can't tell you how out of my element I felt at first.
"Channel Tris", Leann reminded me, referring to the Divergent series that involves a sheltered girl choosing to abandon her old life to pursue a fearless one. [We're all been reading and talking about this series, the movie just came out in March].
Once again, minutes turned into seconds and seconds ran out and I was standing on the edge of a small cliff with the water before me. I was wondering desperately just how cold it was going to fill. I mentally and physically prepared myself for the kind of cold that takes your breath away.
And then, I jumped, trying to remember to keep my knees slightly bent, my feet together and my mouth completely closed. I feel for a short bit and hit the water. I don't know how deep the water was, but it felt like a second or two before I was at the surface again. It was cold, freezing cold, but my body still felt warm inside the wetsuit. It also made my buoyant, as did my shoes. I smiled. This was fun.
I swam over to everyone else who was basking in the sun by a rock, also in disbelief after the first jump.
Pretty soon I couldn't stop smiling.
I cheered for my friends Leann, Katie, and Hannah before they did their first jumps. Everyone did so successfully and seemed happy once they were swimming in the water.
I can't remember every detail of the course, but it involved swimming, sliding, jumping, and climbing. My favorite part was actually the climbing. Pretty soon I fell right into the groove, my muscles alive and my brain alert, moving quickly and efficiently. It feels great to be alive in that sense. Physically and mentally, survival instincts ticking like a clock.
Towards the beginning, we popped out individually through a small opening and the instructor just sort of laid you down and hooked your head up to the person behind you's feet. Before long we had constructed a human chain. Hannah and I held hands afterwards, and asked the instructor to snap a photo. I'll post that one soon. :)
There were two opportunities to do a high or low jump, and I am proud to say that I had the courage to try both high jumps. The first was terrifying because you had to take quite a large step out in front of you to avoid a lot of rock that was in the way. The second was much higher, approximately seven and a half meters. After this one, I felt like I was just falling and falling and falling and didn't know when I was going to stop, when I finally I hit the water.
Multiple times my feet hit rock on the bottom, so I was very grateful for my awesome shoes to protect me and if anything, help me bounce back up towards the surface.
All of a sudden I was slap happy. Somewhere between the release of fear and worry and the adrenaline rushes, I was more joyful than I had been in months. I felt brave, and that was a good feeling. My friends Katie and Hannah mentioned that they were proud of me, which made my heart swell even more. I also just enjoyed my first wetsuit experience, haha! This energy made me start fooling around, laying on my belly on rocks saying "I'm a beached whale. My best comedic moment (in my humble opinion), was at the very end of the adventure, when we were coming out of the water for good. I started running in slow motion and singing some kind of mash-up between the Chariots of Fire theme and "Rocky"...and then fell flat on my face. I got up, laughing, hoping someone had seen it! People had...they just didn't think it was as funny as I did. And then I knew that it was time to call it a day. Lol.
I felt my muscles working hard and properly at the beginning, but towards the end started to feel a little bit like jello. Other highlights include taking a group photo underneath a freezing cold waterfall, getting teased by the instructors once they realized how much fun I was having i.e. swimming by one saying "Don't splash me, only to be dunked.. Pushed into a hole, helped up, and then almost dropped again while being helped up...laughing the entire time. It was just so much fun.
I was so grateful that for most of the adventure the sun was shining brightly above us, warming our bodies in a way that the wetsuits just couldn't compete with. It was the perfect day.
I soaked in one last view of the canyon in all its glory, taking a mental photograph, before beginning the walk up the mountain. It was quite a hike, and after a while, I got to lead everyone, which gave me one last burst of adventure-confidence.
There truly are no words to do this experience justice. If you get the opportunity to go canyoning: GO!
Photos to come,
Princess Samantha
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