White Water

Day 271- It was our first day of rafting and it started with a super fast safety briefing. This was followed by sending all the rafts down the bank then cueing us up into two boat teams. Then we were in the water, just like that. We were all beyond excited and a little scared to begin our day on the Tamur River.

Apparently the river had changed a lot since the earthquake one year prior so we needed to scout out some of the sections before we could go through. Not 90 seconds after we had pushed off the river's edge we were crashing through some gigantic rapids! (The biggest rapids of the trip actually!) It was crazy, we hadn't even practiced our rowing commands. Luckly, we had an amazing team on our boat and we figured out a great system for communicating the commands to one another while smashing through the rapids. We called ourselves the Bonnie Beavers, the perfect name for a boat full of Canadians and one Scot! 

We stopped for lunch. And so the killing begins! Mike was one of the first to get blood on his hands when he killed Colin with a cup, by the rivers edge. Also, we just about had a real fatality when Ceri almost laughed to death at the sight of me trying to skip rocks! Needless to say it was an interesting lunch break. Also, as if my poor rock skipping skills were not enough embarrassment for one day, I stepped off of a sand bank and discovered that it was not the golden sand I had expected. Instead, it was a giant drop off into the river!  My head went under the water and it gave me quite the shock. Mike laughed hysterically. 

After another 40min on the river we pulled over to make camp. We had the whole afternoon to relax and take it all in at the campsite. We had our tents set up overlooking the fast paced river and the clean mountain air tickled our noses. The best part... we had 5 more days of this. We were all quite happy with our current situation in life. 

Our crew made us the most delicious treats... POPCORN! Mike was in heaven. 

We played some more euchre with Victoria, Eric, Colin, Cody and Christine.  Even though no one really said it out loud, Mike and I were obviously the up and coming duo to look out for. All we had to do was remember the rules... and play the right cards... and not mess up.  

Mike was itching to get physical and the crew had a volleyball so they engaged in an intense game of volleyball before dinner. They were smashing the ball super hard and the guides were really good. 

We were in the most perfectly peaceful environment to enjoy a hot delicious meal by the river. 

Unfortunately, it was my time to go and Will was the one to take my life, at dinner, with a cup* but Mike was still alive and well, not to mention he had notched himself two more kills since lunch. All in a days work for a mass murderer like Mike. 

The crew put out candles at each of our tents to help us find our way and it set the mood for a chill night on the river. 

Day 272- We all packed up our gear and prepped for another day on the water. At breakfast, many of us watched in horror, as Rowen holding an 8ft stick, started walking straight for Mike. 'Miiiiiiiiiiike, look Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuut!'. His time had come, it was time for him to die. By this point Rowen was becoming quite the serial killer and her spree was just beginning. 

We had a wild ride on the rapids after hitting some class 3 and 4+ sized rapids and we even lost one of our teammates in the shallow water. No, not to the murderous hands of Rowen, although I'm sure if a paddle had been one of the games weapons she wouldn't have hesitated to push Jeff under the waves. Instead, it was a giant rock that jarred the boat and sent Jeff into the fast moving shallow water. It was a bad place to loose a rafter because the water wasn't deep enought to swim but was too deep and powerful to stand up. It could have caused way more damage to Jeff's ankle had it not been for the quick reactions of our guide Surya. After Surya ripped him back in the raft, Jeff was back in position ready to row us throught the next set of rapids, without complaint. His ankle had a big bruise but nothing he couldn't forget about with the excitement of the rapids to come.

Watching how the crew navigated the heavy gear boats down the river was incredible. With only two large oars, they easily moved about the rapids.  

After lunch the wind picked up and our strength was put to the test. We had to paddle against the wind for what seemed like forever. Once we finally found a place to make camp for the night, everyone was exhausted. Some napped while Rowan, Ceri and I tried to find a way to get our hands on some rum to take away the sting of the blowing sand. It was so windy and there was no shelter from the sparkly aggressive sand that covered everything. It looks quite serene in the photo below but those waves of sand were created by the blasting wind and our mettle was being tested, big time!

Below are the guides waiting out the wind like the rest of us. Nothing to do when the wind is blowing that hard.

After the sun disappeared behind the mountains, so did the wind and it was time to set up camp. Everyone was still pretty low from the long day so I put on some Bob Marley. He gave us the boost we needed to raise our spirits as well as our tents. 

Suddenly, all the craziness from the day was behind us and we had the whole night in front of us to enjoy our surroundings. 

The candles lit up our campsite once again and we all settled in around our mini campfire (candle) to listen to music and take in the calmness of the night. This also gave Rowan the location she needed to perform the last and final murder of the game. Christine sensed the cold chill that pre-cursed the murdurous deed but she had no where to go! With the world as a witness, Rowan killed Christine with a diabolical laugh that pierced into the nights air! I've never seen someone so happy to kill so many people!! Then she said 'she'd won!'... oh dear... she was sick with power. Although we were told by the guides on night number one to to watch out for bandits who might steal our stuff, we found ourselves watching Rowans tent instead of the surrounding tree line. 

Day 273- We woke up feeling refreshed and ready for another day of rafting. This time, Rowan and I took a turn up at the front of the boat. 

We did quite well at the front and we channelled our woman strength to get us through the big rapids. We may have been tossed around a bit but we had fun with it and we took our job very seriously. 

The two kayakers below were there for both our safety and our entertainment. They would ride the rapids like a surfer would ride a wave and they always had smiles on their faces. 

We stopped at a farm on the side of the river for a pee break and to buy some meat for dinner. The family didn't have any chickens but they did have a pig. One single pig. Our guides bought it and we were all excited to eat some fresh pork for dinner. We paddled on a little further until we found a beach to rest for the night. The wind was crazy again and the sun was insanely hot. As the sun began to set, the wind subsided and everyones energy returned for another great night on the river. We set up camp, showered in the river and watched as our guides prepared the pig for dinner. 

WARNING...if you don't want to see the pig being butchered, please scroll past the next photo. Pass the second dotted line and you are good to keep reading. 

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We had the task of building a wind wall to keep the fire from being blown out so we got to work on that and collected as much fire wood as we could find on our river bank. As you can see below, we took our job seriously and the fire went up like a giant tourch. 

                         

The air in Nepal is even dryer than Calgary, so one match is all it would take. While the guys barbecued up a storm, we settled in for some more euchre. 

It was a bit of a controversial start to this strategic game because everyone kept fighting over who would get to play with Mike and I. Like I said before, Mike and I were quickly establishing ourselves as regular sharks and it became pretty clear that their years of experience playing the game was no match for our raw talent. Okay Colin... you can be my partner this time.... I'll give Will a rest from all this winning. 

We all stayed up pretty late, allowing the amazing pork feast to digest in our tummies. This also gave everyone a chance to have a turn playing on Mike and I's team, so that was a nice bonus for them. 

Day 274- I woke up early and had the pleasure of watching the sun rise over the mountains. 

Our incredible crew working hard to prepare us another delicious breakfast.

Everyone seemed pretty tired and there's a good chance the meat was the cause. Our bodies were working hard to digest the delicious meat. Mike and I were both fighting off a bit of a cold and although we were excited to get back on the river, we knew we had a lot of ground to cover to make up for the previous windy days. 

It was great to paddle past the little villages and wave to the villagers that were just excited to see us as we were to see them. I have a lot of respect for our guides and their interactions with the locals. On several occasions I saw them giving food to the locals as well as playing with the kids at the rivers edge. I'm sure that many of the kids we passed looked up to the guides and I later found out that we were only one of very few rafting trips that would go down the Tamur river, given its remote location in Nepal. No wonder they seemed so excited to see us. 

                  

We played a few of Surya's raft games which resulted in us(me) falling into the cold refreshing water, a lot. 

I captured the photo below with our water proof camera so the quality is lacking but I was happy to get a look at one of these beautiful Kingfisher birds that lived in the area. 

We stopped at a village to buy some fresh veggies and beer before paddling to our campsite for the night. The evening continued like many others, a river shower, delicious dinner and euchre. Colin, who was my main partner, was actually getting a little frustrated with me. I think because I was making so many sweet moves in a row that we weren't giving the other teams a sporting chance. It's cool, I can recognize when I am too good for my own good. 

Day 275- Our last real day on the river began with a beautiful sunrise. 

The day was filled with white water, after white water and we were all pumped to get in some awesome rapids on our last day. At one point we hit a big dip and our guide Surya fell out. All I heard was 'HELP HELP, SOMEONE SAVE ME', without hesitation, I mustered up my Portuguese strength, grabbed Surya's life jacket with one hand, continued to paddle with the other, pulled him out of the water and tossed him back into position at the stern of the boat. Thanks to my quick reaction, we didn't even miss a stroke.  Oh ya and unfortunately everyone else in the boat was so focused on paddling that no one saw it go down... darn that's too bad. 

This day on the river was the ultimate rafting experience. It was non stop action and we were sad when it was all over. We parked up on a beautiful beach for the remainder of the day and enjoyed our last moments in the sun with our incredible group, and goats. 

Below, the gracious ladies... and Alex.

Mike and a few others played with the locals kids who came over to observe us. 

Below are five of the lovely souls we had the pleasure of rafting, playing euchre and camping with. 

As we settled in for our last night on the river we enjoyed some great conversation while we surrounded Ceri in a circle of healing. Each person sacrificed something to bring positive vibes her way. (This included a 5 rupee note, some hair, a candy, maybe just the candy wrapper and some toe nails) Late night, the crew came over and taught us some games using sticks as the main component and we all had a blast trying to crack their tricky riddles. 

The sun fell and we noticed a red light up on the top of the mountian across the river. No more than an hour later, Mike woke me up to see what had become a full blown forest fire! 

We knew by morning the whole side of the mountain would be burned up and it was sad to think about the villages and animals who would be affected. 

Day 276- Another early morning to start off the day. 

The crew cooking our last breakfast before we hit the water. 

Our amazing team before our last paddle of the trip!

Oh boy did the Bonnie Beavers love a good paddle high five!!! YEA!

Knowing that our river adventure was coming to an end was leaving me with a sad heart. I knew it meant we were closer to the end of our own adventure and I wasn't ready. I'm still not ready. 

                        

On the way to our drop off point we stopped off at a small temple in a village. 

                        

 

                        

The temple is well known for the large piece of copper you see in the photo below. The metal was discovered years ago and it was said that only those with a good heart will be able to lift the stone. As a part of the myth that surrounds the rock, we all put four fingers on the rock and lifted together. Good news! Our hearts are as solid as that stone. 

                      

We headed back to the river to see this smart little guy burried in a nook on the beach. 

On the way to the pick up location we hit our last and final rapid. A rapid that took us all by surprise and shook us so aggressively that we were all stunned and slightly injured. Rowan punched herself in the face and bit her own hand, Mike fell into the boat, Jeff fell into Eric whose head jerked downward hitting me in the back and Victoria got thrown around at the back of the boat. At least we can say it was a memorable way to end an amazing experience with the best group of people. 

We got dropped off at the pick up point and watched as our crew meticulously packed up the all of the gear. We enjoyed one last dal baht meal together and said our goodbyes to most of the group who were flying home. Myself, Mike, Alex and Ceri opted for the cheaper option and enjoyed the 15 hour bus ride back to Thamel, Kathmandu. 

Day 277- We arrived back into Thamel in the early morning and checked back into our beautiful home. We ran into Ceri for breakfast at Revolution and met up with the whole group for dinner. Hopefully we cross paths with everyone some day in the future, in our country or another. I know for a fact that Colin, Will and Cody can't wait to meet up with us again to learn from the best euchre players they have ever had the pleasure of working with. But don't fret boys, when you are ready, your time will come. 

Paddle Nepal did an amazing job creating an action packed excursion and I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for some adventure in Nepal.