Month 7 started out as one wild ride in many ways. We spent our first few days in Uganda camped out along the Nile River, taking in some much needed rest and relaxation. On day 3 we took on the adventure of a lifetime – whitewater rafting the Nile. Only minutes after getting in our raft we were told to all jump out to practice what happens when we fall out of the raft, get stuck under the raft, etc. I got slightly nervous when the guide used phrases such as "when the raft flips over on you and you're stuck under it". I would have felt better with an "if" rather than a "when". It was comforting to know that olympic-level kayakers were taking on the river with us to fetch us if we fell into some big rapids.
The first rapid we took on was an "easy" class 5 that I felt was more like a waterfall than anything else. It was such a rush! I loved every moment of the adventure. I was even successful in staying in the raft, while watching other raftmates fall into the ginormous rapids.
We got spoiled with the most delicious lunch – chapati topped with lettuce, salsa, shredded chicken, cheese, guacamole, peppers, hot chili sauce, and carrots. I washed it down with a cold bottled coke – perfect!
After lunch we hit up 4 more rapids, the last one being called "The Nile Special". For some reason I knew this was going to be the rapid that kicked my butt. Sure enough, the first big dip and our raft went up on it's side and I went tumbling out. I knew that if I waited patiently then I would eventually bob up above water. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity I eventually came above water just in time to see my raftmates who somehow stayed in the raft high five each other. I got one big breathe before going under again. I rode the rest of way getting tossed around by the rapids, taking precious gasps of breath whenever I could, and wasting such precious breath to say some choice words as bigger and bigger rapids approached. Once I hit flat water I was able to laugh about the wild ride I had just experienced and a kayaker finally came to fetch me to bring me back to my raft.
I stepped onto land soaking wet and wondering what the repercussions were going to be from drinking so much of the river on that last rapid. I had such a blast though and was so thankful for such a fun day before heading into Northern Uganda.
