The banana boat is here
Yes people, the inflatable kayak has finally arrived and I have gone out four times already. It is a lot of fun and a bit dangerous, as you can attest to in the video below. The Mighty Mahe River, as I like to call it, has peeked my interest and challenged me every time i have driven by it in the past two years. I have always wanted to jump in a boat and ride the waves. Depending on the time of the year, this river can be a slow trickle (in March/April) or a roaring torrent (oct) with class 5+ rapids and 8 foot standing waves. Fortunately for me the kayak was not around at that time to tempt me to carry out some foolhardy plan of navigating the mighty Mahe. On Thursday the conditions were perfect! The water was quite low and the only risk was to hit the rocks that have recently poked their way to the surface in anticipation of the dry season.
So, on the way back from the field, (to check on some road and bridge projects in the bush of Liberia) I decided it was time for Benedict and myself to test out a theory of mine. I hypothesized that adrenaline is best experienced with the delicate balance of speed, flotation and the consumption of copious quantities of water. The theory proved flawlessly (as you can see on the video).
It took me an hour to drum up the courage and to stop thinking. This is key. In preperation, one cannot think too much; it can cause paralysis due to the overpowering force of logic that naturally take place in a healthy mind. With abandon, I committed myself to the avoidance of thought. I put on the motorbike helmet, fastened the life jacket one last time, practiced a quick paddle maneouveur and then pushed off into the swift current. The first rapid, just under the bridge, turned out to be bigger than I had anticipated. This proved another theory of mine - the theory of limited perspective. When viewing a rapid from the shore one has a limited view of the wave and it is in fact 50% larger when viewed from inside the turbulent force.
I tried to go into the wave on river right, but when the water wants you to travel to the left there is little that can be done in what has been termed: the banana boat. I was swallowed by the six foot "waterfall" wave. The next thing I knew I was swimming. The water was a pleasant temperature, the birds called from the forest in stacatoed intervals, and the sun shone brightly. "Wait! Get up!" I hit a rock and I was jostled back from my reverie into reality. I quickly jumped back into the inflatable and (hopefully) indestructible kayak. I narrowly missed a series of rocks and then I headed into the last rapid. I found myself in the very front of the boat and realized that I was going for another swim if I did not jump back. I did just that and held on nervously.
A big thanks to Benedict for heading up the film crew. My favourite part of the video was the falling out of the boat at the end. A true moment of triumph when I thanked God that I did not perish.
So, on the way back from the field, (to check on some road and bridge projects in the bush of Liberia) I decided it was time for Benedict and myself to test out a theory of mine. I hypothesized that adrenaline is best experienced with the delicate balance of speed, flotation and the consumption of copious quantities of water. The theory proved flawlessly (as you can see on the video).
It took me an hour to drum up the courage and to stop thinking. This is key. In preperation, one cannot think too much; it can cause paralysis due to the overpowering force of logic that naturally take place in a healthy mind. With abandon, I committed myself to the avoidance of thought. I put on the motorbike helmet, fastened the life jacket one last time, practiced a quick paddle maneouveur and then pushed off into the swift current. The first rapid, just under the bridge, turned out to be bigger than I had anticipated. This proved another theory of mine - the theory of limited perspective. When viewing a rapid from the shore one has a limited view of the wave and it is in fact 50% larger when viewed from inside the turbulent force.
I tried to go into the wave on river right, but when the water wants you to travel to the left there is little that can be done in what has been termed: the banana boat. I was swallowed by the six foot "waterfall" wave. The next thing I knew I was swimming. The water was a pleasant temperature, the birds called from the forest in stacatoed intervals, and the sun shone brightly. "Wait! Get up!" I hit a rock and I was jostled back from my reverie into reality. I quickly jumped back into the inflatable and (hopefully) indestructible kayak. I narrowly missed a series of rocks and then I headed into the last rapid. I found myself in the very front of the boat and realized that I was going for another swim if I did not jump back. I did just that and held on nervously.
A big thanks to Benedict for heading up the film crew. My favourite part of the video was the falling out of the boat at the end. A true moment of triumph when I thanked God that I did not perish.
Comments
:D Elizabeth Howard
ps- I think you should let the rat scoot off the clay pot before smashing it (the rat of course) else you'll have nothing left to cook with. I guess the moral would be, in pursuit of the next good and juicy thing, be careful lest you lose the good you've got.
I really like your intrepretation on the Liberian proverb. I shared it with my pappe up in Foya - he like it too. I will be posting all the comments and then adding his interpretation into the mix.
Ok gotta get to work...o monday?!
Anyway-- i have read updated posts on more recent river journeys, and I must confess after being duly impressed with the 4 day jaunt, I was also insanely jealous! hahah--but I'm so glad you guys got to have such fun. It took me back to high school days with the youth group and white water rafting trips. On one eventful occasion, someone made a very foolish decision to put all the adult chaperones (including both my parents) in one raft together with a guide-in-training. Long story short, they took one rapid at a wrong angle and managed to flip everyone out... my mom got trapped underneath, but had enough serenity in her wisdom to know when the air pocket was closing in. Her lifeguard/nursing skills kicked into survival mode and she escaped. Of course, the rest of us rascals were already down-river completely clueless to the atrocity that had befallen them, but all was well that ended well, and we went again the next year. :D
Seems you've gotten a lot posted from the December adventures-- only 8 more days left in January! If you haven't met your resolution already, I know you can. I'm sure your blogger audience will await with bated breath. Have you quenched thirst of any invisibly sweaty goats with rat stew lately?
I liked the rafting story. It reminded me when i went rafting at the river behind my home town. My brother was learning to guide and we went on his boat. We hit the hole "perfectly" - and my brother flew from the back of the boat to the front. We were all a bit astonished - i looked at my bro and said: "what are you doing back here?" Fun stuff.
Glad you guys went down the river again. Your parents sound fun!
I didn't make my deadline but maybe i can write a story today and post it.
Where are you these days?
Your rafting story sounds pretty familiar, too! hahaha-- my brother ended up comandeering a raft once,(after everyone else got flipped out) riding the front of it like a bull in rodeo.
Funny how the internet has no return address label. I'm currently in North Carolina-- living with the parents and working as a night-shift nurse in the Emergency Dept. at the hospital.