Day 16 –
Last Rafting Day:

Terminador, Paso Las Cabras, Himalayas, Mas o Mas, Magic Carpet, Toro, Mundaca, Pudu, Puma, Wina, Condor, Tiburón, Mas o Menos and Casa de Piedra

February 15, 2008

Submitted by Pat

I don’t sleep well, can’t get warm enough one moment and am sopping wet with sweat the next. Chills and fever, achy muscles and headache. I wake up early and can’t imagine rafting feeling like this. I suffer several bouts of diarrhea. Coffee tastes awful so I switch to mint tea which also tastes bad. Can barely eat. The morning activity is canyoneering on the Rio Blanco, but I can’t go. There’s no way. Only Frank and Barry go with Aaron when all is said and done. The rest of us stay behind.

I take some Ibuprofen and go back to bed. I just can’t get warm. After an hour, with two heavy blankets and a sleeping bag, I finally warm up. But putting on a cold bathing suit and a damp wetsuit sets me to shivering so I put on two extra shirts and my rain pants and head to the waiting area by the fire. As soon as I sit down and the sun comes out I start sweating so I take off one of the shirts and the rain pants. I’m feeling pretty lousy when we start the hike to where the rafts are beached. We cross the river and sit waiting for the hikers to return from the canyon.

Finally it’s show time – this time Nancy and Barry are in front. Again I’m on the left side of the boat in the third seat. As we start down Terminador for the second time, I begin to feel better although I’m having a hell of a time finding a paddling rhythm. The sun warms us and I feel better except for the fact that I haven’t eaten breakfast and am starving by noon. We don’t stop for lunch until 1:00 pm. I eat a little and feel relief at feeling better and am actually able to enjoy part of this incredible rafting day. After lunch we run more rapids with Katie and Frank taking turns paddling in front with Barry. My turn up front comes when we hit a stretch of the river that we haven’t run before and includes the last rapid called Casa de Piedra (House of Rocks). Very technical, very quick, lots of gradient. It’s a great rapid and we stay in the boat.

I can’t believe it’s over and spend the next 40-minute slow drift to our take out enjoying the sun, the water, the mountains, the river. By the time we arrive at the take out, I’m feeling worse. The bus ride back to camp is uncomfortable for me, but I manage to hold on until we get back to camp. I’m deeply chilled so after taking my turn at the toilet I get into the hot tub. After half an hour, I have to head back to the toilet and decide to go lie down afterward. Aaron, the guide who had been sick, brings me a pitcher of tea, some Gatorade, and a roll. It’s so thoughtful of him. I drink the tea and rest in between bouts of cramps and join the others for dinner. I eat soup and drink some tea.

Kind of a sad way to end such an incredible adventure – shivering in my sleeping bag and wondering how I am going to manage traveling for 19 hours tomorrow. But I do and so does Nancy – she is sick too – same thing that I have. And while the travel home is not the most fun I have ever had in my life, I have the memories of the rest of the trip and the pictures and many learnings. I am at a loss how to end this – I don’t really want to end it. So maybe I won’t. Suffice it to say that was an amazing adventure.