The kids took a bus from the school to the train station. This was Alex's first time on a train.
When they arrived at their first camp site, it was raining. Luckily, there is a building nearby that could be used for shelter; unfortunately, with the earthquakes, this building wasn't deemed safe enough to go inside, so they set up tents on the covered patio area. This kept them extra dry. Alex spent the first night in a two-man tent with 3 people. One of the boys moved a lot, and would wake them up and tell them to scoot over. Needless to say, on night two - they only slept 2 boys to a tent.
Alex was the first to rise that first day. He quietly climbed out of his tent and did a little exploring. He chased some chickens down the train tracks and got a fun video of a rooster crowing. Breakfast was the same every day. Basically eggs, toast, cereal, hot cocoa. Throughout the week, the eggs and toast evolved into egg sandwiches.
The water was freezing. It is still early-early spring here and I am sure the melted snow river was ice cold! The kids were all given wet suits, but none were crazy enough to tip over their rafts. There were two large rafts and several Duckies, which were like inflatable canoes. The kids rotated and took turns in each watercraft.
Alex said rowing was very much like canoeing, which he has a merit badge in. So he was quite an expert. He was the one the girls wanted to ride with, because he could handle the boat alone and they could just ride along and take pictures. He'd get tired and move back to the raft for a little break and the girls would keep his camera. There are several videos of girls flirting with Alex via his camera. Laughing girls telling Alex how cool he is, etc., etc., it got to be a little much for me... Girls... Whatever, they took a few videos of Alex in the canoe, so I'm not complaining too much.
Lunch was served at a spot about half-way between the initial launch and the next camp site. They had a crew from the tour company that would motor boat ahead and stop in a clearing on a beach to prepare sandwiches for the rafters.
Dinner was at the daily camping spot. So each night, they would go ashore to a designated spot, set up camp, eat dinner, warm themselves by the fire, and head to bed. They'd wake up, clean up camp and go at it again. Alex managed himself beautifully. He was really good about keeping track of his things, helping with camp duties, and keeping himself protected from the sun. This blonde-headed kid kept his hat on and sunscreen applied throughout the week. He came home only lightly reddened under his eyes and tanned arms. He said he was plenty warm enough at night (my biggest worry).
A tadpole:
They saw sheep and horses along the riverside.
The last day, they went to a museum and got to see many interesting things relative to the local tribes and traditions. He loved that!
He had an amazing adventure and loved every minute of it.
If you're the type of person that enjoys an outdoor adventure, river rafting trips are right up your alley.
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