Rafting the Nile.

I am not big on sequels, they rarely live up to its predecessors, I’ll try to meet your expectations but remember I am the artist and I have a license

There are many rafting companies that compete for business along the Nile, we chose a company by the name of Adrift, mainly because they advertised both Bungee Jumping and either a mild or wild river trip, along with free lodging for the night. I should note that Bungee jumping holds no appeal for me. Tying myself to a rubber band and jumping off a ledge a mile above the water only to be popped back up before touching the water, seems like a tease. I don’t see the appeal, I am looking for action. Arriving at river base, it soon became apparent that Mike and I were not the only ones tempted by the Nile, as we would come to find out that this place was somewhat of a mecca for 20 something’s from across the globe. I met people from Asia, Australia and even Austin Texas, yes a longhorn. I even met a girl from England who was afraid to go rafting but could not wait to go bungee jumping. Again, you will tie yourself to a rubber band, jump off a ledge, throwing yourself at the river, but you will not go float in it? The logic seemed flawed to me, but whatever floats your boat… or not.

This trip was advertised as 30 kilometer trip (19 miles) down the river where we would experience some of the meanest rapids the Nile had to offer. You were given the choice of either mild or wild, mild being a half day excursion where you only experience some of the smaller rapids and wild being the full day trip allowing you to experience rapids that should only be attempted by advanced swimmers and life guards, we chose the wild trip. The way it worked is that the rafting company organizes you into teams of 10, including your guide and then piles you into rafts that will comfortably fit 6 people. In my estimation, putting you into a small raft adds credence to the thought that this should only be attempted by the young and foolish and that you are going to get wet. As a matter of fact that’s the first thing they told as when you arrive at river base, you will get wet, don’t wear your shoes, don’t bring your camera and secure your bathing suit with a master lock.

In my raft I was surrounded by 9, 20 something’s from all over the world, including a fella from England who had never been rafting before, needless to say we had a lot in common. I must hand it to the English; even there most colorful language is dignified. The rest of my raft consisted of two other American a few Brazilian and that longhorn from Austin; she got to man the back of the raft and subsequently spent a lot of time in the water. I have a knack for surrounding myself by great leadership, our guide was no exception. It turns out that this trip is composed of members and former members of the Ugandan Kayaking team and the person guiding our boat was the team captain. This meant that our raft was the first to experience any rapid and that we would get swim breaks while other boats had to paddle on by.

Having never been rafting before I had no concept of a class 3, 4 or 5 rapid. A class 3 is something you might find on a great day tubing the Guadalupe River. A class 4 definitely should not be attempted in a rubber tire but still manageable by boat. A class 5 should not be attempted in a rubber raft, however I was in a rubber raft so I really had no say in the matter. Our guide would always let us know when we were about to hit a class 5 by saying in his Ugandan accent “Enjoy the Nile”, because that’s where we were about to end up, in the Nile.

We spent the day very wet, with each rapid leaving us to wonder whether our boat would stay up right, there are two worth mentioning. First is the rapid with the 15 foot waterfall, you had two options you could either veer left and go down a class 3 missing the waterfall all together or you could make a hard right and send your small rubber boat plunging into the Nile, we chose the wild trip, we were going down the waterfall right after we finished being stuck on a rock for about 5 minutes. As you can tell I don’t have a concept about a lot of thing and it was no different for a 15 foot waterfall, I wish I would have known what that was like before I did it, being in the front of the boat I got to experience it first, it happened fast and the Englishmen’s language was colorful, that’s about as much as I remember.

The second rapid, was the last of the day, they call it 50/50, because half of the time your boat flips and the other time it stays upright. Before you do it they make you paddle to shore and look at it. In my mind they are not going to make you look at a rapid that they plan on sending you down, I was fooled yet again. This rapid was ferocious, it looked like one of those you would see on that television program worlds dangerous situations. I watch that program and always with the same statement, who is that fool and how on earth was he dumb to end up floating in that mess. I was that fool and I signed a waiver stating that the rafting company receives royalties from any publicity that may result from me ending up in that mess, or at least that’s probably what it said. For those of you wondering, my raft did not stay upright and the amount of water I inhaled makes me wonder how I ever survived.

Rafting was not the only thing we enjoyed while on the Nile. It should be said that the Nile is a way of life for many people; it provides them with food for dinner and water for bathing, among other things. When were not rafting, we got to enjoy the scenery or watch life happen rather. It seemed to me that, to many of those who live along the banks of the Nile, I would like to believe that a big part of their day was spent anticipating when the muzungoo would come in their boats and flip upside down, it was not uncommon for us to see many onlookers as we threw ourselves at the river.

The end of the day was met with much relief, we had conquered the Nile and we lived to tell about it, if I completed nothing else during my time in Africa I can leave with this merit badge. After my trip down the Nile All I wanted to see was a cooler of free beer, a warm shower and a bed. When I arrived at the bus I was met with a cooler of free beer and barbeque. This rafting company employs psychics, I will recommend their business to all of my friends.