Rafting and new friends

I took a public bus into the town of San Gil, realizing that Barrichara was really a remote place and I was headed to the big city. On the bus ($1.50), I met an Australian whom came to the town just for the morning to tour around. He'd been traveling for ten months already - saved $20,000 and was living on that for the entire time - something that's quite typical for Australians. He shared his travels and then asked, 'Did you try the cocaine here? It's only $5 compared to $350 in Australia'.. I laughed and explained that I don't do such a thing.

I was met at the bus station by Alexander and his 2 year old daughter - who took the three of us on a moped to the company where we would raft. I'm not sure what role he played or what cut he would get, but I just went with the arrangement. This is where I met Omayira and Diego, my two tour guides. We boarded a dingy taxi and headed to the river. They did not speak English, so this was a great opportunity to practice my Spanish.

We started off on the river in a three person inflatable canoe - never saw something like it before, but no problem. We went through Class III or Class II+ rapids on a pretty docile river. The water was quite cold, but you got used to it after a while. We practiced a few flips for safety reasons and were on our way. We moved through rocks, a few nooks and crannies as we floated down this beautiful 11 km river. At one point, we took on this huge rapid - brought the boat in as Diego yelled "Adelante" (or "Forward") and "Atraz" (or backward) to steer the boat. Unfortunately, on this rapid we didn't make it as we fell to the side and all were now floating down the river.

During this journey, there were many parts of the river that were peaceful. This is where I had the opportunity to learn more about the guides that had my life in their hands. Omairya was 27 with two children. She was making $20,000 pesos a day if there were rafters ($22 USD). Diego was her 22 year old boyfriend who was one of five children. Both lived with their parents separately. I had no idea they were in a relationship at first, but I immediately sensed the chemistry. The three of us immediately bonded and had such a great time on the river. We played an equilibrium game (tried to balance ourselves on top of the raft - of course I lost and fell in first!) and pushed each other in the water a couple of times. It was fun.

After an hour and a half of rapids, it was time to disembark. I really enjoyed spending time with the guides, so I invited them to lunch. We ate a very traditional Santanderian meal that included different steaks, chorizos, and a delicious soup with yucca, plantains, beans, and onions. My favorites were the dried steak and yucca. The price of the meal including two beers each was $46,000 - about $28... absolutely amazing!




We went over to another bar to have a few more drinks.. we were all so different - came from different backgrounds and had different life experiences, but we were so strikingly similar in that we loved to have fun and loved life. That 's all we needed. Diego gave me a ride back on his moped to the train station as the last bus to the remote city I was staying in (without internet!) left at 6:30 PM.




Diego and Omayira make so little money - and that's why I was so happy to share mine with them. When I lived in New York, I could have spent $27 on two drinks plus tip, but I was able to treat them to a wonderful meal and in turn, they gave me company.

I arrived back at the hacienda at 7:15 and honestly there is nothing to do in this town, so I sat in a hammock and played with my iPad. Today, I'm leaving for San Gil to do some rappelling and caving. Then Diego, Omairya and I have plans to do some karaoke tonight.


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Location:San Gil, Colombia