20:40
No sooner had I managed to fall asleep then Paul’s wake-up call rang through, waking me with a jolt. It was time for him to get ready to go to the bridge. I tried to go back to sleep for a bit but it wasn’t that easy even though I was bug-eyed and tired.
After breakfast I headed down onto the pier to meet up with a tour group that I was assigned to, Copalita River Float Trip. Once we had all signed our lives away on the waivers of liability form we headed into town and met up with the transport vehicle which was to take us to the Copalita River. The vehicle was a nice surprise for me – a big ATV! 3 high steps to climb up to reach the seats didn’t bother me in the slightest but our guide still gave me a bit of a leg up anyway. Well, each guest was helped up so it wasn’t just short me!
After a drive of about 25 minutes we arrived at our starting point on the river. We were given flotation jackets (no longer lifejackets) and helped into 2 rubber-duck type rafts. We were soon armed with a paddle each and given instructions how to use them. Formalities over, our young guides pushed us off the riverbank and climbed into the backs of the rafts. The river current was enough to push the rafts along so we didn’t have to do too much strenuous paddling. There were a few gentle rapids to negotiate and our guides would yell out instructions to us: “paddle”, “stop paddling”, “reverse paddle”, etc. Now and then different types of birds were pointed out to us. There were also goats and horses along the riverbank, most likely belonging to the local farmers.
Half way through our leisurely float down the river our guides got us to manoeuvre the rafts to a riverbank for a bit of a break. We climbed out of the rafts and had time for a refreshing swim in the river. One of the guides invited us to walk a minute or so upstream to a small rapid from where we could float downstream back to the rafts. Naturally having grown in different parts of Africa so I see myself as an 'African child' (please - this is nothing to do with race or colour) I whipped off my flip flops and scampered barefoot across the rocky riverbank without blinking an eyelid. One of the young guides gulped – he thought I was ‘mad’, no doubt. The guests got into the water at a safe point just at the start of the small rapid and after settling themselves on their backs in the water, in their flotation jackets, a guide would make sure all was well before letting go of the guest and jacket to float downstream. Yes, I know rocks underwater can be a hazard and perhaps hurt feet if one is not careful. However, I was prepared to take that risk without any shoes and felt far better without them, just keeping my feet outstretched in front of me as I floated down the river. It was wonderful!
After a while it was time to go. Some guests got back into the raft while the rest of us floated downstream for a bit of a distance, letting the river current carry us. Our guides hooked their feet into the ropes along the side of the rubber rafts and swam, dragging the rafts with their toes. The guests inside the rafts didn’t need to lift a finger to help. The current helped. We reached a mud flat in the river and those floating climbed back into the rafts and took up their paddles once again alongside their, by now, drier brethren. There was a bit of teasing going on with the dripping guests trying their best to get the others wet again.
Our ATV eventually came into sight, waiting near the riverbank for us. It was time to head back to the ship. I had a quick dip in the river again, to cool off, before climbing into the vehicle. I was soaked but neither the driver nor the guide minded – the seats were coated in PVC. In fact most of us were in various stages of more or less dry, damp, wet or soaking. Fortunately the ATV was open air – the day had become quite hot and the fresh air helped to cool us down and dry off.
Once back in Huatulco some guests opted to use the public showers to rinse off before changing and wandering around town or going back to the ship. Wet flip flops and I were great company, making quite a racket as I headed back to the ship – squelch, squelch, squeak…
The fresh air and sunshine has done me the world of good – it is great to be alive.
Tomorrow the ship’s final port in Mexico is Puerto Chiapas after which the Maasdam will continue sailing southwards/southeast to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, to name a few countries.
You can see my photographs on facebook via this link: Excursion: Copalita River Float Trip
Sailing to our next destination: Puerto Chiapas
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