Rio Cangrejal

Wow!

Just got back from a great saturday adventure. Erika and I, and five other teachers that we recruited, went up to the Omega Lodge yesterday afternoon. For only $49 we were able to spend the night, get free lunch, and go white water rafting down the Rio Cangrejal. What a great little vacation this ended up being. I say "vacation" but it only took us 30 minutes to get there on a winding dirt road that follows the river out of town and into the mountains.

Omega Lodge & Tours is a hostel and adventure lodge that is run by some very nice Germans. Our rooms were great, and we didn't need to share with anyone we didn't know, which is always a plus. When we got there we got the grand tour by one of the owners. She showed us the eating area where we would be promptly served our spaghetti for lunch (was very good!), then we saw the large outdoor cage that they have some iguanas and turtles in. Then we saw the bar and natural spring-fed swimming pool. The setting is right in the middle of tropical jungle. Even though we were only 30 minutes from home we felt like we were in a totally different part of the world with virgin rainforest all around and the unbelievable sounds of bird, frogs, insects and the people working in the kitchens.


The river rafting was great. This was my first time going white water rafting- Erika had done it a long time ago. We were told that there would be Class 1's, 2's, 3's, and a couple 4's. We were pumped. After a brief safety and technique lesson, "Paddle forward please. Paddle backwards please. Lean right! Down!", we were on our way. The minute we hit those first 1's and 2's I knew that this was going to be a blast. I was sitting in the front of one of the boats and Erika was in the front of another. You slip one foot under a strap on the bottom of the boat and that is all you are holding onto unless your told to "Get down!", then you hold on and get as low as you can cause you are going to fall out if you don't. We passed by huge boulders that were bigger than our house and carved in smooth formations that you could just tell took millions of years to form. Just beyond the river sprung the jungle, trees were almost jumping out of the forest and over the water. Towards the end it began to rain for a little bit and you could look up and see the waterfall where Erika and I had climbed 2 weeks ago, but now clouds were forming right below it. We also saw all sort of birds (kingfishers! and cranes) and heard the calls of many more. It was great.
The actual rafting was exhilarating. My adrenaline was pumping every time we would go over them from just hanging on with one foot and leaning out of the raft as we dived down and up and through small boulder canyons where the river was moving fast and white. Then we came to the biggest fall, a Class 4 1/2. We got out right before we reached it so that we could hike around it and look at what we were going to go over. It didn't look that menacing at first but at a second glance I realized that there was a large rock that sticks out of the very middle of the fall, halfway through. If our raft were to hit that rock we would tip forward instantly. The boats took turns going over.

Our adrenaline was pumping strong.

Erika's boat:


My boat:


We both made it over. No Problem! It was intense though. The water was rushing up into our faces, I was up to my neck under the water and our boat was full after we made it through.

After a short while down river we came to another, smaller fall. This one however had a corkscrew current so it was easy to flip sideways if you didn't lean enough to one side. Erika's boat went first and made it just fine. However, my boat didn't do so well. It was a little chute between two rock walls and when we got in there the current was pulling us to the left. We leaned hard to the right and as I did so the right side of the boat went under water. I fell into Jesse on my right as I was leaning and since he was already under water with that side of the boat, we both kinda just tumbled out. It was crazy under the water because I knew that Jesse was down there somewhere with me but that I had no control over my body, still subconsciously clutching my paddle. I bobbed up and found that I was a little bit behind the raft, which had righted itself after Jesse and I fell out, and I grabbed for the raft. Soon enough I was pulled back in. It was pretty much a blur of action but it was a great feeling to have gotten thrown out of the raft and made it back without much worry.
We stopped at two spots where there were cliff jump-off points where the water was deep enough. The first jump was a practice jump, at about 15 feet. The second jump, a little down river, was huge- about 3 stories or 30ft. Man, it was high! When we got up there, the ones that decided they would attempt it, we were nervous after looking down. It was just something you have to do.

Don't think. Jump.

Erika:

Me:

Jesse:


It was a far fall. You literally had time to think about what you were doing as you fell. Then you were in the water and floating. My knees were weak with fear right before I jumped but I didn't give myself the chance to question it. By the time I had decided I should jump I was already half-way to the water.
The rafting was a great time. We are going to do it again many times, our goal is to do the day long rafting trip that has multiple class 4's and 5's.
We went back to the lodge just in time for Happy Hour and then dinner. They had a great selection of German food. Erika had bratwurst of course, and I had like a pasta and cheese with bacon dish. It was all very good.
During dinner and then after when some of us went for a swim, there was a bunch of frogs hopping about and making really loud sounds. They were very cool.



We had a great weekend up there. We are loving La Ceiba. This is definitely the place to be in Central America. There is so much to do. And to think, we have almost been here for a month already!