San Gil, a photo journal: Thursday April 5

Thursday, 6:30 am

I can almost never sleep in, and in hot weather, the early morning is one of my favorite times of day.  I slip quietly out of bed and change.  We don't have to be ready for rafting until 9.  I grab my Bible, leftover bread and an apple that I didn't eat on the bus and slip out the door without waking up the others.  

I head down to the river and walk along the "malecon", a path that borders the river.  It's quiet; the town still hasn't come completely awake.  The path eventually ends in a little park.  I sit, admiring the beauty, enjoying the warmth.  I read the synoptic gospel accounts of Holy Thursday- the last supper, Jesus' betrayal and arrest.  

 When I'm finished reading and finishing my breakfast, I meander back to the hostel.  The flowers are gorgeous.  There's one particular hibiscus, a beautiful orange shade that isn't as customary as the deep pinks and yellows I'm used to.  I walk off the path into the overgrown grass to try and get a photo of it.  As I'm walking back out I feel a sharp pain in my foot.  I shake it, quickly knocking off whatever insect bit me.  It was probably an ant, I think.  I don't see anything, but my foot hurts the whole way back to the hotel.  It was worth it though, I got a beautiful picture.

Thursday, 8:45 am

We're all about ready when my phone rings.  Grace, the lady who is arranging all our tours, is calling to let me know that the van should be there to pick us up any minute and to be ready since there's no parking.  We run downstairs, I'm halfway down when I remember I didn't put sunscreen on and run back upstairs for my sunscreen.  As soon as we're downstairs, the van pulls up and we pile in, waiting a couple of minutes for another family from the hotel who are doing the same trip.  

We stop quickly at the office to store our stuff, get our wrist bands that entitle us to emergency insurance, and then head off with a few more groups 9 kilometers up river.

Thursday, 10 am

After a quick instructional session (which I translate for Jen, who doesn't speak Spanish), we pose for pictures before setting off.  

The river is gorgeous.  There are some calm sections where we drift, admiring the Spanish moss hanging from the trees.  Then, there are the turbulent rapids where are guide shouts swift instructions to us.  Our goal is to be the loudest, most fun group.  Fortunately for us, the Colombian couple on the raft with us has similar goals in mind.  We shout, laugh, and splash the other boats when we get close enough.

Thursday, 11 am

There's a calm stretch of water and our guide tells us we can get out if we want.  We jump into the water and float downstream.  The water is cold and the current is fast.  "Any piranhas?" I ask, playfully.  I'm not too concerned either way- when I was in Ecuador we went swimming in a river after fishing for piranhas (and catching some).  Apparently they're bottom feeders and don't swim to the top unless attracted by blood.  "No" answers our guide, "the crocodiles ate them all."  I burst out laughing. I shout the "news" onto the others in the group, who all continue as unconcerned as I down the river.

Thursday, 12 pm

We arrive back at the office and arrange for another hotel pickup at 1:00 to go paragliding.  There's just enough time for a quick lunch before we go.  We head to the restaurant next door where set lunch plates are $3.50.  We start off by soup, followed by rice, salad, fried sweet plantain slices, french fries, and for me, fried mojarra (which google translate claims is: crappie, bluegill, bream, or tilapia.  I don't really know which it is, all I know is it is typically served fried whole here in Colombia and I love it)

Thursday, 1:30 pm.

We arrive at the paragliding place, along with what seems like half of San Gil.  We sign in, write down our weight in kilos, and wait.  And wait.  And wait.  In the first 45 minutes we're here, only 2 people go up.  The wind has dropped down and they're waiting for better weather before taking people up.  Eventually they bring out what looks like a go-cart with an engine and parachute.  They start it up and take off.  It's pretty awesome to watch.

Thursday, 2:45 pm

They're starting to take people up again.  We notice some people who got there after us are going up before us.  Ingrid goes to find out why.  Apparently they're taking up the lightest people first since the wind still isn't strong.  We point out that I'm pretty light, and they say they'll take me up next.

I'm afraid taking off will be scary, but it isn't.  Almost as soon as I'm strapped in we're off the ground.  The wind fills the parachute and lifts it before we even reach the edge of the hill.  Soon we're drifting above the mountain side, trees and farmers' fields spread out below us.  It's amazing.

Alex, who's been doing this for 15 years, is piloting the parachute.  His brother and cousin also work here.  I figure if he's been doing this for 15 years, it mustn't be that dangerous.

 The wind has picked up and there are over a dozen people out paragliding at once.  It's a gorgeous sight.

 I'm loving the wind in my face, the gliding sensation, and the view.

 All too soon, it's time to land again.  I take a quick last picture as we're headed down.

 Hours pass before we all go up.  I spend some time photographing the flowers in the beautiful gardens about the place.  It's cold up here since we're higher in altitude than San Gil and the wind is strong.  I sit in front of the snack bar which is a little sheltered from the wind and hope we can head back to warmth and dinner soon.

Thursday, 6:30 pm
It takes awhile, but we're finally loaded into a van (different than we came in. Apparently our driver went to rescue someone with a flat tire) and headed back to San Gil.  The driver turns on the radio and we start a dance party where we're seated in the van.  He plays along, flashing the interior light.

Fortunately when we get back we warm up right away from the heat.  Not enough for me to order a cold drink though when we find a pizza place to eat.  I ask for my soda room temperature.  The place is unique- they sell pizza cones.  Shaped like an ice cream cone, but made of a thicker crustier dough, they're filled with cheese and, in my case, basil and tomato chucks.  They're pretty tasty.

After a day of activities, by the time we're done with dinner, we're pretty much ready to wander back to bed and collapse.