8/2/15: Rafting the Canyons of Iceland

Day 4 - Sunday, August 2

As much as we thought last night was going to be our relaxation night... It wasn't.  I think we finally went to bed around 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning. The "midnight sun" (as they call it) really makes you want to stay up and enjoy it.  That, accompanied with a little wine, hot tub, a phenomenal view and good company.... Going to bed seemed like the worst decision to make.

I will say though... The morning was slow moving for me.

That was... Until I walked outside and was reminded of where I was and the beauty that surrounded us.  The Greenland Sea to my left and mountains to the right.  Everything here is not only beautiful... it is beyond majestic. To say I am in awe is an understatement.  It's a bit of what I imagine heaven to be like... With the bluest of blue water and the majesty of the mountains and everything else in between. 

We had a relaxing and slow morning.  We spent a little time talking with Diego as well as our hosts, Sjofn and her hubby.  Realizing we had nearly the same agenda for the remainder of our trip, we swapped information with Diego so we can meet up and do some exploring together! 

Some more conversation and good byes and we were off...

Next activity: White Water Rafting... But we have to share a few pictures of the drive there...

It amazing how even when you back track on the same road, the landscape appears so different. In fact, it seems that every 20 seconds, the landscape changes and it's always something equally spectacular!  

Our next adventure... white water rafting.  

I will fully admit, I was a little hesitant on this one.  Mostly due to the cold.  We went rafting in Ecuador but I think the temp was in the mid 60's.  Here... I think it was 57.  But the sun is out so that has to count for a few degrees, right?!  

Here we go!!

Our rafting adventure started with a half hour wait for the 4 others that were supposed to be on our raft with us.  They never showed.  There has to be a minimum of 4 on a raft so the guides decided to change up their routine and all go rafting with us so they didn't have to cancel our adventure.  Yeah!!  Time to get suited up!  This may have been the hardest part of the day.  Those wet suits are a bit snug.  It was like fitting a 

How to best describe the trip...

Exhilarating. Intense. Majestical. Soulful. 

The water was prestine and pure.  

The canyon was majestic. 

The rapids were playful, whimsical and fierce.

A 40 minute bus ride through some amazing and crazy mountain backroads and we threw the raft in the river to start our journey.  We were talking to on of the guides on the bus.  We found it ironic that all three of them are here from Nepal.   It's off season there so they come here to do their rafting trips.  That may be our next destination. 

We had a couple small rapids to start.  And by small, I mean level 3 rapids. Our first big rapid, a 4, took us by surprise...

It's name: Commitment. Which we all fear, so seemed appropriately named.  It was like a waterfall ending in a massive whirlpool.  It was like it was trying to suck our bodies in to its spell.  At one point, I wasn't sure if I was even still in the raft. As we were coming out of the rapid, we hit the canyon wall, at which point, Connie got stabbed with a paddle which knocked the wind out of her a bit. Once the calm resumed and realized we were still in the raft, we celebrated how awesome and intense it was. And that we survived it! 

It made me a little nervous to think about the second large rapid: The Green Room.  This was a 4+ rapid.  The anticipation and nerves were building as we were getting closer. If this one was bigger than the first, I thought for sure at least one of us would become one with the river.  The guides had us switch positions in the raft and gave us more warning and direction.  You know when that happens, something hard core is about to happen.

Normally, there is a guide who Kayaks along that checks the line and is there for emergencies.  Because all the guides were in the raft with us, one got out and stood on the side of the river as the 4 of us battled the rapid. It was intense, but it seemed more tolerable than the first, a little bit anyway.  At least I knew I was still in the raft.  It could have been because we knew better what to expect.. But we also think the guide took a really good route. This time I was the one that got bumped around.  I got my bell rung a bit when I hit my head on Connie!  

After this rapid, they said it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. I'm not sure smooth was the right descriptive word... We had a few more 3 rapids and a couple times we needed to "get down" in the raft so let's just say the river was still playful. 

A little more than half way through, after the most intense rapids...  Connie decided to push her limits with cliff jumping!!  When the guide started climbing the side of the cliff, that went almost straight up, I decided to watch from the raft. I knew with my fear of heights, I would never make the climb. Connie was determined though! With a little help from the guide, she made it to the top.  I was wondering what was taking so long when she disappeared behind a big boulder.  I even asked the other guides if she was jumping off the other side.  She then appeared on the edge and looked a little frazzled.  It took her a couple minutes to regain her composer and she did it... She jumped! 

Later, I found out that the part she disappeared on, there really was a tiny ledge, but no hand holds, only a rope where she had to use that to keep herself from falling.  That explains the look on her face when she came around the corner and confirmed for myself that I'm glad I didn't even attempt. I'm not sure I would have made it. Super proud of Connie though!! 

Shortly after that... We went over a rapid that was kind of like a mini waterfall but once over, it wanted to suck you back in. After we went over it, the guides pulled over into a calm inlet. They were talking about paddling and what we needed to do, and what to do if we got thrown from the raft. I will say... I was confused! I thought we went over all the crazy rapids. But then we start paddling into this rapid we just went over! What?  So I finally realize what's going on and I say "Why are we doing this?"  The guides apparently think it's funny to try to lose people to the river.  They told us the day before that there were a bunch of rafts out and that people were popping out of the rafts like popcorn at that spot!  We did it a couple times and successfully stayed in the raft!

The rest of our canyon adventure was fairly calm.  Again, words can't even describe the beauty. I was super bummed I didn't have a go pro! (Later to find out that Diego had one that he would have borrowed us!). Oh well.  We used out "eye cameras". 

Once we reached our ending spot, the guides pulled out some soup and we got to warm up from the inside out... It was delecious and what a great touch!  It definatly was my most intense rafting trip. It was a blast (and a little scary). :)

The bus ride back to the base and a quick soak in the hot tub and we headed next door to have were off to our next guesthouse in Akureyri. It was a cute little town, but probably the biggest we had been in since leaving Reykjavik.  We got there about 11:00.  We were greeted by Samuel who gave us the tour of his super cute place. We got our luggage in, got settled, looked at some photos and giggled all night until we finally decided we needed to attempt to get some sleep. 

Quote of the day: Why are we doing this!!!  

Explanation of quote of the day: read about the rafting trip!