Date of events depicted: 2 February 2011
Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 1 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…
[Warning: the following contains profanity.]
“Oh, shit!” Cristián shouts.
Our intrepid heroines and their four fellow adventurers immediately scramble to comply with the Costa Rican river guide equivalent of “Get down in the raft now!”
They are about halfway through their run of the Pacuare, ranked among the world’s top rafting rivers. Nearly continuous rapids (most of them Class III) pass through lush jungle and between hundred-foot-tall canyon walls.
“Back in position!”
On this, their first full day of a two-week trip eleven years in the making, Yumiko and Eden soak in the sight of waterfalls cascading into the river and magnificent blue morpho butterflies fluttering along its banks.We finally managed to get here, Eden thinks as she once more checks to make sure that Yumiko is in no danger of falling out of the boat. Twice before they had made plans to come to Costa Rica and both times ended up visiting another Central American country.
“Forward hard!”
The raft enters the Class IV Lower Huacas and Eden and Yumiko dig deep with their paddles. From their position in front, they can see the water churning and swirling.
There’s a sudden drop. The raft tilts forward steeply. And Yumiko watches in helpless horror as Eden is knocked halfway out of the bucking boat and slips relentlessly toward the roiling rapids.
Oh, shit!
Instinctively, Eden grabs the “chicken line” with one hand. She manages to stop her descent, but is unable to pull herself back into the raft.
A thought flashes through Yumiko’s mind: What am I going to tell her mother? As much as she wants to be able to come to Eden’s aid, Yumiko knows that she must continue to paddle through the rapids lest everyone end up taking an unwelcome and dangerous swim.
Thus, it is long moments before Eden’s fellow rafters can haul her to safety.
Our intrepid heroines are grateful that Eden has escaped her latest misadventure with nothing more than a spectacular bruise on her thigh. They breathe a sigh of relief, but the Pacuare gives them only a moment of respite.
“Oh, shit!”
text © Eden Feuer
photos courtesy of Rios Tropicales
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