(6/23) So I Almost Died

After everyone took a couple hours to recover from that delightful 18 hour trip, we started on our first activity in Semuc. River tubing! 

Okay, the title of this post is kind of an exaggeration, but I literally thought I was going to die. So it all started off super fun, the river was super cooling against the scorching heat. I was well ahead the rest of the group because I couldn't slow myself down, but it was fine until a fork came up in the river. Before I knew it, I was floating down the right side, when the guide and everyone else was yelling LEFT LEFT. While they were all yelling SWIM BACK I helplessly flailed my arms and failed miserably to fight the current. I hopped off my tube and tried to swim, but that was an epic failure too. The current was getting stronger and stronger, and the group was soon out of sight and I was surrounded by nothing but trees floating in a river. Thoughts of surviving alone in the jungle like those wild survivor shows filled my head, which was mildly hilarious. In the midst of my panic I had the sense to try to stop myself from letting the river take me who knows where. I barely managed to grasp onto a tree branch near the side of the river, and just waited hoping that the guide would come get me. Soon enough, I saw my life savior, clad in a bright orange shirt. I've never been so glad to see a human being. He helped me get out of the river onto land, and we trekked our way through the jungle, feet squelching in mud and branches and who knows what else. It turns out that Dory also got stuck in the wrong side of the river, and Kurun also when he tried to save her. We all trekked through the jungle, until we were back at the fork. We made a cute train, and tubed to the left fork where everyone was chilling by a waterfall. I was just glad to be with everyone again. 

After some pictures and drinks, we drifted down the right fork of the river. Thankfully there were no more forks, and we all had a blast coasting down the river drinking in the sun, surrounded by huge mountains. I so wish I had a camera on me. 

After coming back from river tubing, we took a couple hours to rest until it was time to go on the bat cave tour. After hearing the tour guide say "This is where people have almost slipped into nothingness," I was kind of terrified the entire time but it was still super cool. I thought we would see a huge flock of bats fly out, but it was just a couple at a time. Kind of a disappointment, but when else would you walk around in a bat cave?