Go Down that Grade 5 Rapid? Oh, No Problem

Despite being bruised, cut, a little chipped, and maybe sick for about a day, Laura and I survived our rafting trip down the Grade 5 run on the Nile River! Grade 5 rapids are usually rapids that'll flip your raft - as we saw on Sunday. Out of every rapid we went down, we probably flipped on all but two. The last rapid, a Grade 5 named "The Nile Special", flipped our raft on the first wave. There's nothing that wakes you up like the second wave hitting you - POW, right in the kisser.

We had an interesting raft companion named Matt who liked to dive out right into the rapids and float downstream to safety. If Matt was asking if the water was deep, we knew he was going to bail on us right when we got into the whitewater.

After every rapid, there was usually a long stretch of calm water where we could take off our helmets and go for a swim and float around. We were served fresh pineapple while floating down the Nile - nothing is more serene! I was so glad I got the opportunity, and really glad to take my first rafting trip in Uganda down the Nile River.

Unfortunately, I think I swallowed some of the lovely Nile on Sunday, and so on Tuesday I woke up with a tummy bug. Lessons learned - love the Nile, raft on it, but drink the beer, not the water.