Today was the second day of our rafting trip in the Amazon. We met our guides at 8:00 a.m. and took a half-hour car ride to the river. Once we arrived, we put on our splashguards, windbreakers, and helmets and set off to the river. Since we had such a large group, we were split into two teams and each had two separate rafts. The river was a lot wider but not as rocky as our first day so we all thought it would be a little easier. At least that’s what we were hoping, since we were all a little sore from yesterday.

We got into our rafts and began to paddle. The sun was not out yet so the water was freezing! After about thirty seconds in the raft, we hit our first wave and were instantly soaked. At least it doesn’t take long to acclimate to the cold water! It was definitely a lot calmer than yesterday so we were able to do more tricks and have fun. We were spinning in circles, getting sucked into “waffle makers,” and orchestrating an instrumental verse of “We Will Rock You” with our paddles. We spent a few hours on the river and stopped for lunch about halfway through the trip. The guides set up a huge table full of fresh fruit and everything we needed to make sandwiches. It was so good, and we all ate more then we needed! Since we were out of the water for so long, getting back into the raft was even colder than when we started. We had goose bumps and blue lips for about a minute until we were once again drenched with water. The river after lunch was a little calmer than when we started so our tour guide George decided to spice things up a little. He had us all stand on the side of our raft holding hands in a circle. He told us this was the “blooming flower game.” We all leaned in and leaned out at the same time trying to keep balance. All of a sudden, we hit a wave and everyone fell into the water. George of course knew this was going to happen and was laughing hysterically. We all got back into the raft and played a few more games, hit more waves, and had people sitting on the very edge of the raft up front. I’m pretty sure we were in the water the same amount of time we were in the raft. Our guide was so much fun and was constantly telling jokes and making us laugh. After going from such a serious and strenuous first day of rafting, it was good to have fun and laugh almost the entire tour.