"Canyon Endurance"

ben balances on an over-water log

Isla dangerwalks over an underwater log

Canyoning should be called "canyon indurance". Or perhaps danger walking. Or valley hiking. All these names convey the arduous task that is canyoning better than its original name. Man we were shattered after the activity today. Still i enjoyed parts of it and we had the guides we all now know and love from white water rafting and rappelling. The 30 minute hike up the side of the canyon was a killer though. Isla didnt enjoy it too much but it was apparently different today. Usually theres more water in the bottom of the canyon but today there was hardly any. This is because it hasnt rained heavily in ages.

Later we're going to book our accomodation in cabarete for when we leave ISV behind. We'll be staying in the same place and our adventure tour leader, Adolfo, reckons he can get us a deal on the price.

Tomorrow we're going wind surfing. Looking forward to this one a lot and the way my hand is healing I should even be able to hold up the sail fore more than 3 seconds. In the afternoon we're heading down to Sosua to go snorkeling. I'll get to see loads of local fish and we get told about the coral reef conservation projects.

The Adventure Contuinues

Yesterday we all went white water rafting. It was great fun and the guides were mental. We didn't topple over on the rapids but at one point the guide tipped the boat over on purpose. It was great fun. The hotel we're staying at is really fantastic and every night they put on a buffet for all 22 of us. Compared to the first 2 weeks the food is amazing and the luxury, although not much, makes it comparably very comfortable.

Today we went waterfall rappelling. We went down 2 cliff faces next to a waterfall and the views were stunning. The first drop wasn't that big but the second one was supposed to be 65 meters. I managed to get rope burn on my hand from going down too fast though and I'm currently covered in plasters. Everything is ok though and we are all having fun.





We've managed to pick up some Americans to stay the extra week with us and the plan is to go to Cabarete and then Santo Domingo for the meringue festival.

End Of Volunteering Part

The volunteering part of my trip has ended now. We did loads. On the school we managed to get the walls a good 4 feet high and we cleaned and sorted most of the other classrooms so all the broken furniture was out the back. With the kids we managed to teach them a few things but they were greatful that we had come from afar to amuse them. One could say it has been incredibly fulfilling. Either way it has been a lot of fun and it has been one of the best experiences of a foreign country i´ve ever had.

Now comes the fun part, though. The adventure tour lasts for 2 weeks and is going to be fun. Today we went horseback riding to a waterfall. The waterfall was quite high and was cool but i couldnt help thinking of the plitvice lakes and how it compared. Even so here you can swim in it and there was a small cave behind the fall to explore. My underwater camera is going strong and it takes good pictures.

The hotel we are at now (thank god to be in a hotel) is called tropic bananna and is owned by a french man. The hotel is fairly nice, has a pool, and the rooms have AC. It has all the basics and the food is pretty good, although all the food would seem good after Fusimana where lunch each day was crappy sandwiches. I think the volunteering part makes you appreciate this part more fully.

Tomorrow we´re going to a small island called cayo levantado off the coast of Samana. It should be great fun. Hopefully i can update the blog more often on the tour as there will be mnore net cafes.

Kids

These are some kids photos

Construction

These are some of the phots from the construction part of the volunteer work.

In the truck on the way there. It takes an hour to get there each day.

1 Week In

Well it's been a week now and we're back at the beach in sosua for a fun day out. We're not going on the beach today because yesterday we went to a place called 27 Waterfalls. About an hour out of puerto plata the place is located at the back of a sugar field. We didn't really know what to expect when we got there and the 20 minute hike to the actual waterfalls made us wonder if it was worth the 10 dollars we paid to do 12 of the 27 waterfalls. It was. The activity consisted of half climbing and half being hoisted up waterfalls by underwater monkey men. The place was beautiful and i took plenty of pictures with my underwater camera as we swan along the deep channels carved over millions of years by the running water. When we got the the top of the 12th waterfall we had to head back. What better way to head back then to jump and slide down all the waterfalls we had just climbed! The Pentax Optio w30 is a really well made waterproof digital camera. These waterfalls were the acid test for this type of camera and it passed with flying colours, not leaking when i lept off a 30 foot cliff into a pool of water with it. I will post the photos when i find an internet cafe that lets me use my memory stick.

The volunteering is ace. The school is already ahead of schedule and on friday we levelled the floor and on monday we will be starting on the walls. The old school we demolished was made out of sticks and tin and came downb really easily. Its hard work but you can always see progress at the end of the day.

Every other day we go and teach some poor spanish kids different things. This is also fun and the kids can be really adorable. We tought them Geography and Ecology last week. I'll write more next time.

More Info

We've had one weekend at the CSA complex now. Its been not that bad. The place is a bit of a hole, but we are volunteering so its not worse than can be expected. Lots of bugs hanging around, there was a cockroach on the wall in my room the other day but it cvanished before bed time.

Ben got his luggage back. Traveller's tip: Dont fly with American Airlines, they seem to have a reputation for losing baggage all over the show for domestic and international flights. Everyone i spoke to got their bags back eventually but its still a bit of hassle that can be avoided.

For our project we are going to be demolishing an old school and building a new one. Well we're not expected to finish the whole thing other groups will come in after us and finish off the job but we're the first there. Hopefully we'll get to the bit of laying the foundations.

We went to the beach for the day today. The place was humming. Isla and I waklked up and down the parade looking for shorts for her to work in. Bartering and Dealing with the locals is a pain in the ass. We were exhausted by the end so settled on some shorts she didnt really like. Lunch was nice though and we got to try some more of the local rum and a pinocolada served in a whole pineapple. Pretty good stuff.

gotta dash

Joel