things you experienced that still make you cringe

[eviljeff]

After a month of scuba, ziplines, and casados, Jason and I are ending our stay in Costa Rica on the class 4 rapids of the Rio Pacuare. The rafting company is called Locos. They live up to their name. The all-Tico crew has spent the morning launching the raft off rock formations and dumping us into the churning froth at their pleasure. We're loving it.

As the sun curves upward toward midday, we beach the raft for lunch. Battling the great salty beast has taxed me, so I discard my plastic weapon with the strength of a geriatric pitching his 9th inning. Before I can fully stretch out on my newly claimed beach, Manuel's shadow hovers over me. "Hike," he says.

The monkeys and birds gossip around us as we wade through streams, heading up into the forest toward Manuel's surprise. Finally we arrive at the top of an ampitheater of boulders. Without warning, Manuel jumps into the pool below. Jason and I wait for his unmangled body to bob to the surface before taking the 15-foot fall ourselves.

Manuel swims over to a crevice in the boulder formation and we follow. The narrow opening deeply penetrates the stacked rock formation and permits us uncomfortable entry. We maneuver into her belly, balancing on submerged rocks and stabilizing ourselves with our palms on her smooth walls. After about 15 feet Manuel stops, looks back at us gives us a quick command that is drowned out by the echoing sound of rushing water. He makes a quick swooping motion with his arm and dives into darkness. I give an incredulous look to Tom. "I think he said 'abajo' which means 'under'," he says. I look past Tom to our entry point, then at the ripples that Manuel left behind, then back at Tom. I take a breath, duck my head, and push myself forward.

My senses are deprived instantly. Sight and sound are gone. I feel only the cool water soothing my scorched skin. I take two more big strokes forward and decide to surface for air.

My head hits rock before surface. I immediately realize that there is no surface. My hands thrust upward, willing there to be an escape. Atlas, give me your strength. In panic, I expel the rest of my precious oxygen. I turn and try to propel myself to my origin. My movement in the water, once graceful, has now become a desperate thrashing dance. My lungs are a vacuum, sadistically commanding me to fill them with the poison that surrounds me. Rock. Rock. Rock. My hands find nothing but jagged punishment. I am an animal, futily clawing at the bars of my cage. I spin myself around in the water, observing my tomb. Light! I see light! My arms are fins. No man of woman born could beat me to this patch of hope. The light amplifies as I approach, like the cheers of a crowd at the finish line. One last push and I thrust my head upward into precious freedom. My Olympian strength vanishes as my frail body convulses for air. Manuel gives me a concerned look and then exclaims, "pura vida!"