Tube Rafting – Staying Alive!

Rafting is very popular and considered an adventure activity. Over the years as it has become popular, so have the safety measures to ensure the safety of the rafter. How about rafting all alone... on a tube... on a rousing stream... with just a stick... with nobody to help... you survive to live... you turn turtle to drench... the adventure is all about the mini version of the rafting, if you can call it!

Place: Deep in Western Ghats near Sakleshpur

Setup: Flowing water (river, canal or a full stream)

What you need: A tube, lifejacket and a stick and loads of guts

Wear the life jacket and enter the flowing stream (the cold water makes you scream…). Place the tube and hop on to it in a sitting position so as not to fall till you are comfortably seated. That’s it! The stream or the river takes it from there and it’s up to you to decide to live or not to, all of your energy needs to be utilized to move ahead and not spin off or turn turtle and keep praying the tube does not burst hitting the rocks or any sharp branches, the only spirit of being alive keeps you moving and conquering the challenging hurdles as you wanna shriek aloud being ‘Alive is Awesome’ – you need to fight each turn, each, hurdle, each obstacle, each rock that comes in your way to stay afloat and keep moving forward.

By this time, you would be drenched in the cold waters to the core and to the last bit of clothing you have, to unnerve each and every nerve of yours, to the last strand of hair on you that has been spooked, to the last teeth in you that has been unable to stop chattering, to the last drop of water that is oozing out from your ears, eyes and the nostrils, to those shivering hands that are fighting to control the movement of the tube with the stick, to those legs that are been savaged hitting the rocks in all directions, to that moment when you are praying to stay afloat and alive, to the moment you realize being alive is awesome, cursing your friend who pushed you in deep shaky waters and as you surge ahead fighting like a warrior, a wry smile, a moment of glory, the sings of courage, the happiness of being alive, the pride of doing it, the moment of feeling alive is awesome engulfs you as you come to a standstill on placid waters and try to get off the riveting adventure you had and recollecting those moments when you barely ‘lived’.

Now with confidence oozing out from everywhere, you stride ahead with big steps, chest beating and ready for another saga of the adventure to live it, do it, come out alive and feel alive is awesome again and again…