Needless to say, we had a hard time choosing what to do. I definitely wanted to do something scenic, but the thought of canyoning (basically sliding down the side of the mountains via waterfalls and streams and boulders sans boat or raft) sounded a little too cold for me. Daniel definitely wanted to do something adventurous and maybe a little daring, but the thought of jumping out of a plane or helicopter was a little too much thrill. After all, we wanted to live to experience the rest of our trip.
We decided to head into town for breakfast while we pondered our options. As we walked through the cute little streets, catching glimpses of the alps through the buildings, we came across the 'landing field for the para-gliders and hesitantly removed that from our list of potential ways to die. ...Maybe next time, Switzerland.
And then we found the chocolate. My word, the CHOCOLATE! It took every ounce of self control to not pull an Augustus Gloop and start shoveling truffles into my mouth like a chipmunk.
If you've ever had real Swiss chocolate, you know. I'm not talking about the Lindt truffles you can buy at Walgreen's either. They may look the same, but true Swiss chocolate is indescribably better.
We bought as much as we thought we could fit in our carry on bags and got the heck out of there before I embarrassed Americans everywhere. (You're welcome.)
Much to our relief we were issued neoprene wet-suits to help keep us warm. Then, we were split up into groups and our guides gave us the safety spiel. That's when we realized the rest of our group had already been rafting the day before AND FLIPPED THEIR RAFT. Every single one of them had gone overboard and had to be rescued. No amount of neoprene could keep me warm enough if I was freely floating down that river, so I took those rafting 101 instructions very seriously. If our guide said jump right, I jumped right. If our guide said get down and hold on, I gripped that safety line like a boss. I was one with the raft. We were ready.
The scenery was stunning! We wound through the valley, passing little cottages and farms; even a lady trying to herd her dairy cows over a little bridge.
As we approached the second or third rapid, there was a lot of chatter on our raft (english wasn't their first language, but we knew something was up). Turns out, this was the rapid where they FLIPPED.
Our guide was really amazing and his expertise got us through safely. I do admit it was a team effort, but I have to credit my fear-driven reflexes. We made it further than our group had on their first attempt.
After a few more river bends, the chatter started again. My first thought was 'oh, no! not again!' Of course, they couldn't have flipped twice. This was the point where they were finally able to be rescued after grabbing onto a small sand bar. No, thank you. That was too long to be bobbing in 8 degree water.
At one point, the river widened and calmed a bit. So, our guide decided it was the perfect opportunity to practice the rescue techniques he taught us before we left. He asked 4 of us to 'jump overboard' so the other 4 could pull us back into the boat properly.
He wasn't kidding.
I asked him.
Then, he laughed to himself and said 'wait, you guys already know how to be rescued - don't you! You two in the front, jump in!'
He was referring to Daniel and I. Yep, this sunshine, heat-wave loving, Florida girl got out of the raft. Daniel did too, but lets focus on whats important here.
We jumped in and the people sitting next to us had to pull us back in the raft before we died of hypothermia. Toward the end of our excursion, our guide offered for our group to jump overboard and free float over the last, small rapid. All of the guys did it. I stayed in the raft with the other two sane people.
There comes a point when your body gets so cold that you begin to feel warm. I never got to that point. I was freezing the whole trip, but it was so much fun, I didn't care. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The river spilled into the beautiful Lake Brienz and that was the end of our Switzerland adventure.
We showered off, warmed up and enjoyed an amazing Swiss fondue for dinner. Tomorrow, we would head to the Cinque Terre.
