river

hey everybody,

Man, things are getting busy around here and time keeps getting away from me.  This weekend our crew,  Betsy, Lucia, and myself, headed down to the river to put in a little practice for the Ruta de Maya.  We had never all been in a canoe together, so there was a lot to accomplish.  First, I had to establish the ranks of command.  Naturally, I named myself captain of the boat, and started shouting orders. We practiced turning and paddling in unison, with me shouting helpful hints like, "Row!" and "Row harder!"  We made a lot or progress.  The mutinous threats that a overheard from Lucia I took as hyperbole.
 We also practiced shooting some "rapids," which weren't very, but were enough to tip our little craft.  So we also practiced bailing and trying to flip the canoe in the water.  At this second thing we were not successful, so we had to swim to shore.  Then I ordered the boat sunk deliberately so we could practice again.  The mutinous threats now came from both of my compatriots.  After a few minutes, it became clear that our strategy will be to head to shore before attempting to reenter the canoe.  Locals say that crocodiles hang out on some of the shoreline, but I'm not letting that worry me. 

I hope all is well with you guys, you will get updates from the river!