For those who didn't watch the video from yesterday's post, today we're canyoning down Mount Olympus! Canyoning (or canyoneering, as it's known in the US) is basically making your way down through a canyoning by repelling, jumping, sliding, walking, etc.
We arrived at the base of the mountain and started to prepare for our excursion. The two guides gave us wet suit socks to protect our feet, and they very much hurt inside my tennis shoes. On our backs, they tied our helmet and wet suits to our harness. By this point, we were all anxious to get going!
The trek started off with an excruciating 40 minute hike up the mountain. Apparently the last half was at a 45 degree angle uphill. It was rough. That was was definitely not mentioned in the informational meeting. By the time we reached the top, we were all exhausted, sweating buckets, and terribly thirsty. Good thing we had the river with fresh spring water to drink from! It was honestly the best water I've ever had, so crisp and clean and delicious. We put our wet suits in the water to get the wet, which was supposed to make them easier to put on. We all looked ridiculous and it was hilarious. We were all anxious to get started, but had to go through a short safety lesson before we made our way to the first waterfall.
We were told that this first waterfall was the shortest, but was also the most difficult. We had to repel down it, but it was wet and slippery and at a funny angle. Not at all intimidating at all for a beginner. I, as well as most of the others in the group, was extremely nervous, but at that point it's not really an option. I just went for it. I wasn't very good at first, and slipped a few times before reaching the bottom. Despite the fact that the ropes were very strong and secure, I was terrified.
After a short walk, we had reached the next cliff we needed to repel down. This one was dry, but it was 60 feet tall! I slipped and hit my knees against the rocks a few more times on the way down, convinced I wouldn't be very good at this canyoning thing. When I reached the bottom, I walked a few steps to another 40 foot drop. This time, you had the option to choose between jumping off the side, or sliding down the waterfall into a large pool. I chose to waterslide. It was so much fun! The water was absolutely frigid, and hurts going up your nose as you enter, but it's such a nice change from the blistering heat that I wasn't complaining.
To get to the rest of the waterfalls and drops, we had to do a bit more walking through the river. The part I found most amusing was that I struggled the most with simply walking! The rocks were usually mossy or smoothed out from the water constantly flowing across the top, making walking extremely complicated. I slipped in the water more times than I could count, and it kind of became the running joke of the day. This fact made it a bit scary when I had to get on the very edge of a rock to either jump or get my harness hooked to the rope.
The next waterfall we came across was my favorite. It was the tallest, probably around 70-80 feet tall, and led into a deep blue pool of water. This time around, I was determined to make it all the way down without slipping; and I did! Practice makes perfect, I guess. The rope was cut just short of the water, meaning at the end you had to jump backwards and just fall into the water. This water, because it was shaded and was the deepest of the pools, was ice cold and was quite a shock as you hit the water.
After climbing out of the pool, the leaders had set aside some snacks for us in a waterproof container. It was mainly just granola bars and such, but since we hadn't eaten since breakfast and had been using so much energy we were starving. I finished my snack and climbed up the side of the rock to where one of the leaders was taking pictures, and decided to be brave and jump off into the pool. It was scary, had to have been at least 50-60 feet, but fun at the same time and I'm glad I did it.
More walking through the river, or for me falling, and a few more short jumps and repels. The last area we got to zip line down, and that was really fun too. We had about a 15 minute hike around the side of the mountain that led us to a small pool where some local families were hanging out and swimming. We all took our wet suits off and slowly got in the freezing water for a quick swim before heading home. In the process, I got stung by a wasp of some sort on the finger. I had never been stung before and wasn't sure if I was allergic, so I wasn't sure how to react. Nothing happened though, so no worries.
We gathered all of our stuff up and headed back to the cars to dry off, change into dry clothes, and pack up. It was after 5:30pm when we left! None of us could believe it took us all day. By this time, all of our adrenaline had worn off, and we realized how exhausted we all were. Not a single person was awake for the ride home. I came home and took a nap before the girls and I went down the street to Roma Pizza for dinner. I only ate half and brought the rest back to save for later. Decided to call it an early night tonight. Not only am I still exhausted from today, but we have another long day planned tomorrow!
We were told that this first waterfall was the shortest, but was also the most difficult. We had to repel down it, but it was wet and slippery and at a funny angle. Not at all intimidating at all for a beginner. I, as well as most of the others in the group, was extremely nervous, but at that point it's not really an option. I just went for it. I wasn't very good at first, and slipped a few times before reaching the bottom. Despite the fact that the ropes were very strong and secure, I was terrified.
To get to the rest of the waterfalls and drops, we had to do a bit more walking through the river. The part I found most amusing was that I struggled the most with simply walking! The rocks were usually mossy or smoothed out from the water constantly flowing across the top, making walking extremely complicated. I slipped in the water more times than I could count, and it kind of became the running joke of the day. This fact made it a bit scary when I had to get on the very edge of a rock to either jump or get my harness hooked to the rope.
The next waterfall we came across was my favorite. It was the tallest, probably around 70-80 feet tall, and led into a deep blue pool of water. This time around, I was determined to make it all the way down without slipping; and I did! Practice makes perfect, I guess. The rope was cut just short of the water, meaning at the end you had to jump backwards and just fall into the water. This water, because it was shaded and was the deepest of the pools, was ice cold and was quite a shock as you hit the water.
After climbing out of the pool, the leaders had set aside some snacks for us in a waterproof container. It was mainly just granola bars and such, but since we hadn't eaten since breakfast and had been using so much energy we were starving. I finished my snack and climbed up the side of the rock to where one of the leaders was taking pictures, and decided to be brave and jump off into the pool. It was scary, had to have been at least 50-60 feet, but fun at the same time and I'm glad I did it.More walking through the river, or for me falling, and a few more short jumps and repels. The last area we got to zip line down, and that was really fun too. We had about a 15 minute hike around the side of the mountain that led us to a small pool where some local families were hanging out and swimming. We all took our wet suits off and slowly got in the freezing water for a quick swim before heading home. In the process, I got stung by a wasp of some sort on the finger. I had never been stung before and wasn't sure if I was allergic, so I wasn't sure how to react. Nothing happened though, so no worries.
We gathered all of our stuff up and headed back to the cars to dry off, change into dry clothes, and pack up. It was after 5:30pm when we left! None of us could believe it took us all day. By this time, all of our adrenaline had worn off, and we realized how exhausted we all were. Not a single person was awake for the ride home. I came home and took a nap before the girls and I went down the street to Roma Pizza for dinner. I only ate half and brought the rest back to save for later. Decided to call it an early night tonight. Not only am I still exhausted from today, but we have another long day planned tomorrow!
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