Today was interesting to say the least, but don’t worry, we all came out unscathed! We had an early morning departure to start our canyoning adventure. Going into this day, most of us were unsure of what canyoning was, but we were soon to find out.
We split up into two groups and squeezed ourselves into the wet suits (and by squeezed, we literally mean it). Once we had our wet suits, harnesses, life jackets, and helmets on, we were off to start our crazy adventure. To give you an idea of how we were feeling, imagine being in 55 degree rainy weather, squeezed in suits meant for Sea World trainers, and submerging yourself one by one into freezing cold water. Sounds awful right? Although the first jump may have been cold enough to momentarily take our breath away, it was also one of the most exhilarating and empowering moments of the trip. We continued on through our canyoning journey, walking through what appeared to be a rainforest, walking along trails, trying not to slip on the rocks, repelling down rocks, and zip lining into the water.
After zip lining, we moved onto the more difficult part of the course. This is where we were able to slide off of a thirty foot cliff into the water, jump off of a forty to fifty foot cliff, and climb across a ropes course on the side of a cliff. Throughout our canyoning adventure, our experienced guides from the RYG Outdoor Education Center imparted knowledge of the local environment and importance of the sustaining the local resources.
Canyoning did not only meet our expectations of the day but well exceeded them! Even though we spent much of the day freezing, all of the beautiful scenery and thrills that we felt were way worth it. After our canyoning experience, we spent the rest of the day traveling by coach to the ferry port where we hopped on the ferry to embark on a three hour journey to Ireland. Hope Dublin is ready for this group of UNI students!
Courtney
Senior, Elementary Education
Audrey
Management: Business Administration & Finance
