Everything looks perfect from far away

Day 2 of our epic, whirlwind adventure: rappelling in Da Lat.

Me looking like a pee-wee football player. Huzzah!

After months of teaching and not much else, Emily and I heralded in our tour of Southeast Asia with aplomb. Rising early, we sipped (and griped over) tiny cups of coffee before heading out into the wilderness with a group of boys from Wales, a lone Australian and two Vietnamese guides. The day was bright, sun shining through the tall, spindly trees, warm on our faces while a breeze kept the morning cool. Our intrepid leaders, who spoke very good English and were surprisingly careful and on top of all safety matters, led us down the side of a canyon, where our first stop was a lesson on rappelling. We were first instructed on how to hook ourselves up to the rope and walk down the side of a steep slope. This was followed by a lesson on how to jump when you're rappelling down a cliff. With only six students, both lessons took all of ten minutes--not exactly confidence instilling, but we trekked on.

One of the best things about the trek was the lead into things. We were never thrown into something we couldn't handle. Instead, we worked our way from simple, easy lessons into more difficult drops, step by step. After our brief introduction to scaling down cliff faces while dangling on ropes, we rappelled down a short cliff. The next cliff was taller and ended in a splash of water. This was a tease, a getting our feet wet, if you'll allow me the pun, of what was to come.

Getting the hang of it. (I'm sorry about the puns. I just can't seem to help myself.)

Going into this adventure, I didn't really know what to expect. Two friends had raved about it and it sounded thrilling like a good jolt of some much-needed adrenalin, but I was also apprehensive as I'd never done anything remotely like rappelling. I'd never even done the fake rock-climbing you can do in all the enormous, ultra-modern, hi-tech gyms these days. Having said that, my first tastes had me giddy, shaking with excitement like a toddler who has no words to express how happy they are.

We broke for lunch at our next rappel site. Over sandwiches and fruit, we soaked up the sun and the sounds of water rushing over land.

When I saw the waterfall we'd be going over next I was less terrified than I thought I'd be. I'd somehow been roped (pun intended, once again) into going first in everything and this was no exception. While sailing down the side of the cliff in a mix of smooth and shaky jumps had been fun, it was nowhere near as exhilarating as doing it down a waterfall with the force of the water pushing me down, my feet slipping over slick rocks, and rainbows peeking out of the spray around me. My joy ripped through me, bursting out in uncontrollable laughter. Not even my fumbled landing where I lost the rope and fell into the water instead of jumping like I was supposed to could suppress how elated I felt.

The first waterfall. This was my absolute most favorite part of the day.

Emily concentrating on where her feet are going next.

Next we jumped off a cliff into pool of murky brown water. At only 11 meters high, I was less than impressed with this part of the excursion, but the boys loved it. They jumped and dove over and over again, twisting through the air with glee. Our guides even got in on the action--one dove from the highest part of the cliff and the other did a front flip/twist.

I'm pretty sure I've jumped off higher things than this. Just saying.

The sight of our last rappel was the only one that scared me. I was faced with a jagged cliff edge, empty air space, a gushing waterfall coming from the opposite direction and a narrow, rocky landing. None of the previous rappels had been from a great height and neither was this one, but the roaring white water and impending free hanging above it had me nervous. However, that still moment where I was dangling in the air between the cliff above me and the rocks below me was one of the coolest parts of the whole experience. Somehow, despite no prior experience with rappelling, I felt safe there in that moment and I knew I really was in control of my pace and actions even without a place to put my feet. Of course, then the water hit me and I bounced around a bit before dropping into the water below me, guzzling a gallon of water as I did so. I might need to work on my landings.

This is right before I lost whatever semblance of control I thought I had.

Emily being engulfed in the waterfall.

All in all, it was an amazing way to start off our adventure. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.