GBP
Well, all grand things must come to an end.... and a couple of weeks ago it did with us resurfacing after a grand expedition through The Grand Canyon.
As part of our fundraiser for 'Turquoise Paw', which you all wonderfully contributed to also, the group went on a raft through the Grand Canyon for 8 days. And what a trip! We were joined by Geology students from Virginia, (who along with our guides were fantastically informing us as we encountered the various rocks and sediment on our journey) and between us there were two big rafts each with 15 people on them. All of them lovely and I dare say we made some friends for life there.
Our guides Ben, Julie, Mark and Connor were fantastic, so experienced and worked so hard. We were commenting that it reminded us of tour life ha ha! No sleep for weeks and multiple heads needed! They were really knowledgeable of the Canyon, its history, the various hikes and sites, and were top class navigators of the water. After over 200 rapids you come to flow as a team which in itself is bonding.
Ritzy bought me the book 'The Emerald Mile', which I need to finish reading because I was so engrossed in the Canyon. But the thought of people doing those rapids in a wooden dory extremely quickly is crazy. Some of the waves (like at Lava rapids) were BIIIIG. I'd like to try the trip again one day in one of those yeahhhh!
We went INTO THE BLUE of the little Colorado floating with just our life jackets on, we saw many Native American settlements with beautifully preserved pottery and big seed storage holes high in the canyons. We hiked to multiple breathtaking waterfalls along sheer cliff edges and jumped from ledges into the river. It was so hot it was welcome to be splashed regularly by the mighty Colorado. We saw Condors and Ospreys and little birds came to join us on our boat. We felt very lucky. We also got some freak winds on a couple of days which caked us all and our food in sand but we got on with it, reveled in the experience, and bonding comes from challenge eh. It was a great mixture.
Half way down the crew asked us to play a song or two. They bought a guitar the sneaky bast..loverly people! Couldn't play a couple of strings but when we visited the famous 'Great Unconformity' we felt pulled. It's an area that fascinates those interested in Geology because there's a layer of about a billion years missing. What happened?! The canyon has a lot of history and myths/stories attached to it and the acoustics were spookily great. Ben commented that it sounded like 5 people singing! We played them Underneath the Petal and Y Garreg Ateb (which aptly means 'The Answering Stone') and loved it. Loved playing live again in such a beautiful setting. So thanks for bringing the guitar you bast...loverly people!
Disconnecting from the modern world and reconnecting with the inner and something much bigger was wonderful and energising.
If you ever get the chance DO
A massive thanks to Ben, Julie, Mark and Connor and to Larry for coordinating.
xxx
Underneath the Petal and Y Garreg Ateb are also now backstage. Enjoy! x
