So, there I was, floating in the Class 3 rapids of the Inn River, headed towards Innsbruck some 100 Km or more away. Judy was floating beside me. The question: how can two ancient, arthritic, less-than-spry old goats like us ever get back in our raft?
No big deal: this was part of the scheduled “guest overboard” drill to show that it’s not impossible. Our raft captain showed us how to grab the straps of the swimmer’s life vest and pull them in. The puller falls over backward, if necessary, to provide the needed force. The right side of our raft went first. It was my job to pull in one of our fellow Tauckers who happens to be the largest, in mass and girth, of the entire 35-person crew. It wasn’t that bad and it gave me confidence that he would pull me in with no problem. He did and several others helped Judy back aboard.
In fact, the 45-degree water was refreshing and we were equipped with wet suit, shoes, helmet and the life vest. I went overboard two more times just for the fun of it. Judy was happy with once. Carter lost count. He said he went in every chance he could. He ditched us early on and went in a raft with some of the other kids close to his age.
The Inn River, if you’re interested, starts at the Bernina Glacier not too far from where we were yesterday. It’s a tributary of the Danube and flows to the Black Sea. You may recall our glacier yesterday flowed to the Mediterranean, North and the Adriatic. Switzerland’s got a lot of Europe covered. Here’s hoping those glaciers don’t melt entirely away.
The rafting experience took place at Area 47, a huge water park facility established in 2010. https://area47.at/en/outdoor/rafting/rafting-imster-gorge/ if you’re interested. Blobbing was another interesting-looking activity. You sit on a giant inflatable blob. One or two others jump onto the other end of the blob and you’re catapulted into the air and into the water.
We left St. Moritz this morning, stopping once for a “welcome drink” just after crossing the Austrian boarder and arrived at Area 47 just before noon. Lunch was in the cafeteria. Our path followed the Inn River. The Inn has cut a broad valley that, in the day, made this a prime trade route. Some of the towns in Austria had examples of a carved building art, the name of which I did not capture. Examples are included in the photos.
Water rafting started at 12:45. We were back on the bus by 4:00 PM after an hour-and-a-half float/paddle/swim covering 17 km.
Another hour’s drive and we were at our hotel, the Aqua Dome about an hour from Innsbruck. We haven’t tried it yet but this place has hot spring bathing pools and a nude-only sauna complex. Carter will be a tough sell for a sauna session but maybe we can coax him into the hot springs.
We’ll go to Innsbruck tomorrow for ski jumping lessons. The bad news is that we can’t jump if the winds blow too hard. Here’s hoping.
