Day twenty-two and it marked the beginning of the second half of our trip. So after an early start and a big breakfast we decided to celebrate by getting active.

We were told the river wasn't quite ready for quality rafting yet, due to the ice taking it's time to melt in the Alps, so we opted for a day of canyoning.

For those who may not know, canyoning is pretty much about imitating Bear Grylls working your way down a canyon and trying to have a great time while doing it. The canyon we chose involved jumps and slides over twenty meters in height and some crazy rappelling down waterfalls.

The canyon was called Chli Schliere and the drive out there took about an hour. On the way out Sal met a nice couple from Canada, who had an enormous amount of salami in their bag and it stank! I was next to a shy young guy, also from Canada, and he had only just arrived and was very nervous.

The guides were good fun and played good cop, bad cop all day. Sal thought the bad cop looked like a big version of Mini Me from Austin Powers. (I would have thought this would have meant he looked like Dr Evil but apparently not!)

We arrived at the canyon and after being thrown into wild grass to get changed we set off on a bit of a hike. After walking for about 25 minutes in a double layer wet suit I was sweating up a storm. Nothing quite like the Superted saga but I was ready to jump into the icy water to cool down.

And jump we would!

At the very start of the canyon we were presented with a 10 meter jump straight down a waterfall and into a little rock pool. We were told to do a cannon ball jump - so like 'lemmings' we did as we were told. The water on landing felt amazing. If you've never seen Swiss water it is astonishing! So clear and pristine.

We continued on our way through another narrow jump. This one I slightly miscalculated and bumped off the side. Sal was a bit worried by this but held her nerve and made the jump.

The environment that surrounds the canyon is breathtaking and it makes the experience all the more amazing. The guides kept things moving quickly so it was good to take some time out and float around and just take it all in.

After two exhilarating jumps it was time for out first slide of the day. The water running through the canyons has smoothed the rocks into natural slides that are just pumping with white water.

Sal loved the slides and her face reminded me of how she looks when being pulled on a tube. The outfit made her look more like a penguin than a water rat though.

We continued making our way down the canyon with heaps of jumps and slides, and one very cool combination of the two that required a leap onto a wall that turned immediately into a slide.

Rappelling down the waterfall was also a great experience but I discovered harnesses aren't that comfortable when you're just hanging!

Nearing the end we came to two crazy jumps. One required a flip of sorts from about 7 meters, if you were brave enough. Sal stepped up to the edge and attempted a back flip. She wiped out and belly whacked with a massive splash! I got egged-on by one of the guides and tried a forward somersault and landed on my back. Not the best place to experiment new dives!

From here we had a tricky climb up to a 20m platform for another jump into the same rock pool. Sal survived with a textbook cannonball. I was left up the top with the other guide, Bad Cop, and the whole group below watching. Bad Cop suggested we put on a show and I ended up failing again with legs unfortunately being quite wide at impact and my face making first contact with the water. The crowd seemed to enjoy my discomfort though.

After we trekked our way out we were handed a beer and some bread with delicious Swiss cheese.

Sal and I had a blast of a time. We returned to the hotel exhausted and had a nap.

We headed out for a quick bite to eat and a short stroll around the rivers before calling it a day.

Below is a link to some video footage of the canyon to get an idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ldjuCgeeu4&sns=em