We get picked up in the morning by a man in a SUV. Turns out that he is our tourguide and his name is Gabriel. He will be leading our canyoning tour with a total of 2 customers!!! Once again, we get a private tour.

We first stop at the shop to fit our wet suits, shoes and helmets. Darren and I pack light and only bring sunscreen and a waterproof camera for the full day adventure.

During our drive, we pass Puerto Montt which is ironic. We had to go to Puerto Varas to do this excursion, but we were closer in the last town we were in. Our guide tells us stories of Chilean politics, history, weather and his life. He grew up in Santiago, but enjoys Puerto Varas more. Puerto Varas has a good vibe and there are more adventurous activities to do. He went to school for tourism and has been to Yosemite, CA. He is a climber and very outgoing.

After some whinding, gravel roads, we arrive at the park. There are trees here that are 1000s of years old, called alerces. They are very slow growing and were being cut down to build houses, so they are now protected in the national park. Also, the rock here was formed by volcanos and it is basalt rock; this smooth type of rock is the reason we can slide down the canyon. When we step out of the SUV, we are greeted by this flying bug again. They are everywhere and Gabriel tells us that they are attracted to black (good thing our wet suits are black!).

Now, you maybe asking what canyoning is?? Haha, well it is fun!! It is similiar to watersliding, except you are sliding down naturally formed waterfalls and well....canyons.

We do a small hike up the canyon to get to our starting point. Gabriel leaves us shortly to drop off some supplies and we wait for him at a bridge overlooking the valley. The mountains are populated with lush vegetation.

We arrive at our first slide. Gabriel advises us on the best way to hold your body as you go down the slides. I'm nervous; I don't want to be scared of water, but I am. This gives me drive to do this, but my knees are shaking. I make Darren go first....every time.

Each slide is different. Some we go down on our stomach, some we do backwards, one we had to hold in our right arm and another we had to go backwards while touching our toes (this was the scariest). The slides reached up to about 5 metres high and most slides look impossible to fit through, but some how we make it each time. In addition to the slides, we also get to cliff jump and run around the 'matrix' (a circular wall with the pool of water below). My run was more like a short jog followed by a stop then a jump into the water.

For lunch, Gabriel brought us sandwiches filled with mayo, mushrooms, olives and cucumber. We started eating while he prepared the salad which was half an avocado filled with mayo and shrimp. The dessert was more bread (but sweeter) filled with butter and chocolate, as well as a nectarine. We are full!

The end of our canyoning trip leads us to a 100 foot waterfall that we repel down. I make Darren go first. When I clip in, my knees start to shake and I have to lean backwards. I can't see over the ledge and it is a long ways down!!! I take a deep breath and let go; phew, I'm okay! I start letting myself down while Gabriel belays me from above. I am right beside the falls and I look around as I'm hanging above the ground and below the cliff. It isn't quite as scary when you are descending and you know everything is under control. I land on a small cliff beside Darren and we have to jump off the edge into the water below; this time we have an audience watching. We make one final jump into the deep pool formed by the falls.

Back in Puerto Varas, we watch the videos of us during the day. We are given the video and pictures taken with a go-pro if we buy Gabriel a home-made beer. But, unfortunately the beer keg is not working so we get the video and other free beer instead. Gabriel cheers our beer, but stops us and says that we must cheers and look into the persons' eyes because it is good luck - you will be rewarded with 7 years of good sex. Well, that is the first time that I heard about that, but cheers! We hang out for awhile at the shop and laugh about the day's event.

Darren and I go back to the hostel and show each our war wounds. I have a bruised hip, sore nose (from plugging it so hard) and I'm a bit dizzy from all the water I ingested. Darren has a sore right elbow; he probably didn't listen when we had to hold our arm in ;-).

We ate supper at La Cucina; once again, overlooking the lake. After a difficult conversation with the waitress and a not-so-good wine, we ordered a thin crust pizza. Luckily the pizza was delicious, so it made up for the lengthy wait. The volcanos across the lake are noticeable right now, but most of the time they are hidden by clouds.

It is an early night as we are tired from drinking gulps of water and zooming down the canyon. Tomorrow we will search for adventure again.