The Benahavís riverwalk

Lasting 2-3 hours, this enchanting walk through the Benahavís river really amazed me today. We arrived at a nearby car park and got handed a short sleeved wetsuit, a butt cover and some water shoes (similar to diving shoes). After assembling and leaving all our belongings behind we headed off. It started with a 15 minute trek along the roadside where we met our instructor. I won’t be mentioning his name but he was a very extroverted nice person who we had a nice chat with along the way. Apparently he had gone to the same secondary school we had, small world is it not? 

Reaching the first pond and stepping it, we found that the water was cold, brrrrr, but by the end I had warmed up quite significantly and actually enjoyed being in the water more than out of it, contrary to my brother who was shivering. Alas I am getting ahead of myself. After climbing down and crab walking through rocks we found ourselves at the first water slide. Hugo went first, then I and then Simona with everyone else following. We swam to the next shore, or well more like rock when he announced this was the first jumping area of the trip. It was a daunting 5 metre jump which only 2 of the 9 people in our group did. So the instructor suggested a smaller jump next to the large one which was only 3 metres. Neither my sister or brother wished to jump anything so they scuttled around back to the slide and slid again. Me on the other hand, I chose to jump the 3 metre jump, very exhilarating and I am proud of myself for doing so as usually I am scared of falling at large heights. 

Continuing onwards we walked through open ponds, passed by large locks and came upon the cave. This was a long swim to get out the other side and Hugo was having difficulty swimming and after exhausting both Simona and me by holding onto our backs the instructor let him hold on to his floating backpack and so they went for the rest of the journey. The sights were breath-taking and my brother made multiple comments about how he felt this scenery was like a movie. A true adventure and finally not a single stair in sight. Woohoooo. Now after trekking, slipping, forging and crabby style walking not to mention swimming the instructor announced the second jump but stated only the people who did the first were allowed it, as getting up with rope was easy but you could not get down unless you jumped. As the instructor and others got up with rope he left his floating back to me so I could transport Hugo and float in the middle of the river watching the jumps. Of course Hugo did not agree with the idea of floating on his own so the two of us swam forward and I found him a nice grab hold on a rock so he could support the rock and wall. Finally he finished his protest and we watched as the three people jumped, very fascinating. The instructor did a front flip, honestly amazing. However to get to shore Hugo was now in front of me so could not support off of my floating backpack, with lots of struggle he managed to swim the last 4 metres of the 15 metre distance, of course with my additional help from me pushing him from behind. Alas we conquered and continued on our walk. 

Coming to the end now there was one final jump, 3 metres which me and a few others jumped. Very fun. My brother wanted to jump by chickening out at the end, so the instructor suggested jumping from a smaller height of 1 metre he quickly agreed and after some encouragement at the new position he was flying. The last jumps were fantastic, people jumped bomb styled so it made waves and splashed everywhere, honestly so fun to experience. Then we swam or more like walked to the final shore and trekked the last 5 minutes to the car. Gave our equipment back and rode home where in 5 minutes we prepared for my brother’s football match and headed out. Truly an adventure full day today, how exciting and tiring. I will definitely sleep well tonight. 

Follow along for more of my adventures 🙂