A rush of adrenalin

/ Sky Blue English/
Whitewater rafting in Montenegro

I went whitewater rafting in France when I was 16 and loved it so I was very keen to go again in Montenegro. We got up at the crack of dawn and had a three- hour drive up into the mountains. River Tara, known as the ‘tear of Europe’ is the second deepest canyon in the world and the view from the windy, alpine roads is breathtaking. The scenery changed as we ascended and we were soon passing little gabled cabins with steeply pitched roofs that, we were told, would soon be deep in snow. After a hearty breakfast of eggs, fried dough balls and cheese, we stripped off (down to our swimwear) and got into our skin-tight wetsuits and soggy boots. There were 12 of us to an inflatable raft and we took our positions and started meandering down the river. As we neared the first rapid, the skipper asked us to row and we were suddenly swept down the river with crashing waves all around us. It was great fun and definitely got the adrenaline flowing!

Glossary

  • whitewater rafting  (adj.) 

An activity in a boat that involves going down very fast-flowing, rough rivers.

  • crack of dawn (phrase)

Just when the sun is rising

  • a tear  (noun)

A single drop of water that appears when people cry.

  • canyon (noun)

A river that has high rocks on either side.

  • windy (adj.)

A road or path that bends and turns a lot.

  • alpine (noun)

Relating to mountains.

  • breathtaking (adj.)

Something that is amazing and takes your breath away.

  • ascended (verb)

To go up

  • gabled (adj.)

A building that has a triangular part at the front

  • steeply (adverb)

If something is steep, it is more vertical than horizontal, like this: \

  • pitched (adj.)

A roof that slopes down

  • hearty (adj.)

a good, filling meal. This adjective also has other meanings.

  • dough (noun)

A mixture of flour, water and butter

  • strip off (phrasal verb)

To take your clothes off

  • skin-tight (verb)

A piece of clothing that fits your body

  • soggy (noun)

Quite wet

  • meander (verb)

To go slowly

  • rapid (noun)

A part of the river in which the water flows fast because it is going downhill

  • to be swept down (phrasal verb - passive)

To be taken down a river quickly

  • crashing (verb)

When waves make a loud noise

  • adrenalin (noun)

A chemical that our bodies produce when we are nervous, excited or angry.

  • to flow (verb)

When a liquid moves quickly