Once again marbellas.com follows adrenalin junkie Babak Alimordian and one of his TeamXtreme groups of fun seekers for another big adventure, this time up in the mountains of Almuñeca.

Another early start; meeting at La Cañada shopping centre at 7am on a Sunday morning, there were more than a few blurry eyes on the gaggle of athletes, wannabe athletes and not-a-hope athletes. Most of the group were novices when it comes to canyoning, and one or two didn’t really know what they were actually letting themselves in for. Well, for those out there who don’t know either here is the Oxford English Dictionary definition: “Canyoning pronunciation; /kanj0ning/ (also canyoneering) noun; the sport of jumping into fast-flowing mountain streams and allowing oneself to be carried downstream at high speed.” Well no worries there then…

Nature rush

As Babak’s team left the rendezvous at 7.15am and headed East towards Malaga the sun was just peeking over the horizon and gradually rose like a huge orange space hopper in the sky (except without the smiley face). The first taste of an amazing dose of nature coming on this Sunday.

Wet suits and crash hats

Having spent almost two hours in the small convoy of cars and vans, a pan con tomate breakfast in a small venta at the foot hills of the mountain range above Almuñeca made a welcoming stop. Before long everyone was fueled up and eager to make the final assent to the top of the mountains where the river started it dive down the Mediterranean some 3 or 4 kilometers below. On leaving the venta, about 20 sets of wetsuits, helmets and harnesses were laid out for collection in the car park. Again there were quite a few who hadn’t even worn a wet suit before, let alone an abseiling harness so struggling into the rubber inner tube was quite a task in itself. Once everyone was dressed, the group were further squeezed, this time into the two mini buses for the climb to the top.

Souring Buzzards

A wake of Buzzards glided across the sun which now was rising fast in the sky. The silence was only broken by a faint breeze and the clinking of the abseiling hooks around the waists of the rubber clad canyoneers. The days rules were set out by the leading professional guide, Alex, who ironically had a thin face resembling that of a mountain goat; defined cheek bones, large dark eyes and a sharp jaw complete with goatee beard.

A line of black figures filed down the mountain pass towards the river which could be heard in the distance crashing down between the one mountain and the next. Some paused to smell the wild herds growing along the path, Rosemary, Thyme, Mint and Lavender. Arriving at the river the air was fresh, and the water in the small, almost purpose made pool was icy cold to the touch but the wet suits worked well to keep the skin warm as everyone gingerly had their first taste of water from the Sierras.

Abseiling

Canyoning with TeamXtreme is not entirely as the dictionary definition would lead to believe, there is no being washed down the river at high speed, in fact the journey is fairly slow, but by no means without exercise. Arriving at the first major drop of about 50 feet threw some of the group and wasn’t made much easier by the deluge of gushing water which crashes down on the head of person on the ropes. But although the initial few steps are intimidating the technique of descending soon becomes fairly easy and even invigorating, helped enormously by the mountain goat, Alex.

No turning back

One by one the Canyoneers arrived safely at the bottom of the waterfall and continued on following the river down the mountain. Next came the first jump. A couple of meters after squeezing between to rocks there was a sheer drop of 15 feet with a water small pool at the bottom. 15 feet may not sound like much but when looking down into a pool the size of a small Marbella Jacuzzi, it seems much more difficult to just launch off. But, there is no turning back, forward is the only way, so one by one everyone had to jump. Some took longer than others but with a cheer for every splash eventually the whole team was down. Wading through the water and gaining confidence with each new jump the moral, support and camaraderie increased as the day went on. One of the group however, did found himself hanging upside down, dangling on the rope with feet in the air and his helmet filled with water. No harm down though and the sight was quite the most humorous part of the day. With each twist and turn of the river there was someone to help if the going got tough.

Finding civilisation

After about 4 1/2 hours of jumping, hanging, sliding, splashing, swimming and wading a dog was heard barking and the troop felt that civilisation and life was just around the corner. It was only then that some realised they had been so absorbed in the experience of the day and the beauty of the nature and the surrounding, they had totally taken their minds off the world they had left at 7am in La Cañada.

For a dose of pure escapism we would highly recommend a TeamXtreme Canyoning experience. Oliver, Jarlath, Gillian, Sandra, Hannah, Augusto, Caroline, Babak, Juan, Audrey, Craig, Alex the goat , Patricio and Gary were the TeamXtreme on this particular Sunday.

Contact Babak Alimoradian at www.TeamXtreme.es for more details about the next Cayoning trip or any other of the many activities he has on offer.

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