Day 9- Yosemite!

Today we woke up early and left for Yosemite at 8 o'clock! It was a two hour bus ride, but it didn't feel that long. In the first 30 minutes of being in Yosemite we already spotted one deer! It was so impressive and the view was incredible! We did not expect the rocks to be as huge as they really were. For us Europeans it felt a lot like home! The air was colder and it was really green and well-preserved. We took the shuttle to the starting point of our hike, where we got even more excited to go up because we could see the huge waterfall! The second half of our hike up was more tiring and had more stairs. I didn't expect the air to be as humid and to feel spray of the waterfall as much. It was refreshing and in the shade it was cool (unlike Grand Canyon). The nature was just so pretty, and colorful I understand how hard it would be to replicate in a painting. We finished our hike up to the top and had the opportunity to take some more pictures of the view from above. While we were posing on rocks, Eddy tried to take the best picture and slipped. He hit his back  really hard, and scrapped his arm, BUT he managed to save Nina's camera!! After screaming happy birthday to Jueng Ha, we headed back down the mountain. We faced several wet stairs, shaking knees and other people climbing up the mountain, but we were still able to reach the bottom without any serious injuries! We are all climbing down so close together, the fact that no one fell and triggered a huge domino effect, was great! We accomplished our mission and then after a few minutes rest moved on to the next one, RAFTING! After a quick lesson beforehand, we all "knew" what was expected and we used teamwork to maneuver our way down the river. Many of us got splashed during the fights for the leading boat situation and some of us had to jump in the river in order to push the boats because we got stuck on the shallow parts. Some of boys hung out of the boats holding onto trees and lost their paddles, which gave us an advantage and allowed us to pass them! Carl's boat won the race (not expected). The girls power, however, was still to be admired. After rafting we took the shuttle to the park lodge and had a great dinner! We can't wait for San Francisco tomorrow!

Lucia- Slovakia 

Juengha Joo- South Korea