Return to the Egua - Tourist Trip to Sacro Monte di Varallo
			‘L'indecisione è la chiave alla flessibilità’

Return to the Egua

With time starting to run out and the water levels looking like they would be dropping back to low again, and since everyone loved the Egua so much the first time around, it was decided to go back.

So who was on the river that day?

Simon, of course, on course:

Ollie, working on his C-1 hunchback body modification...

And if you see Ollie, you have to see Ash...

Christie practicing for the upcoming Teva race (she went on to win the women's section the following week)...

Rosie appears to have no bow on her boat...

Simon again. OK, so the photos are out of sequence. I was trying to show each stage of the drop rather than show the people chronologically. So sue me.

Ollie reaches the bottom. Of course you're still miffed about the sequential sleight-of-hand with the photos. Get over it.

Tom heads off into the boulder jumble. Or did he? Perhaps this is a photo from the Glenmacnass. You've lost confidence in MananaManana reportage at this point, so you don't know what to believe...

Simon, again wearing elbow pads, mentally rehearses his surgical strike: 'Ve make ze first incision here, zen ve vill carve to the right and catch ze enemy unprepared...'

'...but furst ve send in ze stupid Mick, expendable Irish cannon fodder.'

Christie charges off...

Rosie, that girl never smiles. Seriously, Rosie, cheer up or feck off...

Oh, I'm sorry Rosie, please come back...

Ash chases Rosie down..

Ash and Christie walk back to their boats after inspecting yet another drop on the classic section of the Egua. Sometimes on the river you forget to look up and around at the amazing places in which you find yourself.

If you can see Der Commandante...

Der Commandante can see you...

and he can come after you...

chasing you down for insubordination...

Austin, watched by Tom, favours the vertical paddle action...

Mick is more traditional in his tastes and uses the horizontal format...

Then there's the diagonal, one-bladed option, as demonstrated here by Ollie. As always, there's Ash right behind her man...

Towards the end of the section, but before the Slope of Doom*, there are a few interesting slides. Here's Austin on one of them.

* - it's not called the Slope of Doom, of course, but I can't remember its name. I'll find out.

Christie shows how to resurface properly...

Peering over the edge, Rosie has her usual huge smile, probably. This explains why she's sponsored by Milk.

Simon brings up the rear...

The Slope of Doom it turns out is actually called the Cylinder Drop. It's right at the end and is usually walked. The slide slopes away gently enough that it's not boofable and it's hard to maintain speed on the drop. The exit, such as it is, is on the left wall. If you don't punch through, it recirculates back in to the right. Mandatory rescue is set on the right.

Austin ran it first, but too far into the centre and was swirling around, fighting to paddle out but having no joy. Tom threw him a rope and was able to haul him out of there in his boat but as you can see, the paddles weren't coming out unaided...

Tom ran it down the left with no issues...

Off the river, we drove a few kilometres with the boats like this...

Tourist Trip to Varallo

After that, we went into the town of Varallo to go see the tourist sights, which were, from left to right, Giacomo Antonini and Ollie Castle. One of these gentlemen is a legendary, uncompromising heroic warrior, unencumbered by mortal fears, and the other appears to have a fantastic handlebar moustache.

The cable car ride to the church at the top of the mountain afforded unsurpassed views of the cable car terminus. A white knuckle express to Sacro Monte di Varallo.

The complex of churches at the top of the 'sacred mountain' features an impressive 'stations of the cross' route to walk. In Italy they have about 47 stations of the cross, compared to about a dozen at home.

Each 'station' depicts these amazing scenes from the life of Christ in wax and ceramic figures. Fairly disturbingly realistic depictions of blood and gore.

Ash needs a drink of water after all that. Apparently, drinking from this fountain is good for you, in some way, possibly spiritual. Ash is all about the spirituality.