Ujërat e Drenit

It was supposed to be a warm sunny day with lots of food and drinks. We never thought that it would turn out to be one of the most memorable days ever. My cousins and I especially didn’t know it was going to involve climbing waterfalls and swimming in canals. Who would have thought we would be covered in long-life scars at the end of this thrilling and spine-chilling adventure.
My entire family was chuckling and talking away at an elegant restaurant near the spectacular view of the falls. It was a famous place and we met many celebrities that had come to enjoy the fresh air and luxury of the aggressive Peja mountains. There was pizza, pasta, national dishes and lots of fat-rich food. The manager of the restaurant just happened to be one of my grandfather’s (may he rest in peace) friends. This resulted into many on-the-house drinks for the entire group. It was a party that to this day is unforgettable. Not because of all the people and the food that were there, but because of an adventure I was so lucky to share with my fellow cousins.
While the grown-ups talked about democracy and independence I urged my 21-year-old cousin to accompany me and some other cousins of my age to the great waterfalls. Our parents had told us that if we wanted to go we had to go with an adult to take care of us. I was very glad for Gonxhe (my cousin) to agree on such short notice. Unfortunately one of my second cousins wouldn’t leave Gonxhe’s side. The poor girl was only eight years old and we worried she might get hurt on the journey to the top of the waterfalls. Reluctantly we decided the little girl was allowed to come with the condition of never leaving Gonxhe’s side.
Arriving at the center of the growling Ujërat e Drinit (Drini Waterfalls) we stopped to rest and enjoy the spectacular roar of water molecules crashing into each other. As we were taking pictures I noticed the many streams that were formed from the river down below. Just as we were about to head back to the restaurant, I found a small rocky trail leading up the mountain.
“Hey, guys!” I shouted out to them. “Let’s see where this path leads to. It’ll be fun.”
“Ok, but please be careful people,” Gonxhe warned us, “I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“She’s right,” agreed Edvin, one of my other cousins. “If we get hurt our parents are going to literally kill us.”
“Imagine what they’ll do to me,” added Gonxhe. “I’m responsible for you kids.”
So we started climbing up the path, some of us unenthusiastically, some of us with complexity. But by working together and sustaining each other, we managed to scale the mountain in less than ten minutes. We certainly didn’t expect to find a stunning panorama of the neighboring mountains. The mountains looked like they were stuck together by all the trees, plants and flowers. Soon we got bored up there and we decided that going back the same path was much too dangerous so we chose to explore and find a new and hopefully improved course.
In just fifteen minutes we found that course. That was the up. The down was that the slope was like melting ice. It was very slippery. I thought it was nothing so I just started sliding down the angle. Then I lost my footing and landed on my back. For the next twenty meters I slid on dried up mud breaking my fall in one of the icy canals coming from the falls. Now, getting your brand new basketball t-shirt wet in the middle of summer would be very refreshing. There was nothing refreshing about surfing straight into an ice-frosted stream, especially if you’re holding your father’s priceless camera around your scratched up neck the whole time.
The other three were much more careful and got out of it with no blood shed, unlike me. The rocks in the mud had ripped up my knees very seriously. Now as far as I know, I have come near death more than six times in these short twelve years of existence. I hope dearly that I don’t waste my last three quickly.



The team


Done by Leon Beqiri
7 I/A
27/Oct/07
English