Of course, rafting was the core focus of the excursion but Nicholas also had two further activities lined up for the group as we progressed downstream. We hit a quieter patch of water, providing us the time to gently cruise along guided by the flow of the Soca River, admiring the tranquility of the tree’s lining the riverbanks and the gentle sound of rushing water.

We pulled into a small cove where Nicholas flipped the raft onto the rocks to form a slide, with Ste leading the way clambering up the rocks to be the first to have a go.

The next thing that happened was priceless. Ste, still smarting from being assigned an XL wetsuit, launched himself into the air to slide on his front down the slide. He didn’t go anywhere. Completely stuck. He’d beached himself on the slide! Cue howls of laughter from the rest of the group as he got back up and got it right second time around.

We took turns flinging ourselves down the slide into the water below; it was brilliant – just like being a kid again. Nicholas then challenged us to jump onto the raft and flip off into the water. Needless to say, I bottled that but Ste rescued some respect for the English representation in the group.

The second stop was approximately three-quarters down the river; a 10-metre rock from which people can jump into the deep waters below. No chance, I’m scared of heights! Lazlo and our other colleague also politely declined; leaving it to the girls and Ste to save face for the team. It looked high to be fair; respect to the three of them for doing it.

My reputation firmly in tatters, I was definitely not going to be berating anyone for any hesitancy when making the jump.