Now for the steep climb back up

Incredible – how lush the green vegetation is. All growing out of sandstone rocks!!

Right in the middle of the river are these two islands. One of them has a rock figure of a guy embracing a girl. There is no doubt that it was placed there. The boat driver helpingly pointed out that the other island is not occupied yet. None of the young couples in our boat took him up on that offer!

The rock looks like a huge mushroom. And the yellow painting – it is actually lichen !! Apparently, unlike moss, lichen likes the sun.

The good news is if it were to topple, we had nothing to worry. The river is barely a foot and a half deep. The water is crystal clear and we could easily see the bottom. There were some eels swimming around. The boat driver did not even bother rowing. He just kept pushing the riverbed with a long stick!

Ready to laze around in the river checking out the rock formations on either side.

We are deep in the canyon. The whole area is very damp and cool. The moss all around us is thick and lush green.

Really not looking forward to that steep climb that we have to go UP on our return.

Pronounced Kamey-nitza – almost like Chichen Itza in Mexico – it means stony river. That is because of the steep sandstone rocks on either side of the river. This river flows lazily into Elbe finally.