Translation of salvavidas

In this poem there is not any movement, it is only a snapshot of life, it means it is a picture, almost dead, as there is no movement at all. And this is the reason why the poem seems to be calming.
The climb was much exhausting than I had presumed. I had forgotten that we were at high altitude where there is less oxygen and that every step required double effort. It was a great exercise.
Let me understand further: If you go through the 'vocabulary builder' in the left menu and choose new lesson it works faster than when you get there through the list of all lessons? Did I get this right?