Futaleufu October 27th-November 2nd

Saturday October 27th:
Today the group met up with Expediciones Chile, their kayaking guides. They met them at the hot springs to have an introduction to kayaking and to practice rolling. It was really nice to be able to practice rolling a kayak in the warm water. For the most part everyone in the group got down some kind of roll, some people of course are more confident than others but all in all it was a very successful day. When they were done they got in the vans and drove about four hours to the Futaleufu. The group was scheduled to stay at Ex Chiles eco camp, but because of the weather and the fact that it really early in the season the group got to stay in their hostel! No more dealing with the rain! And lets just say that this hostel is very comparable to the hostel at Punta de Lobos… can you say spoiled? However, it was a great relief to the group because now they have a nice dry place to sleep and dry out all of their wet clothes.

Sunday October 28th:
Today was the first day that the group would get wet in some real water, cold river water! In the morning after breakfast they outfitted all of their kayaking gear to get ready to go out on the river after lunch. They went to a spot called the Secret Lagoon, which is an inlet right off the Espolon River, which is the river that the group would be learning on. There they learned all of the essential kayaking skills such as; t-rescuing (t-rescuing is a technique where, when unable to roll on your own, another kayak comes to the side of your boat so you can get leverage off of it to flip over with out getting out of your boat), front paddle, back paddle, front sweep, back sweep, and ferrying (ferrying is a technique used when trying to cross currents or enter eddy’s). After they had learned all of those skills and were sufficiently chilled to the bone they got out and headed back to the hostel for a delicious dinner.

Monday October 29th:
After breakfast the group got ready to hop in their kayaks once again. They went to the Secret Lagoon again for some fine tuning of their kayaking skills. After their guides, Julian, Juan Pablo, and Andres were satisfied with their skills they got ready to take them down a short stretch of the river. The only problem with this was, it was a little hard to actually get on the river because of a very strong confluence current. While the majority of the group made it across with out much problems, there were a few that didn’t quite make it, Joe and Erik O. And not only did Joe flip once, after he got back in his boat he decided to try it one more time and then flipped again! Once everyone got safely back in their boats they continued down the river. On the way down they continued to practice their ferry angles into and out of eddy’s. However, there was one particular eddy that was strong and it caught Casey off guard and flipped him over. But fortunately, he did a successful t-rescue and was able to stay in his boat. Joe, once again, managed to find and eddy line that didn’t agree with him and flipped over, and once again he swam. At the very end of their run they were able to hit one cool rapid that was pretty small, but still a fun little wave train. They went back to the hostel for lunch and then some of the group went back out on the water for some more practice on a little bit longer stretch of river. They started a little higher up in the river but ended at the same spot. They all ended their day on a good note and had lots of fun. I would like to give a shout out to Joe for swimming the most in one run, 3 times in fact, and overcoming mild hypothermia… Joe you’re a trooper!!!

Tuesday October 30th:
Today the group prepared themselves for a long day on the river. They started up higher on the river and ended further down. With that they got to hit three cool rapids instead of just one. At one point there was a small hole where some of the people who felt comfortable could try surfing it. Drew, Casey, Albee, Eric D., and of course Josh were the only brave ones. Drew and Casey rocked it, Albee tried but flipped and then did a successful t-rescue, and Eric D. swam. The whole group had a great time and was satisfied with their last day on the river. Once the group got all warmed up some of the group had a telephone conference with the owner of Expediciones Chile and pro kayaker, Chris Spelius. After they ate dinner and then prepared themselves for a Halloween party! Everyone got dressed up and they had a good celebration.

Wednesday Nivember 31st:
Today was the group day off! While most stayed at the hostel and just kind of bummed around town some went on an adventure across country lines… L.B., Walker, Erik O., and Esther went to Argentina. Josh and Julian went on an adventure as well, they went to kayak the Rio Azul which is a class 3,4 river. All together, it was a nice relaxing day off.

Thursday November 1st:
This morning the group prepared to go hiking. Their destination was an old farmer’s house name Bene. It would be the first time that they had to carry their own gear. They walked for six hours until they reached his farm. When they got there it was like a little self-sustaining paradise in the hills. It was amazing to see that they pretty much had everything they needed to live on their farm. There were many animals there; cows for milk, milk products, and eating, chickens for eggs and eating, ducks for eggs and eating, turkeys for eating, sheep for wool for hand crafts and eating, pigs for sale and eating, a baby goat for milk, rabbits for sale and eating, oxen for transportation to and from the town and the farm, dogs for protection and keeping control of the animals, and a cat for a friend. It was a lot of fun seeing all of the animals and well… trying to catch them. They even witnessed the sale of about 5 little piglets. It was interesting to see how they did it. Two farmers came and they put all the pigs into two bags, threw the bags over their shoulders and then took off walking down the trail. Dinner was a traditional Chilean soup made with products grown on their farm. It was a fun day.

Friday November 2nd:
Today the group woke up and prepared themselves for another day of hiking. They left Bene’s house and hiked for about five hours along the Futaleufu. Halfway through their hike they stopped for lunch at a rapid called the Throne Room, it was a really big, strong rapid. When they were finished they hopped on the bus and came back to the hostel for dinner. During dinner the mayor of Futaleufu came to talk to them about tourism and economic and environmental issues within the city.