It's about time I updated my blog after some of the adventures I have had this year. In Feb/March I was lucky enough to make it to Argentina and Chile. The main purpose of the trip was to spend majority of my time down on the Rio Futaleufu, paddle some of the tributaries and if there was enough time left try to check out a bit of Argentina.
Hanging out in La Boca, Buenos Aires
The plan was to fly into Buenos Aires, Argentina and meet up with my good friend Sonny from Calgary who I did a lot of paddling with on the Slave and Skooks in Canada last year with. As per usual when traveling to a foreign country you will have your ups and downs..... I flew in a day before Sonny and as soon as I arrived I discovered the airline had lost my main bag with all of my camping equipment and clothes (lucky I still had my kayak and boating gear!!!). Getting from the airport to downtown Buenos Aires was a mini adventure in itself without being able to speak a word of Spanish and convince the shuttle bus, taxis etc to take myself and my kayak to the hostel. First thing when I arrived at the Millhouse Hostel was check my email. Bad news - Sonny had emailed me to let me know he was stuck in Washington DC due to extreme snow storms and he ended up being stuck for almost a week. After waiting for Sonny for 2 and a half days I received my missing bag and decided to get on a bus straight to Futaleufu and meet Sonny there.
Mural in Esquel Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
Town of Esquel Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
After having traveled all over India and from Zambia to Uganda via bus (and been on some of the worst buses imaginable) I didn't have high expectations of my bus journey down to Futa, especially after purchasing a ticket for a Semi Cama bus and being told by the hostel that these buses are not very good. I was so happy to discover my bus was a proper coach with reclining seats, foot rests, a host, the latest movies in English, and included drinks, snacks, dinner, breakfast and lunch! In fact I got so much food on this bus I couldn't finish it all! The journey down to Esquel which is a small town near the Argentina/Chile border took around 24+hrs. I stayed the night at a small, friendly, family run campground before setting off the following morning to Futaleufu.
Rio Azul Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
Town of Futaleufu Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
I was so happy once I arrived the town of Futa to see so many of my friends who I had met over the last couple of years traveling. The local boys were also so welcoming to me. If I was friends with one of their friends it automatically made me their friend too. I spent my first few days on the river with Aren and Sarah from RX Rivers and stayed in a little cabin on their property. We were able to check out the Rio Espolon (a nice class 2-3 stretch just outside the town of Futa), Rio Azul (a tributary to the Futa which is a nice technical class 3-4 run) and combined it with a couple of smaller rapids after the confluence of the Futa and Asleep at the Wheel (a class 3 rapid giving a small taste of what is to come on the Futa), taking out just above Terminator section. My last day with RX Rivers we did the lower part of the Futa - Macal section (class 2-3) and then had a taste of the most frequently run section of the Futa - Bridge to Bridge. The entrance rapid (appropriately named Entrada) is the longest rapid on this section and can be very intimidating. There are so many different lines to take and there is also an easy straight forward chicken line on the left but to mess up on this rapid can have huge, unforgiving consequences. So for my first time down Bridge to Bridge we put in just below this and enjoyed the delites from Tobogan, Pillow and Magic Carpet, taking out at Cara Del Indio (a family run campsite which is the place to stay if you are a kayaker).
Carine and Zac cooking a Peruvian dish Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
3 hour wait for a ride into the town of Futa..... Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
The X-Men (Zac and Sonny) Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
Figuring out where to go kayaking today at Cara Del Indio Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
Over the next week or so the weather was not appealing. Constant rain and grey clouds so I decided to stay in town at ''Nate's place'' until the weather was more ''camper friendly''. Over this time I managed to finally be reunited with Sonny (he really looked like he needed a stiff drink by the time he arrived), meet up with two hilarious guys - Ali from Slovenia and Reiyner from Iceland, and my friends from Peru (Santi and Arturo), Montana (Todd, Meghan and Zac) was well as other kayakers who made my trip such an unforgettable experience. I had the full support from all the guys (especially Ali, Todd and a local Chilean paddler Marcus) to run the full Bridge to Bridge section multiple times, experience a proper asado (known as a Barbie or BBQ by us Aussies), get ridiculously drunk with Reiyner and Ali at a ''disco'' in Futa and most importantly experience Futa Fest!!!!
Thai enjoys the view from the top of the truck
That crazy Slovenian! Ali jumps from the bridge marking the entrance to the Bridge to Bridge section
Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
Futa Fest was run over 3 days and by the evening prior to the Festival 2 kayak schools, paddlers from Canada, USA, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Australia, and Slovenia had all pulled in. By this stage there were clear skys, constant sun and the river levels had dropped slightly making Cara Del Indio a perfect place to be for a few weeks (before this I didn't exactly want to face a cold shower after getting off the river freezing cold!). It was perfect, walking up from Cara Del Indio to put in for a session on the Magic Carpet wave, being able to tag along with rafting trips from Cara Del Indio and cooking over the fire in the honcho.
Morning at Cara Del Indio Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
Rodolfo and his car have traveled all over Central and South America promoting Free Flowing Rivers
Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
First day of the festival we had a kayak sprint down Mundaca. Carine and I were the only 2 girls to compete in this. Day 2 there was a downriver kayak race down the Bridge to Bridge section followed by a downriver raft race which Carine and I entered along with Lindsay, Paz, Ana and Isabelle. Our goal was not to flip. We were achieved this and came third so we were pretty excited and still managed to have a huge laugh whilst going down the river making the experience even more enjoyable.
Below: Finish of the down river kayak race Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
Girls rafting team entering Munduca Photo: Ali
The day after Futa Fest finished pretty much all of us tried to leave town. At first things were proving to be a little difficult in Esquel with about 6 of us with kayaks trying to get them all on the same bus to Mendoza. In the end things had a way of working out and all of us were able to get on the same bus with several of the kayaks being sent up to Mendoza on the bus the following day. 12+ kayakers on this bus made the trip go by slightly faster than usual, especially when Jordi won a bottle of wine playing Bingo on the bus.
Rodolfo who I used to work with at Hyak, founder of Free Flowing Rivers speaking about river conservation.
Photo: Jacqui Whitehead
Winners of the female rafting down river race
Lessons learned from Futa:
- Stay at either Cara Del Indio (which is right by the river and the perfect place to stay when the weather is good) or Nate's place (in the town of Futa - far away from the river but warm, cosy beds, a huge kitchen, fire and HOT showers)
- If you want to hitchhike in Patagonia expect to be waiting a long time..... if possible buy a car it will make life so much easier!
- Empanadas (a street snack) are the best in Chile!
- Take all the money you will need as the ATM only accepts Mastercard (not VISA) and most of the time is out of service. Euros is the best currency to try to exchange here.
- Take all the food you think you may need if staying at Cara Del Indio..... it is hard to hitch a ride to town but if you are in need the owners bake fresh bread daily (very good) and you can buy eggs, beer and soft drinks.
- Most importantly the Futa is a really fun river but safety is the most important thing. Remember to respect this river as the consequences can be unforgiveable.
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