week 2, mission del Sur

So, it´s has been two weeks here in Chile. From Santiago, I headed to Pucon and was lucky to have met up with a group headed south chasing the water. The group was six people, two Chileans, two Belgium’s, one German, and one Italian. With Will and I, it was at 8 and maximum capacity for the small Peugeot delivery van we were to tour around in.
The first stop on the trip was the Rio Futaleufu. Here there was a festival and many kayakers from all over South America and the world. The festival was in response to the future damming of some Patagonian rivers, amongst which included the Futaleufu and the Baker. The festival was put on by Patagonia Sin Represas, and was a demonstration to gain support for the preservation of these rivers and give awareness to the potential future of the Futaleufu.
We showed up at the festival later than expected because all the boarders and roads headed to Futaleufu were closed due to a volcano eruption in Chaiten. It rained ash for half a day and made a dusty mess. When we finally got there the first event, boater-cross was going on and they let us in. Imagine how I felt. Two days flying, one day in a bus, three days in a van, and my first time down the class four Futaleufu was to be in a race. Big holes, big waves, black eyes from another racers paddles, and it was all new to me. I loved it, and it was quite a unforgettable experience. The next few days allowed for a chance to take in the river and its surroundings.
I can´t do justice in words or pictures as to how absolutely stunning the area is, but I’ll try. I was told that Futaleufu essentially means painted by God. I think that’s very appropriate. Teal water, huge steep snow caped peaks, lush green every ware, and a local community that was aware and truly loved their area. I would love to stay here forever. But, vamoose!
We were headed south after a week in Futaleufu. We had hoped to run the Rio´s Baker and Bravo, buy unfortunately, our not so trusty Peugeot broke down near the town of Caiaque and we were stuck. After two days we rallied together and found a driver and a van that could take us the Baker. Unfortunately, this dug into our budget and time and the Baker, which has only been paddled by two other groups, had to be sacrificed. So, here we were in a smaller van, cramped, tired, smelly, and very excited to finally be headed to the Baker again.