For you parents, relatives and enthusiasts out there. Here is the one and only David Hughes giving you a little insight into how the trip is going!

Video made by New River Academy video class.

Coach Tino

Hey All,

Here is a quick look into our trip in Chile so far. Hope you like it, let me know what you think.

Video made by New River Academy Video Class

Coach Tino

Hey All,

I’m writing in to let you guys in on a little secret that has been in the school for a long time. My example is my class a few days ago. My class made whats called a Pump Drill. A Pump Drill is one of the first pieces of machinery ever used by the Native Americans but is very simple and easy to understand and make. The idea behind it is that with little effort you can drill a hole in an object or start a fire. Both these activities take a long time if you don’t have machanical advantage. This project was not only really cool because we learned about the history and culture behind the Pump Drill but we also end up taking much much more out of the assignment. We have to use math to measure and get all the specs right. We learn about making a blue print before you build. We learn about the correct tree’s to use and the properties of each tree. We learn which plants to use for making string and the photo and video class learns how to document something correctly! So much is learned from this assignment, that is one of the most beautiful things about this school. Sometimes you have to step back and realize how much you are learning in each day. Hope everybody out there is doing well.

Coach Tino

Stephen drilling a hole with his pump drill

One more shot of stephen with his pump drill

Have you ever read the poetry of Pablo Neruda, one of the most famous and best loved poets of all time? He is best known for his sublime imagery of the ocean, surf and salt and roses and love. As it turns out, he lived right around here on the beaches near Pichilemu, Chile. “Among so many blues, sunken blues- heavenly blues- our eyes are a little confused.” “Beauty- flower by flower, star by star, wave by wave.” It is no wonder that the man who wrote these lines was from such a place. The air is cobalt blue, the white capped waves churn heavily onto the sand and the blueprints of the town may as well have been a child’s coloring book. There are murals on the sides of every building, swirls of color and fantastic characters. For the next week we will be living in this beach side town which is a photographer’s dream, a poet’s dream, and a (kayak) surfer’s dream.

Our drive here was relatively uneventful, punctuated only by a stop for ice cream and fresh empanadas at a road side stall, and that first heavenly moment when you realize that the horizon you glimpse over the hills is not the sky, but the endless blue stretch of ocean.

When we arrived at the cabins, the owner had set out tall pitchers of fresh kiwi juice, pineapple juice, and strawberry juice. The cook handed us each a glass and told us to go to town. We each drank about 1/3 our weight in fresh fruit juice.

The students are happy to be in their own cabins, sleeping in beds with walls to keep out the earwigs that were just a little too friendly down at the Maipo. Classes are held in the park across the street, on the beach, in internet cafes or in the cluttered little living rooms of the cabins.

Please be on the lookout for photo and video updates on our blogs, because my words can only go so far in describing this colorful, vivacious wonderland.
–Melina

Hey Everyone!

Not Suprising at all, we have had an amazing past week athleticly based here on the Maipo River. Everybody arrived safely and a frankly a little wiped out from the long travel day so we headed back to camp and took a quick siesta. After that it was to the river. We did a park and play at a wave just below our base. The wave didn’t seem to be in and instead walked up a tributary scouted and went over safety for a few hours. Once the group was well prepared we ran down the creek shreaking with joy that we were once again on a river together under snow capped mountains.

We are lucky enough to have two main runs and multiple smaller runs at our doorstep. The first is the Lower Maipo. This run is a perfect class 2-3 run through a breathtaking canyon. We have two awesome play waves on this run so we can train on freestyle whenever we want to there. The second is a class 3-4 run on the Upper Maipo. The Upper is a big water run with tons of fun wave trains and boofing rocks. The water is brown year round from the sediment here which is abnormal for a river in Chile but this river serves us perfectly for practicing our river running and safety skills before we continue our trip.

Everyone has been loving the area and pushing them selves on the river. Its been a blast! Hope you guys enjoy the pictures.

Coach Tino

Walking Across the bridge to the river.

Talking about the upcoming rapid

Making breakfast just before workout

Zoe going big on the Maipo River!