Every morning, the students emerge from their cozy tents, tucked away in the security of the mossy trees. Our campsite here in Hornopiren is perched atop a grassy knoll that slopes gently downward into a craggy ravine, directly to a gorgeously turquoise 10-foot waterfall. This waterfall makes up one of three that we have been running on the Rio Negro, whose tantalizing whitewater is so close to our tents that we can hear it in our dreams. We are enjoying the wonderful countryside hospitality of our host, Dona Tato, who has been serving up three delicious meals a day- she is even spoiling us with homemade pastries for breakfast. Nights are rolling away while we congregate around the campfire, singing along to Tino and Matti’s guitar and Andy’s fiddle. Lorenzo’s ghost stories have us all convinced that his family’s home is haunted.
Weather has been delightful- sunny, warm, perfect, and has allowed for our classes to cluster around the funky, hand-made wooden tables in the yard. My AP English students had a fun project this week, where they learned the importance of being familiar with both sides of an arguement before taking a stance on it. I had them prepare to write a persuasive essay on a controversial topic, repeatedly warning them to investigate the opposition’s viewpoint as well. When the day of the in-class essay arrived, the looks of horror on their faces revealed my sneaky plan. That’s right, they had one hour to write an essay that was exactly the opposite of the thesis they had planned. Matt’s photo classes have been utilizing the gorgeous sunsets and surrounding countryside to explore the world of landscape photography. Taylor and Eric made slideshows showcasing Al Capone and the Flapper era for Tino’s history class.
Today we had a race down the Rio Negro, on a small section beginning with a 25-foot waterfall and ending with a bang as the students landed that boof from the top of the 10-footer. What a great way to end our time in Hornopiren. I left the students back at camp, packing up their tents and gear bags, preparing to rise and shine at 5:30 am tomorrow. We will get on an eight hour ferry to Chaiten, where we will be about two hours away from the town of Futaleafu. I’m sure everyone shares my excitement in experiencing this legendary river!
As the New River Academy Media Specialist I have to juggle a lot of projects and assignments with the kayak school. It also gives me the opportunity to torment my students with an endless barrage of assignments that continually challenge them and improve their technical media skills as well as concept driven visual communication.
The Video II students have been working there fingers to the bone on a documentary style series of videos for Chile Rivers.org, a service learning project that intends to promote ecotourism to the rivers of Chile. This is an ambitious project that hopes to help halt the damming of Chilean rivers by stimulating another use of these resources: tourism. When this site is finished it will become a comprehensive guide for tourists and kayakers looking to explore the rivers of Chile.
The photo students are busy developing their skills in visual communication. After spending a semester learning the technical aspects of photography, photo students are moving into the next step of the trade: concept photography. Students will be given focused assignments such as lifestyle photography, landscape photography, whitewater photography, and abstract photography. Each student will produce a final project of their choice.
Stay tuned to the NRA kayak blog to see what our media students are producing.
(c) David Gorsky; Stephen and Matti on throw-rope drills
We have had a whirlwind week since returning to Pucon! Finally blessed with sun-drenched days, we have been entertaining visiting parents and kayaking down the Rio Palguin. The Rio Palguin has a waterfall around every bend, literally, and the visiting parents were able to snap photos of their kids from beautiful, riverside vantage points.
Some of the older kids are helping to plan a race down the Palguin, tentatively taking place tomorrow; it should be exciting as our kids are quite the little competitors. Tino has been taking advantage of our location, which is a five-minute walk from the Rio Trancura, to practice safety drills under the bridge. He had the kids out swimming and perfecting their rope-throwing skills.
On the homefront, we have re-settled nicely into our cozy living situation at Dave’s place in Pucon. The gap year kids are sleeping out in the “gypsy cabins” – treehouse-like cabins out in the woods – and loving the extra space. The girls are pretty stoked to have two big rooms to themselves with plenty of table space for studying… or rather, for scattering all of their clothes on top of.
Weather-wise, we have had a gorgeous week, with nearly constant sunshine. This morning I took notice of my surroundings while helping Jessica and Chase write sonnets in British Lit, and saw students reading and learning while lying on the grass in the sunshine. What an awesome classroom!
We just arrived back in Pucon from our last destination, Choshuenco. It was a very small town with a lovely little beach and lake we would paddle across after our day of paddling. The days we would run in the mornings were always quite funny you would pass almost everyone at least once because of how few streets there were in it. The people who were hosting us were absolutely delightful. They were so caring and offered us any help we needed. They also cooked us some pretty yummy dishes. They even made everyone’s favorite American dish one night, Pizza!
The river we had there was amazing, it offered many different types of paddling with varying classes. The Upper Fuy consisted of more waterfalls and boofs. The Middle and Lower Fuy however had amazing playboating and wave filled rapids good for working on downriver moves, such as kickflips and wave wheels. We also had Billy Harris with us this whole time and he was a great wealth of knowledge, everyday he would make sure we were boofing up a storm. He was super helpful with little tips to help improve your boating.
Greetings from Choshuenco! Choshuenco is a one-road town about three hours south of Pucon, accessible only by dirt roads that encircle dazzling lake after dazzling lake. We have our own little lake here in Choshuenco and have been taking advantage of the scenery to enhance our classroom environments. The lower Fuy drains into Lago Choshuenco, which makes the take-out a five minute stroll from our cute hotel, La Posada. Everyone is loving the Fuy! The Upper Fuy boasts an awesome run- a super clean 25-footer, Salto Los Leones, followed by an awesome class V section. I’ll let the more experienced boasters describe the run in more colors for you!
Our first afternoon in Choshuenco, we headed to Salto Los Leones for a park and huck. Everyone killed it, including some ladies who were timid at first, then so stoked at their accomplishments! Jessica ran a beautiful line on her first ever waterfall, and Stephen scared us all as he threw his paddle from the top of the drop. Clay and I both got a little bruised from under-rotating or over-rotating our flips from the top of the waterfall into the swimming hole.
Yesterday we took a break from the whitewater and ventured out to Huilo Huilo, to scout two gigantic waterfalls, a 150 footer and a 130 footer! Some of the daredevils think they’re runnable. Either way, it was a gorgeous place to spend an afternoon hiking around.
On the academic front, classes are running smoothly; Eric, Alex and Clay wrote delightful stories to share aloud in class for a creative writing assignment. Lorenzo’s Spanish classes have been learning Spanish through videos, such as Meet the Robinsons and The Lion King. Video class is putting together a video called “How to by Boof, by Billy Harris”.
Yes, we are all happy, healthy and well-fed; we are getting three scrumptious meals a day. Last night for dinner we had a tantalizing soup stuffed with cilantro, potatoes, corn, green beans and carrots. Some of the kids were already starting to leave the table, satisfied, when the second course appeared- sausages and mashed potatoes, with a sweet peach for dessert. The only complaint we have this week is the weather; rain, rain, go away!
In three days, we will return to Pucon for about a week before embarking on our great adventure south to the Futaleafu!
Choshuenco’s weather has been giving us a run for our money! Beautiful and sunny, then cold and cloudy, then wild and crazy rain storms, with wind that shakes the windows. I love it. Ok, so I would prefer warm weather with sun, and a chance to sunbath on the beautiful beach here, but I do love myself a storm!
Gap Year Student David Gorski Runs Salto Los Leones
The first day here, we went to a “park and huck” waterfall called Salto Los Leonas. It is a 25 foot gentle waterfall, with bright blue water. Most of the group ran it, while a few of us walked upstream to a small playwave to tool around. I was of the latter group. It was nice to just get to surf for a bit. I miss playboating A LOT. Hopefully when we return to Pucon, the playhole near Dave’s house will be in.
The next day, The group ran the Lower Fuy. I stayed back with Callie, our wonderful new English Teacher, and taught her to roll. For once, the lake was not peaceful at all. Standing in the water with Callie, I would be swept off my feet by waves. In a lake!!! It was windy, but the warm wind of a storm coming. Callie and I had been in the water only 20 minutes, when she got her roll! We spent the rest of an hour and a half perfecting it, and starting on her hand roll. We had just stumbled through the wind back to the Hostel, when the rain started. And it poured. The rest of the group who had run the Lower Fuy, had a paddle across a lake in it!
Chase Simmons Plugs Los Leones Falls
Yesterday and today has been chilly and cloudy. Not the most encouraging weather to paddle in. But the River here is crystal clear all the way to the bottom, and every run is still a ton of fun.
So yeah. Here we are in ‘The’ land of amazingness. Clear water, clean drops and tons o’ gorgeous beauties. Here is the keeping parents happy part of the blog. First off all our flights went well, and we all had tons of fun. Second, we are getting tons of good food. Third we have a coach who is alright, oh what am I saying he’s pretty good. Mr. Billy Harris is one of the greatest kayak instructors to come out of the great white north. Canada! We have also met up with the gap year kids, David, Kyle, and Katie and all our other teachers. So sad to see Melina go but Callie is a great replacement. Aside from Callie we also have Lorenzo, the new all chilean, all the time spanish teacher.
We spent a few days in Pucon and now we are in the little, but growing, town of Choshuenco near the Rio Fuy. the Fuy is great with both play and drops, like today. Today, we had a little park and huck sesh, with Jess lightin’ up her first drop. Yeah Jess! And we’ll see what tomorrow brings!
See you on the water!
Kayakers often ask, “How does Huge Experiences’ move a high school with their kayaks?” Response, “We fly with them.” Flying with your kayak may be intimidating at first but it is similar to flying with normal luggage.
Flying with your kayak may be easier than you think.
The goal with this kayak travel segment is to teach you how to fly internationally with your kayak gear at an economical rate.
Let’s break it down into steps:
1. Choose a kayak friendly airline. Airlines post their oversize baggage specifications whether they allow or “blacklist” kayaks. Stay away from airlines that do not allow kayaks as oversize luggage. If you use the rules in this article you may still be able to fly with a blacklist airline but don’t count on it.
Know weight and size allowance: Bags are free under 50 pounds, but will be classified as oversize based on dimensions and weight. Your max limit maybe around 115” (l+w+h) and typically = $80 fee. Freestyle kayaks are around 74” l+ 13” h + 25” w. Check the oversize baggage allowance for your airline.
2. Packing your kayak you will need: packing tape, sharpie, strap, boat bag or alternative kayak wrap.
A. Label each piece of gear.
B. Stuff lightweight items like fleece, dry tops, skirts, and booties into foot and stern compartments. Do not exceed 50 pounds unless you are fine with a possible second oversize fee for dimension and weight.
C. Brace your paddle(s). Use sleeping bags, sleeping pads, pfds, sandals, and any bulky items to provide support between your kayak and paddle. Tape and wrap the paddle well to the cockpit rim. I have observed non-braced paddles break.
D. Wrap to protect. You can use a kayak bag, but they are hard to find and end up being an additional awkward piece of gear you will have to keep up with during the entirety of your travels.
I use a disposable tarp or tough blanket from a thrift store. Wrap the kayak well with the tarp and secure with packing tape. You can use the tarp later as a ground cloth for camping. Tarps are also disposable and easy to pack during travel.
E. Make a handle for the skycaps. Imagine that skycaps hate heavy awkward to carry luggage. So, make it easy to carry.
a. Cut a hole in your wrapping system at the cockpit rim allowing for a handle.
b. Or make a shoulder strap that you previously built prior to wrapping. The shoulder strap can be a later needed piece of webbing that ties around the bow and stern and protrudes out of two holes from the tarp.
F. Label, Label, Label- Where will you be, where are you going, which flight number is it?
3. Checking in:
A. Show up 3 hours early. You have large luggage and if the plane is nearly full the counter person is likely to turn you down. If you are one of the earliest then there is little stress related to an over packed plan belly. Plus, you will want the extra time to carry your heavy gear.
B. What to say. International kayakers have to avoid the word “Kayak.”
The word “Kayak” is an expensive word at airports that is often charged twice as much as other similar sized items. Kayakers have learned to refer to the craft as a “surf ski.” What is a “surf ski?” A surf ski is something you sit on top of and surf in the ocean. It is like a surf board because of its design and you surf it in the ocean. Actually, surf skis are much larger than kayaks. The reason surf ski term is used is because the word “kayak” is costly and often blacklisted by airlines.
Continue relating the boat as similar to a surfboard using the word “surf” repetitively in order to be accepted and earn the surfboard rate. If they charge you $80 be happy, pay your fee, and leave the desk person with a smile. 4. What do if airline will not accept the kayak? Allow them to be in charge from the start, ask them how you can help move the item to where they need it so they will not have extra work, be excited about your “surf ski” adventure, and smile.
If they turn you down and say they don’t accept kayaks then you are going to have to ask them for their help. Going over the top to management is a bad ideal unless worded correct.
“Can I speak to your manager?” is a bad ideal. Note the manager is the one who has trained them to turn kayaks down in the first place. And they will be put in a place where they have to make an example.
Try this instead. “Thank you for your help. Obviously, you realize how important this piece of equipment is to my vacation. Is there anything you can do within your power or someone you can ask or lead me to speak with that can approve this? My apologies for not packing this well, being here earlier… Any help you can offer would make me most appreciative and have a strong positive impact on my vacation.”
Now, you have asked them for genuine help. It is hard to deny wanting to help someone who has been kind and asked for their help.
You may have to be persistent. Keep your eye on being the world champion of gratitude and letting the officials know how much it would benefit your trip. I have stuck out several “no you can not travel with your kayak.” Only to later be allowed based on barraging them with kindness and sticking out the situation.
David Hughes is the founder and director of Huge Experiences’ New River Academy. David continues to teach and lead international trips. For more “Kayak Travel” tips surf to www.kayakschool.org.
Yesterday we all got a surprise of going to the next town over and going to a beautiful hostel for Clay’s birthday. We learned to play croket, and the owner taught us how to make ice cream. While we were making it we couldn’t stop eating the frozen blueberries that went in. When the ice cream was done we all ate it in the hot tub, and acted like we were soup being boiled. It was so fun. Thanks Dave for the surprise!
After we ate we all stood and told what we were thankful for. I forgot to say how thankful I am that I have the great opertunity to map Chile rivers and share with everyone information on the rivers for a geography project. So, I’m saying it now.
