Riding the rapids on the Trancura River

What a day!  I didn’t have to be at the tour office until 11am, so I slept until 9:30 before getting up to organize myself for the day and eat breakfast.  When we left Sol y Nieve’s office, seven people from my tour (me, Sarah, Robyn, Terry, Nick, Ted and Steven) and three other tourists (two Chilean, one Brazilian) in a van with the three rafts attached at the back.  Down to the water we drove.  There was a light sprinkle and the air was cold, so I was very grateful for the wetsuits which were provided.

Arriving at the starting point, we picked up wetsuits and booties and changed into our gear in a small structure.  It was so cold outside and there was no insulation; I didn’t want to take off my jacket.  The process of getting ready took some time given the tight fit of the wetsuit and my unwillingness to strip down to my bathing suit.  When everyone was done, we were fitted with lifejackets and helmets and given gloves.  Every inch on my body, minus my face, was covered.

Ready to go - Ted, Sarah, Terry, Steven, Robyn, Nick and Me

Before setting out, the main guide gave us an overview about rafting.  When it came to the safety demonstration of pulling someone out of the water, he chose me as his volunteer.  So I had to squat on the ground and hold the cord on the raft pretending to be in the water.  Then he explained/demonstrated how you must not lift from the nose, or hair, but from the lift jacket.  The next thing I knew I went flying into the air and onto the raft.  Everyone laughed as I landed face up on the raft.  And that was the end of our training.

We split up into two groups (mine was Sarah, Steven, Robyn and Terry along with two guides) and boarded the rafts.  As we pushed out on the river, a gust of wind picked up and chilled me to the bone.  It was so cold.  The wetsuit definitely added a layer of protection, but my face felt all the effects of the weather.  At least it wasn’t raining, but the water splashing from the rapids was enough to get us wet.

Our 12km trip down the Trancura River passed through about six grade three and four rapids.  The river was lined with trees and behind the trees, mountains.  Sadly, it was extremely cloudy and hard to see the full extent of the landscape.  Plus, I was so focused on paddling, especially through the rapids, that half the time I forgot to look around.  I had to switch sides twice because my arms got too tired to paddle on the same side.  Lots of shrieks came from my mouth as our boat took the rapids and while I was enjoying myself, I was also holding on for dear life, afraid that I might fall out.  One rapid was so large that we actually had to get out of the rafts and walk along the river as it was too dangerous to attempt.

Aside from the rapids soaking me with water, the guide from our boat decided to splash me a few times with his oar as well as the guide on the other boat (when we were in splashing distance).  I’m not sure what it was, but I definitely got picked on the most today and everyone noticed it.  When the trip ended, we gathered our clothes from the van and changed in a small shack.  This time it was even colder since we were also slightly wet.  Good thing Sarah reminded me to bring a towel.  My body instantly felt warmer when I pulled on my shirt, but my hands and feet remained frozen for a while.  Even the pisco I was given didn’t warm my core.

When we returned to Pucon town, our group went for lunch.  The first thing I ordered was a hot chocolate, as I was still trying to defrost my fingers.  Eventually I warmed up and the pizza I ordered came out nice and hot.  A relaxing way to end our morning.  The sky was clearing on the walk back to the hotel and we were finally able to get a glimpse of Villarica volcano.  

By the time I got back to the hotel it was 3:30pm and I couldn’t wait for a hot shower.  I spent the afternoon in the room, since it was still pretty cold outside (even though the sun was shining on and off) and I wanted to do some travel research and catch up on writing.  At 7:30, the girls met for a glass of wine before dinner.  Our dinner group was only half the tour people, the four women, plus Nick, Steven, and Terry and Robyn.  We ended up at some type of Italian place with food that left nothing to write about.  I wasn’t too hungry, so I ordered chicken soup which wasn’t very tasty and Steven wasn’t sure what kind of meat he was eating.  By 10pm we were on our way back.  Tomorrow morning horseback riding is at 8:30, so to bed I go.