**pictures will look much better if you read the posts via the website vs. your phone/email. http://rickandnancyadventures.com

Today we went to our raft put-in at the confluence of the Rio Azul and Rio Futaleufu rivers, and paddled through some Class 3-4 whitewater before stopping at the Rio Blanco slot canyon to do some canyoneering. The canyon was was basically a feeder stream into the Futaleufu……the canyoneering hike required us to wade through crystal clear azure colored pools (sometimes all the way up to our waist), and climb up and over lots of white colored boulders/rocks.  It was a beautiful but strenuous, moderately uphill hike up the canyon. We saw two nice waterfalls and a couple of us took the opportunity to jump in to cool off. As you can imagine, the water was quite cold! The water was also so clean you could safely drink right from the stream(confirmed by the guides in advance).  I’m not sure if I have ever had a better tasting glass of water! Later that morning, we hiked back down to the rafts/catarafts where we rested and enjoyed a nice lunch.

Below, left to right – Cade (guide), Ralph, Tyler (trip leader), and Humberto (guide)

Our friend Ralph

Great lunch spot!

After lunch, the day got a lot more intense (again).  We were about to paddle through some of the most intense stretches of whitewater on the river……Terminator and Himalayas. The first section of Terminator is a Class 5+, the second section is a Class 4, and the Himalayas is a Class 3+ with the biggest waves on the Fu.  Nancy and Ralph portaged around the first section of Terminator and then rode the rest of Terminator and Himalayas in Humberto’s cataraft for a safer ride.

The iPhone video below shows the “calm before the storm” (relatively speaking) before the first section of Terminator.  You can’t see it, but there is a major hole at the bottom of this first section. Cade lost an oar halfway through and quickly got his cataraft pinned up against a rock. He climbed on the rock before the cataraft flipped. You can see Cade standing on the rock at the end of the video.  It took a little while, but Humberto and Tyler recovered Cade’s cataraft and then threw him a rescue line so he could jump in the water and be pulled to shore. Here is the link….click on it, and then click the pop-up link.

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After the top section of Terminator, Nancy and Ralph got into Humberto’s cataraft and we all went through the rest of Terminator. It was everything we hoped for and more…..big water and huge waves! It was a blast and nobody fell out (Cade doesn’t count since he’s a guide and he jumped out to save his arse!).

When we came to the big Class 3+ wave train called Himalayas, the guides gave everyone the option to jump out of the raft and swim down through the roughly 50 yards of big waves. It’s actually pretty safe with a Class 5 PFD. Since Nancy’s main goal for the week was to NOT swim (either voluntarily or involuntarily), she stayed in the raft. Bobby and Finn quickly signed up, and then challenged me to join them. It was rough and tumble ride and at times it was hard to get a breath….but we all did fine. However, when we got back in the raft, I noticed I was a lot more winded than Bobby and Finn (duhh…maybe because I am 45 years older!).  I’m not sure I would do it again……..

Like the other big rapids,we also got some great GoPro video.

Almost home……

This was a great day…..but it was also very physical and by the end of the day, it’s safe to say we were all pretty beat. We looked forward to getting to our new lodging location – Peuma Lodge –  to shower, relax, eat, and GO TO BED!. Like Uman and Lonconao, the accommodations were spectacular!

Note– the weather for the trip was outstanding. It was sunny most of the days with temperatures in the 70’s. It got cloudy some afternoons (which made the water feel much colder going through the rapids) but it never rained.

Peuma Lodge (like Lonconao, the accommodations were individual 2 bedroom/2bath cottages.