{"id":15273,"date":"2018-01-15T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T20:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=15273"},"modified":"2022-01-06T07:16:49","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T15:16:49","slug":"chile-argentina-ultimate-winter-escape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2018\/01\/15\/chile-argentina-ultimate-winter-escape\/","title":{"rendered":"Chile & Argentina: The Ultimate Winter Escape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last winter, I took a semester off from teaching to accompany my husband on his sabbatical to San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. I spent three months traveling and paddling throughout South America. I had little prior experience traveling abroad to kayak, with the exception of international freestyle competitions. Dealing with creek boats, gear, and logistics for running rivers in a foreign country was a different experience. I went on two major paddling trips from my home base in Bariloche and attempted a third sea-kayaking trip, but it failed due to impossible logistics. I speak little Spanish and I did minimal prior planning. Needless to say, I learned a lot.<\/p>\n

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Green Gorge on Chile’s Rio Maichin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

General tips
\n<\/strong>Rent a vehicle. Unless you\u2019re staying for close to a year or more, buying a vehicle isn\u2019t worth it. Foreigners are often ripped off and they aren\u2019t allowed to take a car across the Chilean border\u2014even if they own it. This sounds weird, but it\u2019s a strict and enforced rule. In addition, not even all rental cars are allowed to cross the Chile-Argentina border, so look carefully at your rental car agreement if your trip requires a border crossing. On top of all that, car rentals are expensive, which leads to my next tip: travel as a pair or as a small group with the same paddling skills and interests. I did meet people to paddle with, but traveling solo was challenging and I had to foot the entire bill for the car. Lastly, don\u2019t get eddied out in Pucon. If you get the chance, head south to paddle in Patagonia.<\/p>\n

Bring most\u2014but not all\u2014of your own gear. I recommend buying a boat when you get there. Have you ever tried flying with one? Or worse, two? Think steep fees, lost boats, or risk of it being refused at the airport or public transportation. Maybe you\u2019ve dialed in the technique of flying with boats but I prefer the ease of traveling without one. Yes, it\u2019s an initial major expense to your travel budget, but think of it as a trip deposit. It\u2019s very difficult for Argentinians and Chileans to get kayaking gear, making it very easy to sell gear at the end of your trip, especially in Patagonia.<\/p>\n

You can buy kayaks in Pucon at Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans<\/a>. An American kayaker, Ian Garcia, owns and runs the shop. It\u2019s well equipped with creek boats, play boats, and sea kayaks and they\u2019re very eager to answer questions about the area. Another place to buy boats is in Valdivia at Tiendaod<\/a>. I bought a Pyranha Burn III from them and they were also very helpful. Their website is more difficult to navigate, but they\u2019re easy to communicate with over e-mail. Expect to have to write e-mails in Spanish, but hey, that\u2019s part of the fun! But whatever you decide to do about your boat, definitely bring your own paddle.<\/p>\n

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Gearing up for a rainy day on the Futaleuf\u00fa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As for the rest of your gear, bring all of your paddling soft goods\u2014drysuit, PFD, spray skirt, helmet, river shoes, dry bags, throw bags, and base layers. The weather in South America is volatile and it rains a lot. If you have enough space, throw in a dry top for warmer days, but whatever you do don\u2019t forget the drysuit. For camping equipment I appreciated my tent, sleeping bag and pad. A stove is optional depending on any plans for a multi-day. Backpacking has become very popular, and outdoor stores are fairly common although they have a limited selection. The challenge with a stove is finding fuel. Surprisingly, white gas is harder to find than butane fuel canisters. Otherwise, cooking on a fire is standard procedure in Patagonia. If you\u2019re comfortable with that, it\u2019s a good option and what I ultimately chose to do. I did find it easier to bring my own backpacking utensils and a pot, but that\u2019s something you can pick up once you\u2019re there. I packed everything I needed in my NRS Bill\u2019s Bag<\/a>. It holds plenty of gear, has backpack straps, and you can throw it in the back of a pickup truck in the pouring rain without hesitation.<\/p>\n

Pucon
\n<\/strong>My journey started in Pucon, which was a great place to begin. It\u2019s one of the most established paddling destinations in South America, it\u2019s relatively easy to get to, and has numerous river runs from Class II to V. I took the bus from San Carlos de Bariloche to Valdivia to pick up my boat, and paid for a shuttle service from Valdivia to Pucon. The buses are very nice, but they have baggage rules and won\u2019t let you stow a creek boat, unless you paddle a smaller boat to which the bus driver won\u2019t realize what you\u2019re carrying on. Like my best friend from graduate school, Elizabeth Powers, who met me in Pucon. She came form Santiago by bus and managed to get her Little Hero on as baggage. 30-hour bus rides aren\u2019t for everyone. If your budget allows, there are flights from Santiago to Temuco, which is a pretty easy destination to catch a shuttle to Pucon.<\/p>\n

The easiest, and most obvious, place to book lodging, boat rentals, and guiding service online and in advance is the Pucon Kayak Hostel. However, I would recommend spending a Escape<\/a> is a travel company run by American kayaker LJ Groth. As long as he\u2019s not leading a trip, he answers e-mails and Facebook messages quickly, but he seems to fill up fast, so try to book in advance. Kayak Pucon<\/a> is a local company that focuses mainly on rafting, but they run some basic kayaking trips. They\u2019re also very helpful with general questions about kayaking in the area. Don\u2019t expect a quick response, but they will point you in the right direction if you have a question. Kayak Pucon helped us find Albert Aixas. Albert is a Catalonian who very recently started a kayaking hostel in Pucon. He doesn\u2019t have a website yet and his clients mostly find him through word of mouth. Although he can\u2019t accommodate large groups, he will take you kayaking on any of the rivers around Pucon. We had a great time paddling with him and the other Catalonians. It pays to do a little research and think outside of the box so you can get away from the generic kayaking packages offered in the region.<\/p>\n