December 2003

December 05, 2003 - 4:49 p.m.

So we are still in Pucon...It’s paddling paradise here. We have been running lots of rivers. Mark's favorite has got to be the Rio Puesco as he has run it four times this week. I like the Rio Maichin... a totally sweet class IV that keeps me nervous with all its drops. We have found an amazing play wave too but it's a bit father from Pucon (2.5 hours) on the San Pedro. Other than that a lot of other gringos are showing up so we have lots more paddling partners. Hopefully soon some chicks will show up because other than Mariann I haven't paddled with another chick in 9 months (and as much as I like guys it would be nice to paddle with another female).

Hanging out in Pucon

December 13, 2003 - 4:46 p.m.

Well Michelle and I turned some rainy Pucon days in for a short road trip back north towards Santiago. About 6 hours away we met up with Nate, Matt and friends in the Rio Nuble valley and proceeded to have 2 days of outstanding whitewater fun. After a rainy first day that also included our very first Puma sighting, the skies cleared and I paddled a class V gorge with the boys and then took Michelle down the class III+ section from the previous day. Michelle is starting to stomp down almost everything that gets in her way......and the shuttle driving is making her a pro at the manual transmission as well......

Yesterday the crew rejoined at the Rio Laja....a river that Michelle and I had visited way back in April. This time with a strong paddling crew, I finally puckered up and scared myself down 5kms of screaming blind class V! whoooohoooo.....well it was so bouncy and sweet Alan and I ran it twice!! The more we stay paddling in Chile, the more we are at awe with this place......it is becoming a second home for us both and it will be hard for us to leave. And Christmas is just a round the corner.... that is the weirdest part for sure! Happy Holidays to all our friends back home.

December 21, 2003 - 4:46 p.m.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season... Mark and I sure are... went on another little road trip, down south this time, to check out the Rio Llancahue and Rio Fui. The Llancahue was at a perfect level and it even had a 20 foot waterfall that was clean enough for me to run (though I had to run it twice to get it right). The Upper Rio Fui looked really big and so we just put in on the lower and had a 20 minute huge wave train ride down to the take out. Lots of fun and super fast.

Michelle on Rio Llancahue

Mark and I are going to spend Christmas in Pucon (probably going paddling somewhere) and then start heading south into Argentina. So we will be on the move again soon.

Also we have decided that we will get married in Pucon in February so if you are in the area let us know and we would love to have you show up.

Merry Christmas to everyone back at home!!!

December 28, 2003 - 11:09 a.m.

So Mark and I celebrated Christmas a little differently this year. On Christmas Eve we drove down to the San Pedro river with a crew of people (mostly boaters from California but an Aussie and Pom to top it off) and camped over night by the side of the river. We put up a Christmas tree by standing one kayak up in the middle with 4 kayaks surrounding it, decorated it with beaners, helmets and glowsticks and placed a few presents under it. For Christmas dinner we cooked a parilla (or Chilean BBQ) and partied deep into the night. The next morning we had a gift exchange and then loaded up all the boats to head down the river. Overall an excellent way to spend Christmas...good company and good paddling!

Rio San Pedro

Our Chilean Christmas tree

Now Mark and I have left Pucon and made our way to Bariloche, Argentina. Here we plan to paddle maybe a couple days before we start our journey into the deep south! Hopefully we'll find a cool little town to bring the New Year in style.