Women's Beginner Whitewater Kayaking Trip to Mexico

Date: February 7 - 14, 2009

Skill Level and River Difficulty:
This trip is for novices and beginners – no prior kayaking experience is necessary. We’ll be paddling in flatwater and on class II and some III rapids.

Itinerary
Day 1: Welcome to Mexico!
Your port of entry into Mexico will be the International airport in Veracruz, Mexico. Upon arrival at the airport, you’ll be met by Anna and the friendly, highly experienced staff of Esprit Rafting. We’ll stay overnight at the Hotel Centro Historico Veracruz situated in the heart of the Zocalo.

Day 2: Intro in the Pool
From Veracruz, we head east through the foothills of the Sierra Madre Orientales, to the village of Jalcomulco. This small community, situated in the heart of the Antigua river valley, welcomes you with warm, friendly smiles and an easy-going pace of life.

We’ll get everyone settled at Aventuras Sin Limites, a local, family-owned rafting base camp. Once everyone is settled in we’ll eat lunch and get introduced to and outfitted in boats and gear. From here we’ll head to the pool to get comfortable and work on the roll and basic paddle strokes.

After the pool session you’re free to walk around and explore this amazing village before sitting down to some incredibly fresh and delicious Mexican food.

Day 3: Flatwater Fundamentals
We’ll greet our first morning in Jalcomulco with a yoga class to warm up the body and relax the mind. After yoga, we’re served a delicious Mexican breakfast before heading down to the river. Today we’ll be playing and learning on a flatwater and class II stretch that runs on the outskirts of the village. After lunch it’s time to head back to the pool for more roll practice.

Dinner will be served a la Mexicana tonight at our friend Berta’s house followed by a salsa dance class with our favorite local instructor, Carlos ‘Manteca.’ Even if you don’t think you’re a dancer, by the end of the night you’ll be shaking those hips and smiling a lot!

Day 4: Fundamentals of Moving Water
This morning is slow-paced to give our bodies and minds a break. A late morning yoga class followed by breakfast will start us off on the right foot. The rest of the morning can be spent relaxing in the hammocks, walking around the village or exploring a short hike through the jungle to a charming natural swimming hole.

After lunch we’ll run a friendly scenic section of the Antigua River between the towns of Apazapan and Cuetzhala. The focus today is to continue to develop the strokes we learned the previous day and start to work on the fundamentals of river running.

Dinner will be served after the river and we’ll enjoy a relaxing evening.

Day 5: River Running on the Antigua
We begin the day with an invigorating yoga session and breakfast, then head out for our second day on the Antigua River. Depending on the skill level and confidence of the group, we may add a few rapids to our river run! We’ll continue to develop the skills we’ve learned up to this point and, of course, continue to enjoy scrumptious Mexican food.

Day 6: More River Running!
Yoga and breakfast start the day. After evaluating how confident everyone is feeling we will either do work on the same section of the Antigua or we’ll choose to venture out on a section that’s more challenging. At this point in the week we’re working on building on our confidence and our skills.

Tonight we are privileged to take part in an ancient Aztec purification ceremony called the Temazcal. This sweat lodge is performed in a dome-shaped structure where water is poured over hot volcanic rocks to create a steam room. You’ll emerge feeling rejuvenated , relaxed and blissful.

Day 7: Waterfall!
Today we hit one of the most beautiful rivers on the planet! The Actopan River is known for its crystal clear aquamarine water that flows out of a natural spring. There is a very fun and friendly 15 ft waterfall at the beginning of the river and, yes, beginners can run it!! Those of you ready to take on the adventure can run the waterfall once, twice or many more times to get your adrenaline fix. We’ll enjoy lunch by the natural pools above the falls and then head back to Veracruz to celebrate all that we’ve accomplished this week!

Day 8: Saying Goodbye...
Depart for Veracruz airport to say our farewells. You’ll be taking away a lot more than kayaking skills…

*Note: We do our very best to adhere to the itinerary outlined above. Activities and rivers specified above may be subject to change based on circumstances outside our control (eg: weather, water levels, road and safety conditions).

Cost: $1550 USD per person, not including airfare

How to book:
Call Nantahala Outdoor Center at 888.905.7238
or email adventure@noc.com or anna@watergirlsatplay.com

Questions:
Contact Anna or Andrew via email
anna@watergirlsatplay.com
aholcomb@vt.edu

Trip includes:
• Personalized kayak and yoga instruction with Anna Levesque
• Equipment*
• All accommodation
• All meals starting at breakfast in morning of Day 2 until and including dinner on Day 7
• Ground transportation
• Internationally certified guides

Trip does not include:
• Airfare to Veracruz
• Dinner on Day 1
• Alcoholic beverages
• Telephone and fax services

* If you have some of your own lifejacket, helmet, sprayskirt and paddle please bring them. We will have equipment for those participants who don’t own any of their own.

MEXICO TRIPS:

Girls at Play Women's Week
Women's Beginner Whitewater Kayaking Trip to Mexico
Week of Rivers with Andrew Holcombe and Anna Levesque