Today we ran the Lower Trancura again, but I switched from a Diesel to a Project.(Those are boats, you non-boaters. Click on the links). The river just got more challenging. Tren took a play boat also and started getting me going on rodeo. He was very patient and encouraging. Not once did he say, "you really suck". Although it is basically a 3, the river is fairly high volume for playboating, so I spent some time upside down.
Afternoon, 3 of us went to the Upper Trancura, and the other 2 re-ran the lower. The upper is a full notch up. Most of it is solid Class 4, with one tough portage around a waterfall that they call a "doable 6" . No thanks. We scouted the most challenging rapid from the road on the drive up. I was really regretting the playboat when I saw that one, and then discovered that the boys switched boats for me during lunch, so I was in the Diesel again. It's good to have the local talent looking out for you. I don't think I mentioned this before, but these guys are extremely safety oriented. This is the most important thing when you are in a foreign land. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Right, Kelly?
There is a cool sliding falls we ran called Salto Feo ("Ugly Waterfall"). I ran it inverted. Fortunately, we will be back for a re-match on that one.
The photos: A bird I spotted while sitting in an eddy. Could not find it in the bird book here. Any birders out there who can look it up?
Picture at put-in to the lower of some Chileans getting ready to go boogie boarding down the river. I haven't interacted too much with the natives yet, but they seem to be really into sports.
The video is of Tom running one of t he first drops on the upper. Pretend it's me. You can't see the face anyway.
Keith
oops , no video. If anyone knows the secret of converting a .mov mac movie to something that can either be uploaded directly here or posted on Youtube, please let me know. I think Scott told me how once, but I forgot. Barb, ask your kids.
