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Acequias - Siniguis - Upper Canagua (3 days/ 2 nights, Acequias, Canagua & Siniguis)
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 Day
2: ( 20 km, 4 to 5
hours whitewater rafting, class 4+)
We pack up all our gear and head far away from civilization to the isolated village of Santa Maria de Canagua. The last part of the journey is tough four wheel driving through the mud as the trail gets steeper, the road gets narrower and the forest thickens. It´s around 3 hours to get there. The river is 400m from the ridge where we get to with the 4X4. After a recap on the rafting instructions, we launch the raft into what seems a tranquil river. Yet only two hundred metres later everybody will be wide awake as we hit the first of today's big rapids "Flying High". Many class 3 and 4 rapids follow, until we get to the the biggest rapid "The three Martins" so named after a long swim on the first ever descent down the river in 1997, by you guessed it, three guys all named Martin! Along the way we will stop at beautiful beaches, one with a natural hot spring for a swim and a much needed snack. All around you will see virgin tropical rain forest, huge cliffs, enormous boulders, and occasional wildlife. Upper Canagua tops all Venezuela's white water rafting experiences, and the adrenaline and the beauty of nature will blow your mind! This river is only run by Arassari Trek, Mérida´s leading and most innovative outfitter and adventure tourism operator, with the assistance of top New Zealand qualified, senior rafting instructors. We will finish in Heaven, a local riverside farm, from where we get transport back to Campamento de aventura Arassari Trek where food will be waiting for us,- as will showers and the first signs of civilization for the day.  Day
3: (12 km, around 3 hours
of whitewater rafting, class 4 + to 5) Breakfast and a short drive further upriver, past the most original Plaza Bolivar in Venezuela, to some of the oldest petroglyphs found in Venezuela that prove the existence of ancient indian culture (thousands of years ago) in this valley. Then onto the hanging bridge the starting point for today's rafting. After an comprehensive safety briefing, we launch straight into a class 5 rapid ( the alarmclock!) where HOLD ON!! is the call of the day. We share the river today with River Otters, Iguanas, and many species of tropical birds and butterflies. The rapids today have a kitchen appliance theme, with rapids such as the Mixer, the Blender, and the Washing Machine, and are class 4+ to 5 (being the highest classification commercially runnable). We will have a few stops on the way to take in the spectacular views, admire the lush vegetation and eat chocolate bars and nuts. We may even find an Indiana Jones style hanging bridge to jump off into the river! After around 3 to 4 hours on the water we finish our trip back at the Campamento Arassari for a well deserved lunch/Barbeque and some more cold beers. From here we pack up all our gear and head back to Barinas and Merida. |
| The exploration trip. Tom told us about this river which had only been
run once before, 2 years ago. He was the only person from that first raft
left in Venezuela and he asked if we would like to join an exploratory
expedition, to be the second raft down ever. We didn't need to be asked
twice. Tom's memories of it alone got the adrenline going, and last time
they had run it in lower water. We thought the Gods were trying to tell
us something when we were held up by schoolkids protesting with burning
tyres on the road to Barinas, but we pressed on regardless. We were not
dissappointed, it was massive, rapid after rapid of grade 4+ water. It
was mad from the start, and the very first rapid got named "the Paragliders"(now
called "flying high") after they all got flipped out, 200 yards after the
put in point. Pete's guiding skills were impressive considering he was
doing the river for the first time too. Thanks for a fantastic trip.
Justin & Cathy, London, England |
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Contact us ! ARASSARI
TREK - V.T. 2256
Raquel & Tom Evenou
Final calle 24, 8-301. Mérida - Venezuela
Tel /Fax : ++58
(0274) 2525879 Cel.
(0414) 7463569
E-Mail: info@arassari.com
ó arassari@telcel.net.ve
