Viva Mexico!
By : Seppi Strohmeier
School's out! Finally, after 11 long semesters of studying excessively, I had all the time to realize this long-cherished wish of mine and go on a proper trip with my kayak. The plan: 5 months of travelling in North, Middle and South America - always in search of the most beautiful pieces of whitewater on the planet. After spending fall 2010 in the Southeast of the USA, playboating all over the place and successfully racing on Russel Fork and Green, the next destination on the list was Mexico. The following report is a retrospection of the experiences I made there during a 3 weeks stay in November 2010.
It's already dark since two hours when the first sign with direction Tlapacoyan appears on the side of the road. And, again, the car gets shaken by one these horrible speed bumps that appear all of a sudden in the beam of our car lights. Pirmin curses at the top of his voice and tinkers with the ventilation controller that fell out of its shabby mount once more. Glancing out of the window we see dozens of booths packed with food flying past. We make out piles of bananas and tangerines, grilled chickens and, of course, Tacos, Tortillas and Enchiladas. Then, after 5 exhausting hours on bad roads scattered with potholes, we finally reach the destination of our journey: the Aventurec Camp in eastern Mexico.
Mainly in the US American kayak scene, pictures and reports of gorgeous rivers in Mexico gathered over the past years. Particularly in the months of October to December, the decreasing water levels of summer rain promise perfect conditions for whitewater adventures all over the place and so the choice of our next travel destination is made quickly. Together with Mike Dawson (NZL), Mariann Saether (NOR) and Anne Hübner (GER), my current travel mates, I fly from Charlotte to Mexico City where we hook up with Mike's brother James (NZL), Benji Hjort (NOR) and Pirmin, a young gun from Southern Germany. The 7 of us hit the road to Río Alseseca in Veracruz state in order to find out what the much praised whitewater has to offer.
Though the classic “Roadside Section“ of the Alseseca has been paddled for almost 20 years, the more remote and harder accessible sections were only discovered in the recent past. Particularly local hero Rafa Ortitz and friends made a great job of drawing more secrets out of the Alseseca (visible on Hotel Charley II). The fruits of these expeditions are worldclass creeking sections with names like Big Banana, Truchas or 7 Sisters. But no matter on which part of the river you're venuring, they all have something in common: heaps and heaps of drops, slides and waterfalls. Some small, some intimidating, but generally clean and with a big pool waiting at the bottom. That makes kayakers' hearts beat faster.
Moreover, the Alseseca makes its way through thick rainforest, deeply engraved in marvelous gorges. Here, tropical birds circulate above our heads, liana tangle on river shore and cypress, banana or tangerine trees line the way to put-in and take out. Besides that, the water has bathing temperature. Actually, long sleeves are only worn for protection against ichy plants when bushwacking. Alone the bad water quality spoils the fun a bit. And so the mandatory sip of tequila for stomach disinfection awaits at every take-out.
During our first 10 days we're not only paddling the Alseseca but also a tributary called Filo Bobos. On the lower section of this river, antique remains of Maya people are preserved right next to the water, which have been discovered by a group of American rafters about 30 years ago.
For dinner our empty bellies draw us back to Tlapacoyan where we try out one little restaurant after the other, always in search for the best Tacos in town. The nights we spend at the Aventurec just outside of Tlapacoyan, a kayaker-friendly campsite, restaurant and raft company rolled into one.
Our daily kayak excursions often come along with all kinds of excitement: The Alseseca claims a number of broken paddles, a couple of harmless swimmers as well as a broken nose. On the way to the river we get in touch with corrupt police officers and, finally, our rental car abandons in the face of exertion and has to get replaced by a new model.
After one and a half weeks of sunshine, cloudbursting rain sets in and the water level of the Alseseca rises immensely. We therefore deside to leave the river behind in order to discover further regions of Mexico. In San Luís Potosí around Ciudad Valles we explore the cristall clear cascades of Río Valles and Minas Viejas. And at the Costa Esmeralda of the Golf of Mexico we spend a day on the beach and in the pool.
For the 3 remaining days, however, we head back to Tlapacoyan. And since we left some the most spectecular drops for our 'finale grande', those last days turn out to be full on. We run...
The Bukaki rapid - a combination of a slide with big pillows left and right, followed immediately by a sticky recycle and a 7 meter drop that goes 90° around the corner.
The San Pedro drop - a 15 meter park'n'huck waterfall on Río Jalacingo. Tomata Falls – a perfectly vertical 23 meter drop and potential candidate for a postcard theme.
Stroked from these highlights and sold on Mexico as paradise for whitewater paddlers we set out to pack our bags again. While Pirmin needs to head back to snowy Germany, Anne and I still got 3 months full of paddling waiting for us in Chile and Argentina. And so we stuff our boats and gear into the rental car and begin the drive back to Mexico City. 5 hours of bad roads scattered with potholes lie ahead of us. Pirmin grins and shrugs his shoulders. Piffling, if you consider what experiences we had in return...
Also check out Mike's video clip about the trip:
Alseseca River, Mexico
By : Seppi Strohmeier
School's out! Finally, after 11 long semesters of studying excessively, I had all the time to realize this long-cherished wish of mine and go on a proper trip with my kayak. The plan: 5 months of travelling in North, Middle and South America - always in search of the most beautiful pieces of whitewater on the planet. After spending fall 2010 in the Southeast of the USA, playboating all over the place and successfully racing on Russel Fork and Green, the next destination on the list was Mexico. The following report is a retrospection of the experiences I made there during a 3 weeks stay in November 2010.
It's already dark since two hours when the first sign with direction Tlapacoyan appears on the side of the road. And, again, the car gets shaken by one these horrible speed bumps that appear all of a sudden in the beam of our car lights. Pirmin curses at the top of his voice and tinkers with the ventilation controller that fell out of its shabby mount once more. Glancing out of the window we see dozens of booths packed with food flying past. We make out piles of bananas and tangerines, grilled chickens and, of course, Tacos, Tortillas and Enchiladas. Then, after 5 exhausting hours on bad roads scattered with potholes, we finally reach the destination of our journey: the Aventurec Camp in eastern Mexico.
Mainly in the US American kayak scene, pictures and reports of gorgeous rivers in Mexico gathered over the past years. Particularly in the months of October to December, the decreasing water levels of summer rain promise perfect conditions for whitewater adventures all over the place and so the choice of our next travel destination is made quickly. Together with Mike Dawson (NZL), Mariann Saether (NOR) and Anne Hübner (GER), my current travel mates, I fly from Charlotte to Mexico City where we hook up with Mike's brother James (NZL), Benji Hjort (NOR) and Pirmin, a young gun from Southern Germany. The 7 of us hit the road to Río Alseseca in Veracruz state in order to find out what the much praised whitewater has to offer.
Though the classic “Roadside Section“ of the Alseseca has been paddled for almost 20 years, the more remote and harder accessible sections were only discovered in the recent past. Particularly local hero Rafa Ortitz and friends made a great job of drawing more secrets out of the Alseseca (visible on Hotel Charley II). The fruits of these expeditions are worldclass creeking sections with names like Big Banana, Truchas or 7 Sisters. But no matter on which part of the river you're venuring, they all have something in common: heaps and heaps of drops, slides and waterfalls. Some small, some intimidating, but generally clean and with a big pool waiting at the bottom. That makes kayakers' hearts beat faster.
Moreover, the Alseseca makes its way through thick rainforest, deeply engraved in marvelous gorges. Here, tropical birds circulate above our heads, liana tangle on river shore and cypress, banana or tangerine trees line the way to put-in and take out. Besides that, the water has bathing temperature. Actually, long sleeves are only worn for protection against ichy plants when bushwacking. Alone the bad water quality spoils the fun a bit. And so the mandatory sip of tequila for stomach disinfection awaits at every take-out.
During our first 10 days we're not only paddling the Alseseca but also a tributary called Filo Bobos. On the lower section of this river, antique remains of Maya people are preserved right next to the water, which have been discovered by a group of American rafters about 30 years ago.
For dinner our empty bellies draw us back to Tlapacoyan where we try out one little restaurant after the other, always in search for the best Tacos in town. The nights we spend at the Aventurec just outside of Tlapacoyan, a kayaker-friendly campsite, restaurant and raft company rolled into one.
Our daily kayak excursions often come along with all kinds of excitement: The Alseseca claims a number of broken paddles, a couple of harmless swimmers as well as a broken nose. On the way to the river we get in touch with corrupt police officers and, finally, our rental car abandons in the face of exertion and has to get replaced by a new model.
 |  |
After one and a half weeks of sunshine, cloudbursting rain sets in and the water level of the Alseseca rises immensely. We therefore deside to leave the river behind in order to discover further regions of Mexico. In San Luís Potosí around Ciudad Valles we explore the cristall clear cascades of Río Valles and Minas Viejas. And at the Costa Esmeralda of the Golf of Mexico we spend a day on the beach and in the pool.
 |  |
For the 3 remaining days, however, we head back to Tlapacoyan. And since we left some the most spectecular drops for our 'finale grande', those last days turn out to be full on. We run...
The Bukaki rapid - a combination of a slide with big pillows left and right, followed immediately by a sticky recycle and a 7 meter drop that goes 90° around the corner.
The San Pedro drop - a 15 meter park'n'huck waterfall on Río Jalacingo. Tomata Falls – a perfectly vertical 23 meter drop and potential candidate for a postcard theme.
 |  |
Stroked from these highlights and sold on Mexico as paradise for whitewater paddlers we set out to pack our bags again. While Pirmin needs to head back to snowy Germany, Anne and I still got 3 months full of paddling waiting for us in Chile and Argentina. And so we stuff our boats and gear into the rental car and begin the drive back to Mexico City. 5 hours of bad roads scattered with potholes lie ahead of us. Pirmin grins and shrugs his shoulders. Piffling, if you consider what experiences we had in return...
 |  |
Also check out Mike's video clip about the trip:
Alseseca River, Mexico
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