RxRivers, Patagonia

We are in Patagonia, Chile and are having a blast.  We are hanging out at RxRivers, a lodge run by an American family who spends half the year boating in Chile.  There are several other guests staying here too.  It is hard to get Wifi and power at the lodge.  Power is acessed at the neighbor’s house, and internet can only be used by poaching it from the school up the road.  Last night I did not write because I was playing with Hannah, we had no power on the laptop, and I had previously earned a special treat for a well completed math lesson.  Hannah is Aren’s and Sarah’s eight year old daughter.  My parents and I are all having fun hanging out with the family and the other guests, boating in the afternoon, and enjoying the wonders of Patagonia.

Hannah

Aren, Sarah and Hannah are a friendly family frolicking in the beauty and spirt of Patagonia.  Aren is a river guide and Sarah is a massage therapist, both drawn together by their love for kayaking.  About ten years ago, they bought a big chunk of land which they cleared using the least amount of gas and fossil fuels as possible.  They created a lodge for boaters and friends alike.  Still in love with the amazing food and country of there home State of New Mexico, they decided to spend half the year in Chile and half in New Mexico.  Hannah is mature for her age and loves to do all the things that I do.  Every day we play card games, hang out in our secret fort, draw, and enjoy many other fun activities. 
 




Aren and Sarah have been helping me improve my boating skills and the improvement is spectacular.  Today, we practiced rolls, ferrying, eddy turns, and stern squirts, all in turbulent water.  A stern squirt is a trick involving pushing the stern of one’s boat underwater while the bow comes shooting up.  We practiced on a fair sized rapid with boiling, small eddies crashing up against rocks on either side.  We did the rolls and the stern squirts at the bottom of the rapid, but ferried and worked on eddy turns in the fray of the gnarly part of the rapid.  I normally am intimidated by the big water, but today I felt great!  I had one combat roll (accidental roll) and really made a great jump in my eddy turns.    

(Photo by Mom)

(Photo by Mom)

Patagonia is a legendary region in southern Chile and Argentina, known for its beauty and its magical peaks.  Towering over the lodge, is a high mountain with spiky peaks.  The mountain slopes up and eventually comes to three pointy panicles called the Three Nuns.  This is just one of the amazing features of Patagonia.  Patagonia is home to hundreds of blue rivers, many of which have made their way to fame. The Futaleufu is an enormous class V river attracting boaters from all over the world.  It is three to ten times as big as the Colorado River running through the Grand Canyon.  Also, Patagonia is covered in vast and endless farmland.  What a place.









Today, I boated with Aren and Sarah, hung out with Aren, Sarah, Hannah, and the other guests, and enjoyed Patagonia.  I hope tomorrow is as good!

Thank you for reading Rohan Geographic!