The Paddler ezine WW kayak collection 2013 | Page 25

n able to explore some of the rivers of the Andes

Joe Rea-Dickins, Yurani Rapids.

enthusiastically than the previous night) at the
jungle to clear another campsite. Having used the
satellite phone to leave a message with our driver
and guide, Ulysses and Roque, we were confident
of being picked up in the morning, ready for a
beer and a good dinner.
The nights are pitch black under the jungle canopy
and, given our proximity to the equator,
indefinitely long, but when the morning
eventually arrived there was no message on the sat
phone, and no sign of our driver. As the day drew
on we tired of checking for messages and, having
spent most of the day in our hammocks sheltering
from the cold incessant rain, the novelty was
beginning to wear off – we were cold, hungry and
everything was thoroughly damp. Sandra’s 21st
birthday came and went and we were still stuck in
our small campsite in the jungle, living off the
supplies we’d bought for the river trip,
hypothesizing as to why we weren’t being rescued.

Sandra Hyslop, Rio Orinoco.

In all we spent four days waiting for salvation, but
eventually Roque did return. It wasn’t until we had
failed to show up at the take out after three days as
prearranged that Ulysses and Roque began to
worry and drove back up the river a short way to
get phone signal. Completely unaware of our
situation they had been living by a lake, drinking
bootleg liquor and waiting for us to show up!
Once recovered from our jungle ordeal, we were
again able to explore some of the rivers of the
Andes, recording at least a couple of second
descents including a return to the Aricagua to
complete the second descent of the lower
sections. As we were promised by the first descent
team, we encountered continuous white water,
surrounded by jungle and with two committing
gorge sections to keep us on our toes. The upper
section still awaits its first descent, and if it’s
anything like the lower section, the lucky
paddlers will be in for a treat!

g volume (30,000 cumecs!) rapids and waves

Sam Sawday, Rio Aricagua.

Following on from our month in the Andean
states of Barinas and Merida, we headed to the
Orinoco for a week playing on the big volume
(30,000 cumecs!) rapids and waves where we
nearly commandeered an old Soviet era military
helicopter for filming purposes. From here we
drove east to the Gran Sabana in search of
waterfalls and finally to the beach to enjoy the
Pacific surf for the last few days before most of
the team flew home. In all we spent two months
in Venezuela, a country beset with political
problems and security issues. All that we
experienced was the generosity of the many
Venezuelans who welcomed us into their homes,
the magnificent beauty of the country and the
fabulous variety and quality of white water
kayaking to be found there.

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