The Paddler ezine WW kayak collection 2013 | Page 30

ThePaddler 30

There are two

main
areas for kayaking in Mexico, Veracruz
state and Chiapas. While both
are beautiful and contain
some stunning whitewater,
they are not usually
paddleable at the same time
of year, so realistically you can’t
do it all in one trip. The
characteristics of each area is
different, Chiapas has unique
travertine rock which is very grippy,
whilst Veracruz has a smoother more
slippery rock type. Veracruz has the
biggest variety of different runs,
concentrated together in a small area,
whereas whitewater kayaking in Chiapas is
more spread out, usually requiring days of
traveling between rivers. The following will
help you plan a trip to Veracruz, which is ideal
for shorter holidays as you can really make the
most of your time.

Who should you go with?

If you are not too keen on the idea of traveling
solo around Mexico then you are going to need
to find yourself a killer crew to travel and paddle
with. Because of the steep and often committing
nature of Mexican Whitewater you and your
friends should ideally be comfortable on Grade
4/4+ with a view to paddling on more difficult
whitewater or making some tricky portages. Try
to keep your group to three or four, or multiples
of this, as it will make it easier in terms of
vehicles.

When should you go?

Whitewater in Veracruz is totally dependent on
the amount of rain that falls during the rainy
season. This rainy season lasts from ?????)M????????????????????????????????????)????????????=?????????)?????!????????)???????????????????????????????????????)???=?????????????????????????????????)??????=????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????)?????Q????????)??????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????Q????????)?????????????????????????????????????)9??????????????Q????????????????)?????????????????????????????????????()???????????????()
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