The Paddler ezine WW kayak collection 2013 | Page 36

ThePaddler 36

How do I get there?
For my trip I flew from the UK with charter
airline Thomas Cook to Cancun, then made a
long (25hr) bus transfer to the town of
Tlapacoyan, which is the heart of classic Veracruz
creeking. Alternatively fly to Mexico City, which
is just four hours away from Tlapacoyan.
However, Iberia (and a few other airlines) will
only take windsurf equipment and not kayaks.
This means it is vital to pack your boat in a
careful disguise which, is both visually deceptive
and looks time consuming to wrap/unwrap
thereby discouraging the person at the check in
desk from taking a closer look at it.

How do I get to the river?

You are going to need a car of some description.
Car hire is available from the larger cities. In order
of distance from Tlapacoyan these are Xalapa
(sometimes written Jalapa), Veracruz, Puebla and
Mexico City. If you get a selection try to get
something with a strong engine, good tyres and a
high clearance. If the selection is not so great then
just ensure your boats all fit on top and be
prepared to walk up some of the steepest hills.
Don’t worry about high fuel costs of an American
style, big engined vehicle as petrol is around 50p
per litre. Some rivers will only require a short
shuttle, usually with a possibility to run/hitch.
Others will require a driver, however these are
available from Aventurec for a nominal fee.

How do I get river information?

The most accurate guidebook that featured a
range of good quality runs, including useful
information was the ‘River Gypsies guide to
North America’. You will also find some good
info on wikipaddle.org. Furthermore Antonio,
the owner of Aventurec is a wealth of knowledge
of the local area and knows most of the put-ins
and take-outs.

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Cars: try to get something with a strong eng
not so great then jus

Don’t worry abo
big engined vehicle