Fluid Kayaks - Team Blog

I arrived in Colombia in mid November with intentions of doing some paddling, but mostly with intentions going to see my my very attractive dentist and organizing my business visa, transportation, lodging, equipment and so on for the first kayak school and guided kayak trips by “Colombia Whitewater” in Colombia.

The put-in to the Rio Chicamocha at high water.

The first mission was to do some paddling. I met up with Kees Van Kuipers and a couple of Canadian kayakers in Bogota and then we traveled to San Gil, the kayaking capital of Colombia. As we left Bogota in a heavy rainstorm we drove by some huge lakes that are normally fields. It had been raining heavily in Colombia and most of the rivers were flooded, landslides were washing away the roads and small towns. When we arrived in San Gil many of the best rivers had to much water to paddle so we headed for a multi day Colombian classic, the Rio Chicamocha. The Rio Chicamocha at normal water levels has a couple sections of nice class III-IV whitewater and passes through a dramatic semi desert canyon. The Rio Chicamocha was also flooded, but we were not that concerned because it can hold a lot of water. We arrived a little late, Colombian style, and did not get on the water until early afternoon. We paddled down the first stretch of warm up rapids and then we arrived at the top of one of the biggest rapids in the canyon. Everybody else wisely decided to eddy out and scout, but I was feeling comfortable in my boat and I had paddled the rapid a few times before. I saw a line, at least through the entrance, so I bypassed the eddy and the scout. I paddled past a couple massive holes guarding the entrance and around the corner and I thought there would at least be a short pool or another eddy, but the rapid just kept going and going. After about a mile of dodging massive holes I finally found an eddy. It may have been one of the biggest and longest rapids I have ever paddled. I eddied out and waited for the rest of the group. They all thought I was dead for sure. After a while I gave them a call on the cell phone to let them know I was okay and a couple hours later they caught up with me. One of the other paddlers was in a playboat which was not the right boat for big water class V. Another paddler had hurt his shoulder while they were eddy hopping down the side of the river. It was almost dark and we still had not reached our intended destination for the night, and there was no good camping were we all met up. So we shouldered our boats up the hill and found a barn to camp in.

The pueblo Jordan in the canyon of the Rio Chicamocha.

About an hour later one of the locals found us in the barn and insisted that we come and spend the night in his house with his family. He led us to the house and generously gave us some space to sleep under the roof and the use of their kitchen so we could cook our dinner. The family lived in a rustic house and survived by subsistence farming. They were kind and generous like most people in Colombia and what could have been a rough night in a barn turned into another memorable experience. Colombia has the reputation of being dangerous, but most everywhere I travel and paddle the people are warm and extend random acts of kindness. The next day we decided to exit the canyon and we went to the nearby pueblo of Jordan and found transportation back to San Gil. The road from Jordan to San Gil is steep and rough and we somehow managed to fit six boats, six kayakers and the driver into a small pick up truck, the only transportation available in the small town of Jordan. Just before we arrived in San Gil the wheel fell off the truck and rolled past us as we skidded to a stop. The wheel bounced over the shoulder and rolled through a vacant tennis court and finally came to rest after it crashed into the fence surrounding the tennis court. We were able to find most of the lug nuts along the road and we jacked up the truck and put the wheel back on. We safely arrived back in San Gil after a typical Colombian paddling mission.

Putting the wheel back on the shuttle vehicle.

Soon thereafter Kees cut his leg while he was pulling my boat off a rock and the Canadians returned home. Kees’s leg was infected and walking was difficult and painful and paddling was out of the question. Kees traveled to Ecuador to recover with his girlfriend and I spent the next couple of weeks taking care of some errands for my Colombian business “Colombia Whitewater”.

Kees Van Kuipers, Mark Hentze, Andy Atkins and the rest of the crew on the Rio Fonce.

In mid December I made a quick trip home to the states for Christmas and spent some time doing more business errands and spent Christmas with friends and family. I returned to Colombia just a few days ago and tomorrow I travel to Putumayo in the South of Colombia. Some of the best rivers in Colombia are in Putumayo, Kees will be in Putumayo with some other kayakers that he brought from Ecuador. Summer, or the dry season, has finally arrived in Colombia and the floods have receded. I have finished most of my business errands and I have a few weeks to paddle for myself before my first kayak school and guided trip. More reports to come shortly.