First thing's first, I'm writing this post having just come back from Unimarc, a Chilean supermarket, to get lunch. Unimarc has now started imported the Waitrose essentials range, what the hell? It did make me laugh though, a little piece of home away from home. Still just as overpriced as in the UK though.
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| Surprise of the week over. |
This week I've been doing a lot of work with duckies, a kind of inflatable kayak. It's a really easy and safe way to get people down bigger grade 3 rapids that they would never be able to run on their first day in a normal kayak. We also use them a lot with families on what we call a 'Family Float' trip. We take families out in the duckies down a very calm grade 1/2 section to enjoy the scenery and as a little bit of an adventure for the children. A few days ago I took out a Brazilian family to enjoy the river, from the smiles on their faces I guess they enjoyed it.
I also took out a few trips on the Trancura, a bigger grade 3 rapid. We guide the duckies down from our kayaks, pushing and pulling them out of the way of any danger if we need to. I also had some incredible weather for a few of those outings.
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| Just look at that sky! |
It's not all river time out here, there are also the standard guide jobs to be done, for example washing the wetsuits. All 30, smelly, disgusting wetsuits one by one. Daniel and I headed up to Palguin tpo the boss's house to wash and dry all the wetsuits. Of course, part of the plan of doing it up there was because we knew we'd cook a good meal, have a BBQ and paddle a few laps of the waterfalls in the morning!
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| You don't wanna see what the water looked like afterwards! |
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| Compulsory bonfire, only missing marshmallows |
On these laps I was trying to nail something called a freewheel, spinning the boat in the air as you launch off a waterfall. Not quite got it dialled yet, but a few more laps and I'm sure I'll get the hand of it!
BBQ's are of course a very common occurrence in Chile. And the next day (yesterday), we were invited by Valerie (the shop manager) to go to her new house she is building and have a BBQ. She has a really cool plot of land, with her house nestled right in the woods. We spent the night eating good meat, drinking good beer and enjoying the company. Thanks to Valerie and Diego for inviting us!
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| Not quite finished yet, but an enchanting spot |
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Could get used to this
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Today I headed back to dreaded Temuco to get my Yellow Fever vaccination. I've been trying to get this vaccine for over a month and finally managed to get it done, even though it meant I spent over three hours in the hospital to get a 2 second injection. You'll be pleased to know that the Yellow Fever virus is currently raging around my body and hopefully means I won't get at least one of the nasty diseases that Ecuador boasts...
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| Got left in the kids waiting room... |
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| A happy, fever-resistant Shahid |
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