Mendoza

Hi everyone!

      Brian, Mark, and I have all arrived safely in Argentina, but, our boat has not.  While in transit in the US, Mark decided to ship the boat to Santiago, Chile, as opposed to Buenos Aires, as it was in a standstill in Miami.  Argentinian customs has been very difficult to deal with and this has proved to be the most expedient way to get or boat into South America.

After arriving in Buenos Aires, the three of us took an overnight bus due west to Mendoza, Argentina and now Brian and Mark have taken a 6 hour bus from Mendoza to Santiago, Chile that left this morning.  I have stayed behind in Mendoza to watch the gear and take care of the last loose ends.

Although this is a setback, we were able to meet a wonderful contact that Mark originally began speaking with in the states named Martín Moreno.  He is the owner of Argentina Rafting Expediciones here in Mendoza and runs rafting trips down the Mendoza river.  While waiting for our boat to ship from Miami, we were able to paddle the Mendoza river yesterday.  In addition to some practice, Martín provided us with contacts and intel for the first of our intended rivers, the Bermejo. Depending on river flow, much of the paddled upper sections of the Bermejo is class V rapids and the first thirty to forty miles from the head waters is class VI.  Martín's kindness, help, and wealth of advice has been invaluable to us and we cannot begin to thank him enough.   Mark and Brian should be returning to Mendoza at the end of the weekend along with the boat and several intended supplies.  We then plan to take an overnight bus to Salta where we will be shuttled to the put-in by one of Martín´s good friends from Salta Rafting company, Grillo.  We are a few days behind schedule, but things are shaping up nicely and we are looking forward to getting on the river ASAP!  More updates to come soon...