Day by Day:

Day 1 Friday: Depart your home town
Fly to Miami and connect on an over night flight to Buenos Aires Argentina. Welcome to the warmth of the southern Hemisphere in summer.

Day 2 Saturday: Travel to Trevelin, Patagonia Argentina
Early morning arrival in Buenos Aires. Change airports and catch another flight to Bariloche, or Esquel Argentina. From Bariloche, a luxury bus will take you on a beautiful drive along the Patagonian lakes and mountains to Esquel. IF you fly direct to Esquel you can arrive in Trevelin with some time to enjoy the area. Trevelin, Argentina is a charming mountain village gateway just 45 minutes from Futaleufu River in Chile. Trevelin is serviced by ground transport (Bus or private taxi) from the Jet ports in Bariloche (4 hrs) or Esquel (40 min). Check into a hotel in this charming village and walk to one of several superb restaurants. Unwind, relax, and get a good nights sleep before the start of you trip 9:00 am the next morning.

Day 3 Sunday: Rio Espolon - Rodeo Back Deck Roll
After a delightful breakfast we take a short drive to the put-in of the spectacular turquoise-blue Rio Espolon - Class II/III. We warm up on the crystal-clear water, review your kayak techniques and then find a calm lagoon to begin teaching the elements of the Back Deck Rodeo Roll. Today we will also spend time on the double pump, bow wind-up, flat-water cartwheels and bow stalls. We conclude our first day of the kayak school by spending some time on the Rio Espolon surf-wave just a short walk from the town of Futaleufu, where our vehicle is ready to return you to the comforts of Campo Tres Monjas.

Day 4 Monday: Terminator Section - Surfing Himalaya
After breakfast, we put-in at our camp beach and kayak down river into the "Terminator" section. The first rapid we will come to is "School House" with its great eddy-lines and forgiving hydraulics. Here we will learn about stern squirts, pirouettes, and screw-ups. The eddy-lines are so numerous and so good that you will be able to practice these vertical kayak moves on both sides. Afterward we will negotiate "Asleep at the Wheel", our first big drop of this week on the Futaleufu. Our next play stop will be the awesome surfing wave at "Pillow Rock" where we will be introduced to the basics of front surfing. Next up will be the huge and powerful Class V "Terminator Rapid". Some of the more intrepid paddlers in the group will have the opportunity to sneak (Class IV+) the "Terminator" on the left side. From the "Terminator" we will carefully pick our route through the hole-filled Class IV "Khyber Pass", and on to some giant wave action in the Class IV "Himalayas". We will test our skills on these giant waves and get an introduction to surfing big water. This day of kayak school ends back at camp, where we have our sauna and dinner waiting for us.

Day 5 Tuesday: Bridge to Bridge Section - The Heart of the Futa
Kayak instruction today will involve continuing to learn about front surfing and then introduce the basics of flat-spins, and back surfing. This section is filled with the big exploding waves for which the Futaleufu is world famous. We put-in at the "Zapata's" swinging bridge and run the "Corazón" - the Heart of the Futaleufu - previously named "The Continuous Section". Here you will find plenty of Class IV big water action, including "Entrada", "Pillow", and "Mundaca", one of the largest breaking wave holes in the world. We will spend time at whatever play-waves are in at the time of your visit to work on our surfing technique. The last river feature just before the take-out is a hole called "Postre". Here we will introduce side surfing, 360's and elevated 360's - then back to the kayak school camp.

Day 6 Wednesday: Rio Azul - Practice your Skills
Today, if water levels permit, we take a break from the big water of the Futaleufu and explore a spectacular side canyon. We drive to the footbridge put-in on the Río Azul - a tight, crystal clear creek that runs through a lush micro-canyon. Here you get a chance to relax and paddle the technical drops, surf at some excellent play spots, and enjoy the scenery. Kayak instruction on the Azul will center on front surfing, flat-spins, back surfing. Instead of taking out at the camp we will head back to "School House" rapid for a review of our stern squirts, pirouettes, screw-ups and practice some of our hole-riding techniques.

Day 7 Thursday: Terminator Section - Final Test
This will be a repeat of Day 3, but we will bomb through the run until we get to "Pillow Rock". We will spend time on front surfing and playing, and then head out to the real test: "Terminator Wave". Here we will bring together everything you have learned about surfing in the last few days. This wave is huge and fast - a great wave to practice front surfing, flat spins, and back surfing. After playing here for a while we will sneak "Terminator" on the left and head through "Khyber Pass" to the "Himalayas". All will have an opportunity to try and catch the "Shangri-La" surf-wave before heading into the "Himalayas". The rest of the kayak instruction day will be spent learning how to surf on the big faces of these epic waves.

Day 8 Friday: Bridge to El Macal - Kayak School Graduation Day/on to Trevelin, Argentina
Like the Day 4, we put-in at the swinging bridge at "Zapata," but we will pass the Futaleufu Bridge take out and continue on to the Class IV+ "Más o Menos", and the technical Class V "Casa de Piedra". Finally the river eases off for the beautiful and playful Class III "El Macal" section. Those who feel they aren't ready for "Mas o Menos" or "Casa de Piedra" will have the opportunity to rejoin the group below "Casa de Piedra" after a short shuttle ride. Having a great time on the river will be the objective for this paddling school day, while focusing on the skills that we learned on this week of kayak instruction. Afterward you will be ready to slip into the wood-heated sauna and ease your tired muscles, where our camp masseuse will be available to tend your sore muscles and joints. Afterwards, our vehicles will be waiting and our luggage will join us as we make our way toward the border on our way to Trevelin. Check into your hotel, take a shower and change clothes before enjoying your last night in Patagonia. There are several outstanding and reasonably priced restaurants in Trevelin that we can recommend. Relax, recover and look back on the exciting week of kayaking before heading back the following morning.

Day 9 Saturday: Return to Capital City
Depending on your connections you are now are in Argentina ready for an early departure in a cab from you hotel to the bus station in Esquel for the trip to Bariloche and your flight back to Beunos Aires. A private transfer can be arranged direct from your hotel to the airport in Bariloche. If you have a flight from Esquel you have the morning to enjoy and buy gifts in Trevelin before your 2 pm flight to Buenos Aires and the connection back to your home country.

Day 10 Sunday: Return home

Accomodations:

Eco Camp Campo Tres Monjas

Price per Person: $2195.00 USD

Special Flexibilities: Exchile will be flexible to make your trip a total success. The actual program for your custom trip will vary according to the desires and skill level of your group, weather, or other factors. Patagonia has constantly changing weather patterns that might affect what day is best for a certain activity. If a certain part of your trip is not possible due to danger risks and weather extremes, our experienced guide staff will work with you to figure out the best possible option to substitute for the weather complications. If you have any concerns, please feel free to ask us more about the situations and what is guaranteed on the trip.

Included: Your described trip, guiding, instruction, activity equipment, local transportation, shuttles, all meals, wine with dinner, acomodations at our eco-camps, cabins, ranches or lodges, while on your trip. We offer a free pick up on Sunday mornings at 9 am in Trevelin at your hotel, and drop off to your hotel in Trevelin, Argentina on Fridays at 9 pm. See the packing list of your activity, for the specific clothing that is required.

Not Included: En-route transportation, lodging, and food from your home town to the border with Chile and Argentina or other trip pick-up point. Laundry services, massage, additional alcohol are available but not included. You can reserve on our web page a pre-trip and post-trip hotel in Trevelin that includes the shared transfer to and from the border.

You can also ask our travel agent to prepay private ground transports between airport and from the airport to Trevelin, for an additional charge. Expediciones Chile is not financially responsible for your travel complications getting to your trip pick up point and from the drop off point, HOWEVER, we will be relentless allies in offering our services to help solve any issues that you may encounter.

	Season: December 6th to March 15th Off Season the first two days rolling practice in warm pools October 15th to November 15, March 30th to April 15th Experience Needed: Previous whitewater experience Physical Challenge: Moderate Cultural Experience: Medium Nature Experience: High Comfort Rafting: Moderate to High Max Trip Size: 10 Min Trip Size: 2 Region Visited: Futaleufu Valley Lakes, Rivers, Sites Visited: Rio Espolon, Rio Futaleufu, Rio Azul Direct Line, USA: +1.208.629.5032 (7am/5 pm mst) Toll Free, USA: +1.888.488.9082 (7am/5 pm mst) Travel Consultant 1 Travel Consultant 2

Also offered at the Patagonia South Kayak School: Beginning Kayak Instruction, Intermediate Paddling Instruction, Advanced Paddling School Courses. How to Roll a Kayak clinics or private kayak lessons.

Downloadable pdf: Kayak School