2-14 through 2-16-10: Futaleufu, Chile

2-14-10: We drove 30 minutes from the town of Futaleufu to the Futaleufu Explore Lodge to pick up our rafting gear before driving to the river put-in. We were told it would be a 2 hr float down the Rio Azul (Blue River) but it only took about 45 minutes. The rivers in the area were untypically high for February due to the preceding months being quite rainy; thus the river flow was very fast. The kids had a good time on the float and alternated between sitting in front on the floor of the raft or paddling in the rear situated in front of the guide. Their only complaint was that the guide would hold onto the neck flap of their life jacket when going through the rapids and this 'choked' them.

After returning to the lodge, a group of rafters (2 rafts) was preparing for a trip down the Futaleufu River and we added on so that there were 5 passengers in each raft plus a guide. The trip was totally amazing! Mike and I paddled up front for most of the trip and we felt the intensity of the enormous waves first. We were knocked into the raft a couple of times by their force. One section was called the "Magic Carpet" because we were able to catch eddies on either side of the river to ride the waves at least 5 more times. There were 2 Chilean guys and a Swiss girl in our raft and the guide asked if anyone wanted to try the front position; so the 2 Chileans took the helm while Mike moved to the 2nd row next to the Swiss girl (Kirsten) and I went to the 3rd row. Mike, Kirsten, and I were surprised to see the 2 Chileans paddling frantically and ineffectively. I joked with Kirsten that the guy in front of her was splashing her more with his paddle than the waves were! lol! Actually I was able to appreciate a different perspective from the 3rd row of the raft. I could see how the front of the raft absorbed much of the water's initial impact then rose and fell as it rode the waves. After our trip down the river was completed, everyone had a scrumptious late lunch back at the lodge. Kirsten and our family had a wonderful dinner in the evening also since we we spending the night at the lodge. Mike and I were thankful that we were able to raft 1 of the 3 best rivers in the world!

(explanation of the pics: #1-Mike and Patty after rafting the Futa River, #2-our raft taking a hit with Mike visible in front, #3-the beautiful, light turquoise-color of the Futa, Gaby getting a lift back to the raft after taking a dip in a swimming hole on the rio Azul, view of the mountain called 3 monjas (3 nuns), and our family before starting the Rio Azul float).

2-15-10: We spent most of the day hanging out at the lodge; we serenely took in the view of the Futaleufu River and surrounding mountains. The beautiful light, turquoise color of the river just couldn't be properly captured in our pictures. We set out in the late afternoon, crossed back into Argentina, continued to Parque Nacional Los Alerces, and found a nice campground by a lake to spend the night.

2-16-10: We drove to Bariloche, turned in our rental car, and took a 17 hour bus ride back to Mendoza, Argentina so we could spend a few days in the familiar surroundings of our favorite hostel, Quinta Rufino, to plan our next steps.