White-water Rafting in Pucón

Saturday 18 January 2020 89 °F

How best to enjoy the Andes Mountains?

Upon boarding our bus for the rafting trip, it became immediately apparent that Pearl and I were on our own with understanding instructions. We followed the herd, listened carefully (but uncomprehendingly) to the equipment instructions, and then stood in line to receive our wetsuits and boots.

In the ladies’ dressing room, we quickly put on our wetsuits. Sue proudly marched out of the dressing room only to be met with hearty laughter from all of the rafting guides. Who knew the zipper went in the back? And just when I was feeling pretty proud of my fake-it Spanish comprehension skills.

Back to the dressing room to find Pearl continuing her attempt at squeezing into a damp, slightly too small wetsuit. Meanwhile, I had to peel my backwards wetsuit off my sweaty body (Did I mention it was 89 degrees?) and re-dress. All while feeling the pressure to hurry so we wouldn’t hold up the group. Luckily, everyone was in good spirits, including us, so there was lots of (nervous) laughter.

Pearl and I were paired with a family from Brazil and the only rafting guide who spoke English. He provided a quick but thorough safety lecture (80% in Spanish/20% English)

Listening intently. Understanding?

Pearl and I quickly learned our guide’s shouts of “adelante” (forward) and “alto” (stop). The river was fantastic! Many exciting sections—absolutely perfect for all of us. Plus no one fell out.

Getting started