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Outfitters: Mexico Esprit Week of Rivers 2008/2009
 

Week of Rivers 2008/2009 Hot

Written by admin     Jan 6th 2009     Hits: 22764     Favorites 0 Add
 
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 9.0 (1)

For whitewater enthusiasts, Esprit's Mexico Weekof Rivers program offers an action packed exploration of Mexico’s bestrivers. Situated on the banks of the Antigua River, the small ruralvillage of Jalcomulco, Veracruz, is our gateway to over 100km ofcontinuous whitewater. Whether by kayak, canoe or raft, enjoy thetechnical challenges of Mexico’s fast moving, creek style boating as wepaddle class III-IV whitewater through towering canyon walls and lushtropical greenery. Challenging, active, fun and adventurous… the MexicoWeek of Rivers makes for an awesome winter “whitewater” escape.

Trip Highlights:

* Whitewater Rafting, Kayaking or Canoeing
* 3 Day Upper Antigua River Trip (Barranca Grande, Monte Blanco and Pescados Sections)
* Other rivers include: Actopan, Lower Antigua, Tomata
* Rappelling
* Tyrolesa (Zip Lines)
* Cultural Immersion

Program Overview :

Day 1 Arrival in Xalapa
Day 2 1/2 Day Trek, 1/2 day Antigua River
Day 3 Actopan River
Day 4 Barranca Grande (to Amititla)
Day 5 Barranca Grande (to Monte Blanco)
Day 6 Barranca Grande and Pescados Rivers
Day 7 Rafters - Rappel and Tyrolesa Kayakers - Tomata River
Day 8 Departure

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Overall:
 
 9.0
 
 

Esprit Week of rivers: Amazing trip

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
WOW what a trip. Based in a very small rural village in Mexico that felt as safe than the small town in Ontario I live and grew up in. Cultural immersion is correct. Dinner in the house of a local one night, entertainment by a local with his guitar, visits to various places to see how people scrape a living and proof that big houses and flashy vehicle are not a requirement for a happy life. Then add in the rivers. Continuous rivers with boogie water, pool and drop water fall drops. Check out youtube and esprit or Tomata and you will see how wild it can get. What a great way to spend a week. Versatility: The other people on the trip had rafted once before in their lives so they were in duckies and rafts. They happened to be fit rafters who had a taste for adventure and were disapointed with the first two days on the Barranca Grande. Not wanting to disapoint, Jim gave them the option of kayak lessons or running inflatable kayaks down the rest of the rivers. One chose kayak lessons, one chose to run the inflatables down the tomata. It was pretty extreme but he could handle it and with Esprits safety set it was relatively safe. There was also biking or zip lining available for anyone who could not handle the rivers. Safety: Man these people have it down to a science. Live bait rescues are amazing. Imagine these 20 year old men and women perched on the rock walls above holes that are dying to give you a beat down. You run the drop, get the sinking feeling as the hole grabs you, flips you and starts to work you over. Suddenly there is a thump on your boat, you are upright and this grinning Esprit intern is holding your boat and dragging you out, straightening you and sending you down the rest of the rapid. Class V's become class IV's when you have safety set like that. We saw an over the top flying hand of god rescue that was unbeleivable. This is still whitewater and rocks you can get hurt but they sure do take a lot of precautions. Another note on Safety is that it is Mexico. Since we had our kids with us we avoided Mexico city and flew straight into Veracruz and paid the extra for Esprit to pick us up. I would suggest that to anyone. Food: Top notch. Before I went people raved about the food. All the food. I thought Mexico? Food? But they were right. Even the lunches on the river were great. Something for every taste and food need. We ran the gammit from traditional Mexican to Canadian with options to spice things up with the sauces on the side. Very safe food environment to avoid getting sick. All in all a fantastic trip. My kids are 13 and 14, a boy and a girl. They said it was the best trip they had every been on. These kids have been to Disney, Skiing out west and Hawaii as well has many kayak trips with us and this beat it all. Even if you are into kayaking and your kids are not they should be able to handle the raft trip and the remote village lifestyle that you see on the way is an eye opener that North American need to see. It is not starving people lying in the sun with nothing to do. It is people working hard making a subsistance living and enjoying what they have. Eco tourism: Esprit has a company culture that involves sustainable tourism. They really want to make the world a better place. They also have a project called the hermanos project where visitors can purchase a basket of goods for local people for $25.00. We participated because we felt it was important do some good while we were there. There was no pressure to participate.
Overall:
 
 9.0
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Reviewed by kevin m
Jan 8th 2009
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