“It’s always refreshing to paddle with people who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to participate in a sport that requires an intensive amount of equipment and knowledge. I was very happy to be able to donate my time, provide instruction and, working with Rodrigo Alfonso, provide packrafts and other packrafting gear to this community where we teach some of our courses.”
Agua Azul: Packrafting Heaven
Today we rest! We spent the weekend teaching 17 Mexicans how to packraft, including various indigenous people (1 Zoque, 1 Ch’ol and 7 Tseltales), on the Xanil River at Agua Azul, an internationally-recognized flora and fauna protection area. This special river runs turquoise due to carbonate salts dissolved in the water. And the section we teach on runs through a Tseltal “cooperativa.”
The river’s copious white waterfalls drop from a few to a few dozen feet into deep pools. And these draw tourists from all over the world. Many are runnable with a packraft. Lining the river is the lushest of tropical jungles, with more than 570 species of plants and animals! We saw egrets and little blue herons, and were always accompanied by the varied and loud cries of the ubiquitous great-tailed grackles.
Locals Only!
For this past weekend’s courses, nine people traveled from all parts of Mexico to join us for a low-cost, two-day training on Saturday and Sunday, while eight locals from the communities surrounding Agua Azul were chosen by their community to take part in a free, fun day course on Monday.
And then, of course, a whole bunch of 5- to 12-year old Tseltal locals absconded with our packrafts to paddle the flat water, caught rides with the packrafters and otherwise laughed, swam and threw themselves into the rapids and waterfalls with abandon around us all day as we taught. As with last year, the locals in these courses charmed us, and their enthusiasm filled our buckets. Mexicans love fun, and appreciate the opportunity to learn new skills and adventure.
The Courses
For our weekend course, Rod and I taught the Level 1 beginners paddle strokes, how to drive into and out of eddies, how to swim and self-rescue, and how to run some super fun rapids safely and upright.
At the same time, Steve took a Level 2 group out and honed their eddy-catching skills. Plus he taught them more advanced paddling skills and how to surf, among other things.
We’re so stoked our Mexican guide-in-training, Salvadore “Chava” Arriaga, joined us for a second year to take the Level 2 course. He then led the charge teaching the locals Monday, along with Gerardo Rivera, a long-time raft guide also in the Level 2 course.
Next week we run the second of our now annual La Venta Expedition Courses for US residents, many of whom are return clients. This course always starts with a training and get-to-know-each-other day at Agua Azul, followed by six days on La Venta.
We’re grateful to the Tsetal community for allowing us to teach US residents on their home river. And we are committed to continuing to give back to both this community and Mexicans in general by providing them with educational and training opportunities.
What The Locals Told Us
According to Rodrigo and others we talked with, locals express many reasons for wanting to take these courses, from wanting to safely explore their local rivers for fun or for scientific purposes to advancing their professional credentials in order to be able to sustain themselves as professional guides in the future.
One of our participants, Ilmer, a Chol from Palenque, told me he works with his local government regularly monitoring the flora and fauna in the region. And he would love to be able to access more remote areas in a packraft to be able to better accomplish his volunteer job.
As Chava wrote in a September 2024 blog post: “From the moment I received the invitation to join the first Mexican Packrafting Course, I knew I had to seize the opportunity. Why? Because for the first time, advanced instructors from the U.S. would share their rafting knowledge with us local beginners. And I live in Chiapas. And I’m always game to try something new! Yes!”
Finally, as Rod explained: “When I first discovered the sport, I realized how much potential there was to explore the natural areas of Chiapas via packrafting. My friend and I went on an expedition without much experience and he actually had an accident. At this moment, I saw how important it was to packraft safely and learn proper techniques with courses.”
What’s Next?
Our next adventure takes Steve and Chava back to Agua Azul with some folks from the United States and then on to La Venta River! Hope y’all are having a safe and excellent New Year!
~Lizzy Scully, CEO
