We LOVE MEXICO, MEXICANS AND PACKRAFTING IN VERACRUZ!
Story by Lizzy Scully. 📸 Doom. Follow us @fourcornersguides for more pics/videos.
I’m typing with all my fingers today, though my ring finger, left hand, is swollen, oozing blood and stiff to use and my pinky finger purple and inflamed. But they’re not broken. Yay! And our FCG Medical Director, Dr. Brian, says I need to use them since it’s probably a tendon/ligament tear. Use it or lose it. And I know folks want a report of packrafting in Veracruz and the Packraft Roundup. So here is the first of a three-part series by me, Doom (aka Steve Fassbinder) and Juan Femat, a Jalcomulco-based guide and new business partner. We are working on putting together one, possibly two courses in the region starting in 2027.
~Lizzy Scully, CEO, Four Corners Guides
The 1st Mexican Packraft Roundup & worldclass whitewater
Keelin Roche sending the gnar on the last of the Class IV rapids of 4X4, Antigua, though maybe the line was better on the right 😉
I was packrafting in Veracruz And I Slipped…
Less than a week ago I was paddling in Veracruz when my trip ended suddenly. Setting safety for my new pal, Steve Corsi, on the Alseseca River, a renown whitewater destination, I ate s**t, and bent two fingers so far backwards I was sure they’d broken. It hurt so badly I didn’t notice the blood splattered everywhere. Everyone freaked out for a moment, but when Juan’s kayak also slipped off the rocks and started to go down river, there wasn’t much we could do except laugh as he dove in after it.
Sparkly-eyed Juan, our expert kayaking guide, had struggled with his dilapidated boat the past week. It finally gave out after years of banging it up and repairing it, while he, the ever-smiling Megi Morishita, Steve and I paddled the Alseseca. He was bailing it out after every rapid. And with my fingers hurting and Megi’s nose swollen and bloody after she nearly broke it while sending a 20+-foot cascada, it seemed time to get tacos and tequila shots. Juan easily paddled me a quarter mile down river where I could hike out, while my compatriots got my gear and finished the run. It’s ironic I hurt myself slipping on rocks after spending the day launching (mostly unsuccessfully) off a dozen 5- to 15-foot drops and waterfalls
I definitely won swim team captain for the day. But don’t let that dissuade you from paddling this Class IV river (if you have the ability to do so, that is). Though we all felt intimidated the night before, Juan and another of the local guides, José Milán Tejeda, assured us it was easier than the “Oro,” a river we had paddled just a few days ago (more on that later).
This time of year the Alseseca is low, and not super powerful or fast. So though some rapids and waterfalls certainly had consequences, it mostly felt doable as a Class III boater (I consider myself about that, though my fellow paddlers for this trip were all much better). As far as big, scary drops go, Alseseca drops are not *that* bad. Of course, flying through the air in an inflatable boat is always going to be exciting no matter how slow the flow is. Best of all I learned a lot about entering, riding and landing waterfalls in my packraft. It will take years for me to master this style of boating, if ever. But having never launched waterfalls before, I was super stoked to have tried. And what an inspiring group of smiling, happy, skilled folks to paddle with. Together they have 100 years of experience to my 8! Gracias amigos por enseñarme 🙏🏽🙏🏻
And, sorry folks, we won’t ever take clients to the Alsaseca. But when you are ready, hire Juan, José or one of the other local guides to take you. They don’t have the litigious society we have and so can huck you off waterfalls without fear of losing their livelihoods.
And that was my last day, so how about my 1st…
Pre & Post Packraft Mexico Roundup
Everything’s funny and fun when you’re with happy people in their element, which would be all the people I paddled with in February before, during and after the Mexico Packraft Roundup (February 12-15), the first event of its kind in Mexico, organized by Rod Alfonzo and various local guides from Jalcomulco.
Rod and Doom arrived a few days before I did, after they co-led our final Level 2+ expedition course on La Venta River, a course we’ve run since winter 2024. Packraft Mexico, so far comprised of Chiapas-based American Canoe Association-certified instructors Rod, Chava, Janet and Hera, is taking over running courses on La Venta from Four Corners Guides. Go Packraft Mexico!
Accompanied by a mix of new friends and old—Clay, Keeling, Megi, Steve, Rod, Doom, and Jule, plus any number of participants from the Packraft Roundup—we paddled a series of rivers. We started with the Antigua (Class II-II fun rapids punctuated by bumpy, rocky sections), which is the town run from Jalcomulco, and Pescados (Class III, with fast, fun, flowing rapids and a super high-quality surf wave) on that same river. Steve and I were able to paddle directly to our cabana on the river at the end of the run! We also did the 2X4 section of 4X4 (Class IV light, big drops to big pools), on that same river.
On the last official day of the Roundup most of the participants and a half-dozen guides (so 30 of us), crammed together in our driver, Israel’s, big shuttle to run the Actopan (Class III). Though super fun and a great opportunity to meet some of our awesome paddling community and hang out with our cool local guides, Steve and I have some thoughts for future Roundups.
Groups should be broken up into smaller pods based on experience, and certified instructors should run paddling clinics teaching everything from basic paddling skills to river reading, basic self- and partner-rescues, etc. Steve and I worry that a bunch of this year’s participants with little to no experience may now think they can paddle Class IV because the large number of guides setting safety on rapids with no serious consequences enabled this.
“I think the situation could lead novice paddlers into a false sense of security on the river,” Steve says. And being the president of the American Packrafting Association and a participant on the Education & Safety Committee for two years, I agree. Safety and peoples’ assessments of their abilities is a common topic of conversation (and a huge worry). Doing a Class IV rapid does not make you a Class IV boater. Doing 50 different kinds of Class IV rapids at 50 different kinds of river levels on 50 different rivers might. Remember to level up safely, y’all! Listen to my podcast with Dan Thurber for more info on this topic.
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But Really the event was awesome!
But all in all, the first Mexico Roundup was a huge success. The rivers are perfect for packrafters of all abilities and the locals generous with their embrace of the gringos. Plus, Rod, as always, enthusiastically shared Mexican culture and food with us northerners. For the first ever Mexico Roundup, Rod and the locals—Jose, Ricardo, Janet, Arturo, Manu, Jhony, Juan, and up-and-coming badass guide and kayaker (and hopefully soon packrafter :), Aisha Lyra Jalil—all with the support of the townspeople of Jalcomulco, did a fantastic job herding the cats and giving everyone a super good time.
Definitely come to the event next year!! You will find more info on PackraftMexico.com and follow them on Instagram.
4X4 Antigua River
Pescados, Antiqua River
A River Run of the 2026 Mexico Packrafting Fiesta on the Pescados section of the Antigua River. Pescados is the main section of the Antigua River in Jalcomulco, Veracruz, Mexico.
Alseseca River
A River Run of the 2026 Mexico Packrafting Fiesta on the Roadside section of the Alseseca River, near Atzalan and Tlapacoyan, Mexico.
Now onto other things: RIOS ORO & GACHAPAN
After a few days of big groups, our smaller group split off to paddle some rivers further afield. We hired Juan to steal us away to Costa De Oro, where we stayed on a stunning beach (where the first Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed) and paddled the fast, furious and nonstop Rio “Oro,” (aka. the Arroyo de Liza), a Class IV run of the serious type, though we all walked the hardest rapids.
We also ran the Gachapan (Class II-III). Both rivers lie in 100-foot canyons you’d never imagine running through the vast rolling, green hills surrounding them. We literally followed cow and motorcycle tracks left by ranchers to get to the put-in for Oro. It felt like we entered wonderlands, with clear, turquoise, sparkling, spring-fed waters (though the Gachapan is notably less clear than Oro).
A River Run of the 2026 Mexico Pack rafting Fiesta on the Oro River (Arroyo de Liza) in the Costa de Oro.
We got a super late start on Oro. And despite Megi’s best efforts to hurry us along and in spite of the butt-clenching speedy water, we dilly-dallied a lot. It was too beautiful not to. This world-renown paddling river drips with foliage. The air smells rich with jungle decay and flowers. And you need time to take in the noise of the yellow-tailed Oropendulas, Greater Kiskadees and plethora of of water birds.
We did have some mishaps. I swam three times on Oro and was grateful it wasn’t more often. Significantly more exciting than swimming the Alseseca, there are few calm pools between big drops and the river’s rowdy, tumultuous rapids, though I successfully re-entered my boat almost immediately after each swim and had loads of fun in the meantime. We are all between swims after all.
Meanwhile Steve Corsi had an impressive crash landing off a 15- to 20-foot drop that shot him behind the waterfalls. Water pummelled his boat as he clung to the wall for dear life. With the rest of us unable to do much, we watched as he exhausted himself doing a scary self rescue. Juan also swam for the first time in years when the nose of his kayak slammed into a wall at the bottom of a drop, kicking him back into the hole for a bit. It took his boat a few minutes longer to escape from the hydraulics, and the whole crew worked together to get him and his boat to shore.
Megi (my hero), per usual, sent everything, though walked or jumped the biggest waterfalls. Doom did his first very big–30-foot–waterfall, landing with a jolt that hurt his neck, but so smoothly that everyone cheered. Megi and I jumped, while Juan also sent his line elegantly. He’s done Oro 30+ times!
FOLLOW ME!!! TO THE GULF OF MEXICO 😉
We finished the day late, paddling as quickly as possible into the impending dusk. On the very last rapid I followed Juan totally blind into Class II+ rapids under a bridge, him shouting: “Follow my white helmet!” Right 🤣
What a way to end the day… plunging completely into darkness and then ending up in the soft, warm and salty waves of the Gulf of Mexico, where we surfed, watched the stars come out as we paddled to our cozy cabins on the beach. We celebrated, also beachside, with shots of local liquor, more tortillas, beans, rice and fish and beer. The next day we calmed our nervous systems on the Gachapan, a narrower and more vegetated, but equally beautiful nearby river with a few waterfalls and plenty of really fun Class II.
I think I’ll end here. I’m five minutes away from the Mexico City bus station. I’ll stay five days, enjoying one of the coolest cities in the world. My goals are to attend the Ballet Folkloric at Bellas Artes, Chocolate Museum, the Museo Nacional de Arte and Teotehuacan, eat a lot of tacos al pastor and speak Spanish with the locals. Mexico and Mexicans are awesome. It’s too bad our government is kidnaping and putting them and thousands of their children in cages in the US right now. Mexicans are a heck of a lot nicer, more family-oriented and helpful than the USA’s rabid, right-wing, Christian Nationalist wackos who want to get rid of all of them. But I digress… I am truly grateful to have these fine folks as neighbors. Thanks for letting me enjoy your country, Mexico. I cannot wait to come back next year!
I hope y’all are enjoying winter.
Best, Lizzy
WE ARE ALL BETWEEN SWIMS AFTER ALL (OR NOT IF YOU ARE DOOM)
