Rafting Cajon del Maipo

Santiago is a great place to be in if you are looking for a little fun and adventure not too far from a city. We've been mainly trekking the beautiful mountains near us but there is lots more to do. For example, a couple of weekends ago we went rafting in Cajon del Maipo.
The Maipo is a little river not far from Santiago and the "cajon" is the canyon through which the river passes. It is quite different from the rivers in the south in that it is not quite as spectacular and also it has a lot more sediment (meaning that when you get in the water you end up with sand everywhere!).

Still, we had lots of fun. The plan went something like this, a group of us drove from Santiago to San Jose de Maipo (roughly 45mins from Santiago center). There, there are agencies that organize rafting, canopy and other fun activities. We went with these guys: http://www.chilerafting.cl/ but there are many others. We had a picnic, we did some canopy jumps and then we got into our wet suits (very fetching ;o))

We were actually quite impressed at how well organized the whole thing was! and also, it was really quite thrilling. The descent lasts roughly 45mins with a small stop with a jump to test the water and the river current.

Here are some photos:

First food! :) (veggie of course!)

Then Canopy - free style

Then Canopy with proper technique ;o)

ready for some action!

 

let's get going!

first little bit of water

 

and a little more ;o)

be prepared to get wet!

properly wet...

rowing like pros ;op



a little stop to try the water! :)

roughly it was 6m? the scary bit really was the strong current in the river



and back to rowing!



and more rowing

the last action shot

The happy survivors!