Candid Impressions of my week in Mexico by Carlos Ifarraguerri

 

I include below some candid impressions of my week in Mexico.  Please forgive my poor writing style.

I have been back for a week, but have had not time on email at all.  Mexico was wonderful, I will send out pictures later.  We had the coldest rainiest week in 20 years.  We even had a small ice storm, the day of the Alseseca race.  _Tom has some great friends down there.  They call him “el viejito”, the old man.  He is admired, and seen as a great teacher.

This was not my first time in Mexico, but was the first time paddling with Tom, in the state of Veracruz.  It was a “magical” experience.  I only met good to great Mexicans.  We had one minor rip-off from a taxi driver from Puebla to Cholula the first night, where he charged $20 instead of the customary $10, but it was near midnight, and we were tired.  We had one scary stop by the “federales” in the middle of nowhere near Perote the last night on the way to the Airport.  Tom was masterful, impersonating a gentle but clueless gringo, and we were set free without any damage to property.

My experience with the Aventurec folks was excellent.  The owners, Sofy, and Antonio, their kids, dogs, and all the people that work at Aventurec provided a welcoming and warm environment.  My only complaint is that they forgot to turn the heat on, BURRR!!!  We had great food, hot showers, warm wool blankets, and a steady diet of cold rain and fog.  I did paddle 4 out of 6 days.  I was beat up for the practice run the day before the Alsaseca race and passed on the race.  I did have a great time running parts of the Alseseca during of three days of paddling.  My favorite run was the Filobobos with the Class II/III “El Encanto” part, and a Class III+ part near Zapotitlan.  I did not bring all my winter paddling gear, and this was a big mistake.  I also discovered the need for elbow pads, since my right elbow is still tender.  I did learn a lot about creeking from Tom, in my first creeking trip ever.  I found out that creeking is hard on the body, as well as on the mind, when you have this horizon lines and split seconds to make your strokes and boofs.  Overall it was a very positive paddling experience, and I was very lucky to escape with minor bruises and cuts.  I did flip at the top of one hairy three-part drop of which I miraculously escaped without anything broken.  Thank God for the extra rain and the extra water padding the rocks.  The day of the race no one was hurt, though the previous days, we had several broken paddles and boats, as well as many swims (this includes the extended group of Mexican paddlers).

I really enjoyed the lush tropical fields of Veracruz.  It appears to be Mexico’s most productive agricultural state.  I saw tons of bananas, plantains, coffee, oranges (and all citrus fruits), guava, and a lot of other tropical fruits grown in large quantities, and even rotting on the ground.  The people of Veracruz(and other parts of Mexico) appear to be very generous and warm.  We had several incidents that bear this out.  Like the incident with the water pipe hanging down above the Alseseca River near the Truchas restaurant, and the backing of the truck by Jose Luis to get over the bridge in Zapotitlan.

I also enjoyed watching many tropical birds with my bare eyes.  I am still trying to identify them from memory, like the huge green/blue bird with an iridescent tail that resembled the fabled Quetzal.  I digress when I noticed many migrant bird species that go between Mexico and the US without any need for visas.

I did practice my Spanish a lot in this trip and made many Mexican friends.  I had a great time with Tom, Dan Mehrez, Paul Harrison, Sandrine Deglin, Gene H., and Irene Owsley.  They were fun and wonderful trip companions.  We had a memorable guajolote (turkey) calling contest that warmed us up on the way to paddling the frigid Alsaseca.  I learned many “nahualt” words from our driver/guide Jose Luis.  The “nahualt” language was originally spoken by the Aztecs of central Mexico, and the Totonacas of Veracruz.  It is still kept alive through many dialects presently spoken by Mexican Indians and Mestizos (mixed people).  It is even apparently taught in school. Overall this was a great cultural experience as well as great paddling in spectacular and challenging rivers.

Congratulations to Tom, Paul and Sandrine for completing the race.  Tom won the long race and Sandrine won the short race.  Sandrine was the only female, and francophone participant in the race.  Irene, you took some memorable pictures.  Gene, you could have been a winner too!

Thanks, Carlos

P.S.  I apologize for not mentioning the two mornings of Zumba.  Good way to warm up the old bones, but I was almost ready for a nap afterwards.