Welcome to our sea kayaking project, "Facing the wind".

In March 2009 we will attempt to paddle more than 4.000 nautical miles along Argentina for the first time. Starting at La Quiaca, a little town settled in the heights of the northern Andes Mountains at 14.000 ft we will cycle and paddle to end this trip 10 months later in the very end of Patagonia, precisely in the city of Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego province.
We’ll have to cycle 410 miles with our sea kayaks in carts to get to the waters of the Bermejo, an always changing river with plenty of crocodiles, snakes, piranhas and many other wildlife. Also we’ll have to paddle along the big Paraguay and Paraná rivers that come from the Brazilian Amazon to die many miles later in the Atlantic Ocean. These two rivers are an excellent option for kayak fishing. The hardest part of the expedition comes last when our sea kayaks will head south in search of the Patagonian coasts, full of rocks and ridges, cold temperatures and strong winds. This Atlantic coastline is extraordinarily rich in sea birds, penguins, whales and sea lions, but no human presence for many miles. The use of an inverse osmosis bomb for purifying salt water will be vital for survival in places where rain is not usual for many months and fresh water rivers don’t get to the sea.
Why paddling 4.000 nautical miles? Our kayaking philosophy is quite simple; we believe that we can use our kayaks to generate conscience. Working hard locally can lead us to global solutions. The daily effort and a positive mind makes the difference, so lets do what we know best, lets paddle and show people that everybody can do something to solve problems in a local scale. This time we paddle for rural schools and environment preservation. Rural schools have little resources and are settled in the middle of nowhere, so people have to get there walking, horse riding, rowing, but never on a school bus. This kind of schools also feed children that spend all day far away from home. Our help is needed, so we are trying to compromise everybody to donate food, clothes, shoes, books, computers and many other things.
Environmental problems are also important; we paddle for clean rivers and healthy ecosystems, for the respect of wildlife, global warming, against industries breaking the laws and many other threats that nature is suffering.
The team members started paddling in sea kayaks 10 years ago. Now they spend their time teaching the basics of kayaking and guiding people through the islands of the Paraná Delta, a unique ecosystem formed by the deposition of river sediments.
Never stop exploring is an option in Argentina; we still have many rivers to paddle with the same purposes of this trip.
So, lets go paddling!! Enjoy Argentina!

jueves, 5 de noviembre de 2009

THE BERMEJO CONDENSCED, LOTS TO SHARE! (PART 1)

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009

Hello everyone and sorry for the long absence but there haven’t been many places on the way with internet. After 21 days, we’ve arrived in Colorado in the province of Formosa.

We had left you in Orán, almost at the end of the bike stage and very close to the water. We’ll close this first stage telling you that the short stretch to Aguas Blancas resulted in a real ordeal, far more difficult and challenging than all the 620 km that we had already done. On our last day in Orán, we bought supplies for the first 10 days on the river and really loaded those carts with the idea of “easily” pedaling to Aguas Blancas non-stop, approximately 55 km. Big mistake: temperatures of 40°C, steep slopes, an impossible road with no food anywhere. We had to resort to cereal bars and nougat candies in order to make the last climb of the day, at a very slow pace, almost falling off the bikes. Drama apart, the last part was downhill all the way. We arrived famished and had steak, French fries and eggs at 5:00 in the afternoon.

The second stage would begin the next day, with the kayaks in the water. We sold the carts to the boatmen who cross people over to Paraguay and we dispatched the bikes by land.

The great day arrived and the uncertainty was also great, because in the distance we could see the rocks in the river and we didn’t know if we were going to be able to pass through, but it was time to face the water.

We’re going to divide the Bermejo stage in three parts or else we’ll be here for a year. In this part we’ll tell you some local stories where you’ll be able to find out about the dynamic of the river, the flora and the fauna, the people and our rowing day by day.

In all and up to date, we’ve been rowing for 21 days, averaging 60 km per day at a speed of 10 km per hour. The current is strong. We row 6 hours because the days are short. The sun rises late and sundown comes early. We start off at 10.30, stop at around 1.00 and row the last 30 km of the day from 3.00 to 6.00. Obviously we sometimes stop to take pictures, to just fool around, making rolls here and there just for fun. We’re really enjoying the Río Bermejo. We plan to be in Pilar (Paraguay) in about 7 days.

Thanks for being there!

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