White-Water Rafting in the Andes!

One thing I've been getting more into this year is adventure sports! Since our speedboat ride in Papudo, I've been eager to try out some more adrenaline-fuelled activities. So, at the start of February, Claudio and I went zip-lining in Cajón del Maipo (I'm sure I'll write about that soon enough!), and I also decided to make the most of my time renewing my visa in Mendoza to spend a day white-water rafting!

White-water rafting is something I've wanted to try for many years, and given that the Mendoza province is well-known for being a great place to practice this sport, I chose to book a 12-kilometre rafting session on Río Mendoza.

Although the day overall wasn't quite what I was expecting, the rafting itself was a fantastic experience.

The day started with the minibus from the rafting company picking me up from my hotel shortly after 9am. Once everyone was on board, we then drove towards the mountains for a little over an hour, going into the countryside. We stopped at a service station about halfway through the journey, and unfortunately someone stole my original seat when we got back on the bus, and I ended up in the worst seat on the bus - right in the middle at the back, wedged between two guys with their legs spread wide, who didn't make any space for me, even though it was clear I was uncomfortable.

During the latter part of the journey, we passed by Potrerillos Dam, closer than I had done on the journey to Mendoza from Santiago, and the views were stunning. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any pictures because of my position on the bus.

So, when we finally arrived at the activity centre, Río Aventura, it was a relief to get off the bus and have some personal space again.

We signed waiver forms at the reception area and then waited for the activity to begin. According to the information on the website I'd bought the activity from, we would go rafting upon arrival at the activity centre, and then we'd have a couple of hours of free time to take advantage of the restaurant and the pool before going back to the city again.

However, this was not how things worked out! Because the activity centre also offers other activities, like zip-lining, trekking and abseiling, and some people on the minibus had signed up for these activities, we had to wait until everyone had finished all of their activities before we could go back to Mendoza. For me, this meant waiting an hour or two before the rafting, and about five hours afterwards, in a place in the middle of nowhere with no internet signal.

Fortunately, I had brought plenty of snacks and drinks with me. And although I had left the book I was reading in the hotel, I luckily had a copy of Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry downloaded to my phone for situations such as these. I had only read about thirty pages of the story so far, but I ended up coming close to finishing it over the course of the day! (By the way, I finished it later that week, and thoroughly enjoyed it.) I also met some other British people during the rafting, and spent some time chatting with them during the afternoon.

So overall, I didn't have a bad time at all during those hours, but it was still an awfully long time to stay in one place when you're not expecting it. In hindsight, I would have paid extra to take part in some of the other activities, though they were all things I'd already tried before.

Of course, the most exciting part of the day was the rafting itself. I was definitely more than a little nervous beforehand, as the route covers Class 3 and Class 4 rapids (There are 5 classes, with Class 5 being the strongest!). But I was also determined to have as much fun as possible, despite my nerves!

I was on a raft with five other British people, coincidentally, and with the guide at the back. At the start of the activity, we learnt how to sit in the raft (quite a strange position, actually!), and the four commands we needed to follow ("forward", "back", "stop", and "lean in"). And then we set off down the river!

When we hit our first rapid, it was quite a shock! We moved about so much that I thought I might fall in, and we got absolutely soaked with water. And some of the rapids that followed over the course of our hour on the water were even stronger! 

Looking back, I would say that I spent the first half of the activity a little nervous, but in the second half, I started to really have fun. It was an amazing experience to be thrown around on the rapids of the river, surrounded by the beautiful landscape of the Andes mountains. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I wish I could have done it for longer, even though my leg had already gone completely numb from the weird position we had to sit in!

Overall, the inconveniences of the day were definitely worth it, as I had such a great time finally doing this sport that I'd wanted to try for so long!

To bring this post to a finish, here are some photos from the day. There are no photos of my group rafting, but I did take one of another group rafting, so you get the general idea! I also have some pictures of the site itself, which was quite attractive, and which even had a resident cat and dog!

To conclude, although I would be unlikely to come back to Río Aventura, I will definitely go rafting again at some point in the future!

Mendoza

After the scary incident that happened on my first evening in Mendoza, that I mentioned in my previous post, the rest of the trip went quite smoothly. I had three full days there in total, and I spent the first and the last of those days seeing the sights of the city on foot.

To be honest, I think one day is really enough to see all of the city's sights - Mendoza is not a place with a long list of iconic sights. Obviously it wouldn't have as many interesting places to visit as a huge capital city, but even compared to smaller cities I've visited, there's not so much to see there. 

That's not to say I don't like it though - it is just a city that is a nice place to visit if you want to relax in picturesque parks and squares, and enjoy good (and cheap!) food and wine, rather than a place you'd visit to spend days packed full of sightseeing. Actually, I quite liked the fact that this was a destination where I could take things slowly and just soak in the atmosphere of the place. On most of my trips, I find that I fill each day to the max with sightseeing and various experiences, and while I love those kinds of trips, they can also be tiring, so it's nice to take things slowly from time to time.

On my first day, I walked a tonne around the city centre and got my bearings of the place. The centre is designed with one big square in the middle, and four smaller squares in each corner.

The first one of these squares that I visited was Plaza Chile! The decoration of the square is actually based on Chile, and the history of the fight for independence. Aptly, the sign with the name of the square has graffiti on it, just like many of the signs and buildings here in Chile, whereas the rest of the city is very clean and well-maintained!

On my way to the next square, I saw what I think is the most beautiful building in the entire city: this cultural centre. It's so grand and elaborate, and reminds me of the buildings in Buenos Aires.

The second of the squares I visited was Plaza España. This one was my favourite! The fountains, walls and benches are all covered with mosaics inspired by Spain, and it even has a mural about the history of the Spanish in Argentina.

Next, I walked down a boulevard filled with cafés and restaurants, where I saw this interesting pink fountain. I think I prefer fountains with clear water, but this is certainly something different!

The third of the four corner squares that I visited was Plaza Italia. This one was originally called Plaza Perú, but was changed to Plaza Italia because of the large amount of Italian immigrants who came to Argentina. It has many statues inspired by the classical art of Italy, and another pink fountain! I spent some time sitting in the shade here, enjoying the view and catching up on emails.

The other corner square is the only one that is not inspired by a country; it is called Plaza San Martín and has a statue of General San Martín, one of the leaders of the fight for independence. But apart from the statue, it is quite plain compared to the other squares, so I passed through without stopping to take photos there.

In the mid afternoon, I had some food at a vegetarian buffet restaurant called Govinda's, where I had a plate full of food and a bottle of soft drink, which came to a total of less than 3 pounds! (Argentina is incredibly cheap compared to Chile!)

Afterwards, I went back to the hotel to charge my phone, have a shower, and rest my feet a bit before going out again. I picked up some drinks and snacks for the evening and the next day from a big supermarket, and again was amazed by the prices! I also explored the train station, which is quite an attractive place and a sort of museum with an old train and an old station building. I've always really liked train travel, so I enjoyed seeing this place, which makes you feel a bit like you've walked into a train station from the past.

The following day, I was out of the city from 9am to 8pm, but the day after that I did some more sightseeing.

I chose to mainly focus this day on spending time in Parque General San Martín. This is an absolutely huge park on the outskirts of the city - in fact, it's even bigger than Central Park in New York! During my previous visit to Mendoza, we visited Cerro de la Gloria on the far edge of the park, and then we drove round to the other side to visit the gates at the entrance, but we didn't really explore inside the park. So I decided to use this second visit to see some more of the place!

The walk to the park from the city centre is a couple of kilometres, but there are some nice views to take in of historic buildings along the way.

The gates at the entrance to the park are very grand.

Not far from the entrance, you can find Fuente de los Continentes (Fountain of the continents), a huge, classical fountain with statues representing America, Europe, Asia and Africa. This was my favourite monument in the city, because not only is it beautiful, but it also celebrates the whole world.

Next I walked to the park's lake, which is really picturesque, and a perfect place to walk around on a summer's day.

There's a beautiful rose garden next to the lake, which really reminds me of being in parks and gardens in Europe.

At the far side of the lake, there's a little island that you can get to by crossing over a bridge. It's a very charming place with classical statues and a fountain.

Not far from here, you can find Museo de Ciencias Naturales y Antropológicas Juan Cornelio Moyano. This science museum is totally free to enter, and is a really great place to spend an hour or two. It covers the history of the earth, animals and humans, and has lots of interesting exhibits. A lot of the information focuses on the Mendoza province and the rest of Argentina, but it also has information and exhibits from across the world, including objects from the Inca period in Peru and the Aztec period in Mexico! I really enjoyed my visit there, and I think it's especially great that it's free.

Afterwards I walked back towards the entrance of the park, going round the other side of the lake and taking in the views of the many trees.

It would have been nice to see some more of the park, but it is so huge, and by this stage I wanted to get some food! So I went back to the city centre again to find somewhere to eat lunch.

After lunch, I was full in my "savoury stomach" but I still had space in my "sweet stomach" for some ice cream! Interestingly, in South America, Argentina has a real reputation for being the best country at producing desserts and confectionery, including chocolate, medialunas (which are similar to croissants), and ice cream.

I went to Alma de Helado (Soul of Ice Cream), which had lots of unusual flavours, including many vegan ones to choose from. I opted for coconut and watermelon & basil, and both were delicious! It was really nice to sit outside with my ice cream enjoying the sunshine. In fact, throughout Mendoza, there were always plenty of people eating and drinking outside cafés and restaurants, which reminded me of the café culture in France and Italy, and was something I liked a lot about the city.

The final place I visited was Plaza Independencia, which is the main square in the city centre. I remember that we had to spend about two hours here on my previous trip to Mendoza, which is crazy when you think about it, as it's not really that big of a place! But it is a nice place to walk around, relax and take photos.

Overall, despite the bad start to my stay in Mendoza, I quite enjoyed the days I spent in the city. It is much smaller and more laid-back than Santiago, so it felt like a nice break from the relative chaos of the Chilean capital! I visited plenty of places that I hadn't been to during my previous trip to the city, and generally had a much nicer time.

Next up I'll be writing about my day white-water rafting - a brand new experience for me!