Traveling Water Nerd

Both the town and river of Futaleufú, or Futa, are wonderful to visit. And no, I’m not making the name up. It’s a real place. Since this is a traveling water blog I will primarily be talking about the river and I only went into town for an afternoon, so my knowledge of it is limited. It’s a town in the middle of Patagonia so understand that depending on what you’re buying, it’s shipped in or fresh from the valley. This makes eating in town and certain grocery items a little expensive. On the other hand, getting on the river after you’ve figured out your gear situation is easy and free.

I was in Futa for a total of 6 full days of kayaking with a travel day on either end. The company that guided me down the river, Bio Bio Expeditions, really enhanced my experience and I’m super grateful to have booked a trip with them. However, I must say that my experience was so incredible because of who was guiding me; Mirko Moreno. He’s incredibly joyful and really cared about my experience and he always wanted to know what I wanted and how he could get it for me. Check his Instagram if you want to know more about him: @mirko_moreno. Getting to Futa in itself is a mission. I had to fly from Santiago to Puerto Montt and then take a small 10 person airplane from Puerto Montt to Chaitén. Check to make sure there are no strikes that could prevent you from traveling. The Santiago airport staff went on strike and I had to change my 2 hour flight into a 14 hour bus ride to Puerto Montt, in order to continue my trip as planned. When I landed in Chaitén, Mirko picked me up from the airport and it took 2 hours to arrive in the valley of the Futaleufú river. Although it is remote, it’s also one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Spiked snow-capped mountains on either side of you, overcasting lush green forests with a beautiful blue river running down the center. In another universe, the Lord of the Rings trilogy would be filmed here. I stayed at a place called Sol de Montaña and it’s operated by a caring woman named Isabel. She owns wooden cabins and they’re incredibly clean and neat. The only reason why I wouldn’t suggest it is if you’re running on a budget ($50/night). The first 3 days I was there it was really cold and she had a fire waiting for me after a long day of kayaking.

The Futa is my new favorite river and I already know that will never change. It’s big water. The river was running at 25,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 80 on the river gage. By the end of the week it was closer to 20,000 cfs or 50 on the gage. Either way, that’s easily 8 times more water than I’m used to for a single river. The two sections we primarily kayaked included the Terminator (mainly class III) and Bridge to Bridge (IV) sections. I advise being a class IV boater to do these sections because it could be very dangerous if you swim. The river itself is like a raging tempest of power and at times it’s unclear what the river might do. As the rapids pulse with power, sometimes there’s a 15ft wave building right in front of you, while other moments in the exact same spot the river it’s almost flat. Other situations that were really unique were the whirlpools on the river. At some spots the whirlpools are so big that they can drag you and your boat underneath the surface of the water for a short period. I experienced this on the Bridge to Bridge section where I pulled off a mystery move. This is where you disappear from the surface of the water (or at least your kayak) and pop up at a random spot downriver. I surfed across a wave to an eddy line known for these whirlpools and as I was getting dragged backwards I saw an 8ft drop open up to my left, taking me below the surface of the water. My experience took me under for about 15 seconds, but it felt much longer. Whatever you do, DON’T pull your skirt because the boat is what will provide you buoyancy to get back to the surface. The majority of the my lines on the river were great and I executed each rapid with precision and grit. I did have some moments where things didn’t go as planned and let’s just say that the Futa can be very humbling at times. At the end of the day if you’re not proactive enough, you’ll get pushed around.

Below I’ve attached some really cool photos from my trip. Let me know if you have any questions!