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Wednesday 19 April 2017

CENTRAL AMERICA part two: Guatemala

When the rain stopped and the water levels started going down in Costa Rica I felt that there was still space to do something extra. Before going to Costa Rica I was looking into options of doing some non-classic runs and because I have never experienced exploratory kayaking, attempting to do a first descent was a big wish for me as well. Before going to Central America our main goal was kayaking in Costa Rica but I was as well looking into other destinations. What I came upon was the web site Mayan Whitewater whose author is Greg Schwendinger. I was immediately amazed by the detailed descriptions of the rivers and the potential to paddle there. Therefore I sent Greg a message and this is how our unexpected Guatemalan adventure began.

 San Pedro Cotija village

The goal of the expedition was paddling the whole length of the remote Copón River. This tropical river in the north of Guatemala, close to the border with Mexico, is located in the province of Quiché deep in the jungles of Maya people. It starts its path on the karst plateau and then continues its way towards Gulf of Mexico. It is not paddled often for two reasons – its remoteness and political issues of the region. The last expedition to the Copón River was in 2012 but due to the threats of locals they had to turn around and abort the mission. On our 2017 expedition Greg was in touch with an organization called Madre Selva. It is an organization whose goal is to work with Maya people in remote regions of Guatemala to protect the environment. Madre Selva had gained the trust of the locals in the Quiché province over the years and with their help we were able to experience the rivers of the region.

Greg on the Rio Copon

Nils attempting a different line


Our lovely hosts in La Tana village
We started our trip in Antigua, a colonial town just outside of Guatemala City. There we meet the rest of the team and next day we were on our way to the north. Greg Schwendinger and Nils Saubés are at the moment only two active kayakers in Guatemala, trying to spread the word about Guatemalan rivers. Greg, the expedition leader, had paddled the Copón River before but had never started in this headwaters region before. We started our trip in the small village of La Taña, doing a first descent of the Rio Saatán which is a tributary to the Copón River. Saatán is a small creeky river, cutting its way through the tropical karst terrain. After couple of hours of paddling we reached the confluence of Saatán and Copón River. What came as a big surprise for me was the size of it. Coming from the Alps I had some experiences with big water boating but never did such a long stretch of big water before. From the confluence downstream we knew we have approximately 25 km of big volume pool-drop rapids until we will leave the rough karst terrain behind and reach the first villages in the plains of the Ixcán region. We slept in a small village called San Pedro Cotijá. In this small village where chickens and pigs are running around freely we were the main attraction for the whole time being there. The following day we continued our way down the Copón River, paddling through flatter terrain than the day before. After about two hours we reached the Chixoy River what meant we are coming closer and closer to our take out. The Chixoy River is the biggest in Guatemala, from the confluence with the Copón River it slowly flows northeast towards Mexico. It doesn’t involve quality white water in lower parts but it will give an insight to the everyday Mayan life to everyone passing by.

Blaž in the canyon of the Copon River

Special thanks to Alpin Action, Greg and Nils for making this trip a reality!   

Urban Rejc, Alpin Action Team