Wet and Wild - Adventures in San Gil

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Day 706 (05.03.09)

It turns out that San Gil is pretty much the adventure capital of Colombia and the list of activities available is as long as your arm. With still relatively few travellers hitting Colombia the prices are also at bargain levels and the set up for the activities very non-commercial which all suited us just fine. We had perused the list and chosen a few to keep us busy over the next few days of adrenalin fuelled action.

With a nice and fairly leisurely 9am start we had an action packed day ahead of us. We had joined a group of guys and gals from the hostel for a day on the white water. For our rafting we had two choices, the first a low budget fun filled laugh of a day on grade 2-3 rapids for the bargain price of 7 UK pounds or splashing out a little extra (but still only around 40 UK pounds) for the more exciting grade 4-5 rapids). Thinking a little of our overall budget we went for the cheapest option.

Piled onto a mini bus we picked up our raft and guide (Carlos) for the day and all disembarked at the river bank. With us all trussed up in our life jackets and helmets Carlos gave us the safety speech and commands in Spanish with Chrissie doing an excellent job as translator for the rest of the group. Nice work!

In the water the Spanish rafting comands came to us all quicker than we thought, almost becoming second nature. We had such a laugh as we bumbled down the river with Carlos purposefully trying to get us as wet as possible taking us through the rapids. Mixing in some silliness and games we ended the trip having had a thoroughly amazing and hilarious time on the water. Well worth coming over to San Gil and a total bargain for the price.

With the afternoon still available we all piled into another mini bus out to the local waterfall Torrentissimo. Opting for the left hand path (we had been told it was the better of the two) we paid our way in and started to climb. About 15 minutes into the path we came across our first hurdle, a river crossing. Boulder jumping and wading our way across we found the bottom of the waterfall and from there on in it was extreme waterfalling as it was a case of ladders through the waterfall and ropes to climb to make your way to the top. The scenery was not only stunning but it turned out to be quite an adventure as well! Loads of fun!

Pretty exhausted we made our way back to the hostel and all cooked dinner together in the small hostel kitchen before relaxing with a couple of beers and a book! Priceless.

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Comments

[Katy Calderon]

Nice!
Hello! I just happened upon your blog site while looking up information about San Gil. (I'm going to Colombia for a month from June-July.) I was already planning on rafting there, but reading your blog made me even more excited for it! Thanks! Safe Travels! Katy Calderon Phoenix, Arizona