Rafting, a canopy tour, and on to Valle Grande

Dear Parents, Families, and Friends:

We’ve had a wonderful beginning of our adventure here in Argentina with a day of rafting and canopy tours North of the city of Salta, on the Juramento River.

We arrived early after a 2 hour ride around the scenic Dique Cabra Corral to be greeted by steaming coffee and tea. Our group split into three teams, donned wet suits and helmets, and after a brief safety talk, boarded rafts and ventured out onto the water.

Al Ades from Sands Point, New York had this to say about our rafting adventure:

Nothing quite like a great day on the wonderful Juramento River in Salta to cure 2 long days of travel. This class III stream is chilly, but after a lot of paddling and riding the rapids for over two hours, it was refreshing to finally jump in. The rapids are great too, not to big, but big enough to get you wet and make me and my new friends extremely happy! I have always loved rafting, and today was another great experience on the river.

When we reached the end of our river trip, we boarded a bus to take us back to Salta Rafting’s home base. Our guides had juice, warm coffee, and cookies for us during the ride. When we arrived back at our starting point, we took quick showers, and enjoyed the sunshine on the banks of the river which is set deep into the mountains.

After enjoying a home cooked parilla and salad bar on the patio of the outfit’s headquarters, we prepared for an afternoon canopy tour which included 4 scenic high wire cable runs over the majestic river valley.

Sophie Dalal of San Francisco, California captures the group’s sentiments here:

How better to cure a fear of heights than to glide over the highest set of ziplines in Argentina. After a rigorous and wet rafting experience, our group trekked a few thousand feet above sea level, following closely behind our gregarious German guide. Though we each may have needed a little encouragement to slip into the harnesses that held us above the valley, almost each Putney student agreed to ride the 4 ziplines that crossed over the river. Ultimately, other than initial nerves, there could have been no better way to start our trip.

We packed up after our canopy tour, and headed back to the city of Salta for a late dinner and bed before traveling to our village, Valle Grande.

We’ve since arrived in Valle Grande, the host village where we´ll be spending most of our time, and look forward to updating you on our work here soon.

Un abrazo,

Brenna and Zach