Boquete is supposed to have fantastic whitewater, especially in the rainy season, so I figured I'd try my hand at rafting. The company picked me up at around 7:30am to head out to the river. It was me and three of the most obnoxious backpackers I've met. It was two guys who'd come from France to visit their childhood friend who's working in Panama City, although I don't know how any of them could've gotten a job since none of them spoke Spanish or English all that well.
The pass was called Sendero de las Brujas (Witches' Path or something to that effect) and had class 3 and 4 rapids. This section was called La Caldera (The Caldron). On the whole it was a good time, but I have to say I would've preferred to try kayaking. In a raft you really can't do anything but paddle forward or paddle backward. It's kind of boring. When I went whitewater canoing there were like a dozen strokes to learn and you had all sorts of control. Maybe I'll do kayaking once I'm further north and the prices are a little cheaper.
1 comment:
As between rafts, canoes and kayaks, the kayak allows far more control. It's like an extension of the body. Rafting on these commercial trips is weird because you have to work as a team with people you don't really know and someone has to captain the team. It's bad enough with thrown together Americans and no doubt much worse if it's Americans and French.
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