Arrival:
Optimally fly into Lima July 15, then we can head to Trujillo together. It would be great to have some extra hands to help organise food and gear.
If you are strapped for time, you can fly into Lima one July 17, then take the overnight bus to Trujillo. See itinerary below of how this would work.
Lima – Trujillo: 9 hour Bus (Flights available if you’re in a hurry)
Departure:
August 9 would be safe to fly out. The earliest you could definitely plan on departing would be evening August 8, after taking the overnight bus straight back Bagua-Lima. However, it would be great to have more help in the packup/cleaning of gear. I also recommend taking an extra few days and exploring Chachapoyas while you are nearby, there are some great ruins & natural sights around that area.
Bagua – Lima: 22h Bus. (Flights available if you’re in a hurry)
Busses:
If you would like to book your bus in advance for LIma-Trujillo, it will be a little cheaper. There are no problems if you just arrive and buy on the day however. There are a lot of busses in Peru. Two options that accept online bookings are:
http://excluciva.busportal.pe/
On River Information, what to pack & Climate:
No need to reinvent the wheel, Rocky has put together a comprehensive information pack. If you need to know something that is not on this page, let me know.
http://sierrarios.org/GuidedTrips/RaftTripInfo_Maranon.html
Boats and Equipment:
If you are interested in bringing a kayak over, it’s quite possible we can pre-arrange a buyer. Some people down here might be interested in buying a new boat (you pay shipping, they pay for the boat and you get to use it for a few weeks on the river). We can try and pre-arrange this. Or, it is probably a lot easier to sell a used boat over here. If you can buy something around the $500 mark, there is a good chance you will get your money back on it down here. My good friend Pedro Peña is starting up the first real kayaking school in Lunahuaná and is looking to buy 4 boats around the $500 mark; also anyother gear that could be donated would be incredibly helpful.
Fill out this google form and I will try facilitate the process. You will need to call me and arrange it in the coming months.
Itinerary
This is a rough itinerary of the trip. This gives a huge amount of time to complete this section. We will have plenty of time for filming, photographing, interviewing as well as exploring some of the side canyons and ruins along the way.
| What / Where | Destination km | ||
| July 16 | Organising Equipment / Buying Food in Trujillo | ||
| July 17 | Organising Equipment / Buying Food in Trujillo | ||
| July 18 | Everyone to meet in Trujillo take overnight bus to Chagual | River KM | Day |
| July 19 | Arrive in Chagual (Setup & Launch if time allows) | 0 | |
| July 20 | Launch | 10 | 1 |
| July 21 | Whitewater Safety Practices / Using Ropes / Swimming Rapids | 30 | 2 |
| July 22 | Visit Calemar Pueblo of Cira Alegria – Serpiente del Oro | 75 | 3 |
| July 23 | Hike | 100 | 4 |
| July 24 | Hike / Ruins & Samosierra Rapid | 135 | 5 |
| July 25 | Get to Balsas | 150/0 | 6 |
| July 26 | Pick up food at Balsas / Hike | 30 | 7 |
| July 27 | Spend most of day in Mendan, camp there? | 45 | 8 |
| July 28 | Spend most of day in Tupen Grande, camp there? | 55 | 9 |
| July 29 | Hike to Talap? Depart | 75 | 10 |
| July 30 | Extra Day – Hiking / Exploring & Filming | 11 | |
| July 31 | Magdalena Rapid | 115 | 12 |
| August 1 | Rest day at Pools | 115 | 13 |
| August 2 | Explore Sandstone areas, film/ photograph | 130 | 14 |
| August 3 | Restock fresh foods in Cumba? | 170 | 15 |
| August 4 | Camp before, or in Jungle | 30 or 40 | 16 |
| August 5 | Finish & Transport gear to Bagua Chica | 75 | 17 |
| August 6 | Clean, dry & send all gear back to Trujillo | ||
| August 7 | Finish Up & Depart Bagua Chica |
