Having initially been invited to stay with Alejandro for a weekend so that we could paddle together, I ended up staying for nearly two weeks hoping that we would get to paddle the upper Acequias once again.

After several days full with clients, and two days taken up with rebuilding the engine on the truck, we finally got our chance to go back and paddle the river again. This time, we weren't being chased by torrential rain, and although that meant we had more time to enjoy the river and take photos, we also had a lot less water than previously.

With more time to play with, we headed further upstream than the week before, driving until the road was blocked. From here the river contained more continuous grade 4/4+ rapids, and despite lower water levels was still incredibly good fun.

After two months together in Venezuela, it was time to leave the rest of the team at the airport, ready to head home for the start of another year at Uni and a weekend at the Wet West Paddle Fest (where they will be giving a presentation on the Fri night).

With a woefully bad exchange rate for tourists, a large bill to pay for the jeep hire, and a very excited customer, the team sold their boats to Alejandro Buzzo - owner of Aguas Bravas rafting and one of our sports pioneers in Venezuela. After delivering them, I was invited to stay for a few days to revisit the rafting runs which we started our expedition on (recently changed by incredibly high water). 

We spent a few days on the Siniguis clearing logs for the rafts, and accompanying the customers before heading to the Acequias.

The Acequias turned out to be incredible - around 10km of continuous 4+/5. Unfortunately, putting on in the middle of a torrential rain storm meant we didn´t have time to stop and document the river. We needed to keep the speed up to avoid being caught out by the rapidly rising water (flashbacks to our epic on the Canagua, and the marks left from the floods a few days beforehand left me slightly apprehensive!). Hopefully we´ll be back tomorrow, with more time to slow down, enjoy and document the river properly, possibly from higher up.