Mayan Whitewater

10/06/2026

10/06/2026

Here's the highlight reel from our recent Rio Pampas-Apurimac expedition. Shout out to Rocky Contos of Global Grand Canyons for all the research (including on the last attempt in 2024) and logistics. I was mostly along for the ride until I dislocated my shoulder on Day 3 and then I was completely along for the (raft) ride. And todo mi respeto for Pedro Peña and Freddy Levano Vicente our fearless safety kayakers and raft liners. This was an amazing trip and apparently 2nd successful descent of this section (and first portage-descent of the new crux rapids Skywalker-Death Star). This is a worthy challenge for anyone who calls themselves an expedition kayaker, right up there with the parallel Abismo section of the Rio Apurimac. Both dump you into the lower Apurimac, home of the deepest canyon in South America.
300 km total paddled starting at 1810 m and finishing at 580 m, from the mid-Andes to the Amazon basin. Not much wildlife in the upper parts but getting nice and jungly the last couple days. Road passes to put-in/take-out both at 4,200 m to/from Ayacucho.
I don't have decent photos of most of the big rapids, partly because they are too big to capture and partly because we bombed through a lot of them. Rocky has drone footage of many of them. The number of class 5's is debatable (between 5 and 10 I'd say) and also depends how you count them. The "4 km rapid" where I got in trouble has one name but a ton of big sequences. "Class 4" around here (big volume and technical) is definitely not your everyday class 4 and not exactly my comfort zone.

01/06/2026

Made it. Stay tuned to this channel for more photos and description in the next week or so.

29/05/2026

Rio Pampas, Perú. update

25/05/2026

Rio Pampas, Perú, expedition underway...

20/05/2026

Looking to kayak off-the-beaten-river? Maybe a road trip in Chiapas (southern) Mexico is for you! Dates: late September/early October.

I am Greg Schwendinger, kayak explorer and author of "Mayan Whitewater: Chiapas & Belize" and other guidebooks. I (and my co-author Rocky Contos) explored almost 100 runs in Chiapas up until 2012 but have returned to only a handful of them since. Would you like to come see some of the others with me? I'm looking for paddling partners/guests for a 10-day (approximately) road trip happening in late September-October.

What's a road trip in Chiapas like? Fun! Of course the weather and vibes will be warm. We'll experience small-town Mexican culture. But it will not be a restful vacation since we want to run something new every day. We will concentrate on daytrips. We'll have a Mexican breakfast early, run the river (2 hours to 4 hours long usually) during the sunny part of the day, and have lunch on the way to our next destination and have time in the evening for a nice meal and drinks near our low-to-mid-range hotel (not camping) before retiring early. We will likely move hotels most days to cover more ground. I am expecting a small group (like 4 of us) but it could be expanded to up to 8 people depending on the people/guides involved.

There is no itinerary--we follow the water, so this trip requires flexibility and enjoying whatever (mis)fortune comes our way. I promise something fun and interesting to run, usually creeky stuff, at least 7 out of the 10 days. You should be a class IV boater with a solid roll to consider coming on this trip. There might be some IV+/V rapids that we scout and/or portage, but not too many.

Budget? Besides your flight down, count on about $90 per day with your own gear, $120 per day with my gear (limited selection of kayaks available). Chiapas is economical but there are many factors in the final cost. Our rendezvous point is likely the Villahermosa airport.

That's the short description, which might leave you with more questions than answers. But if you think this kind of trip is for you, PM or write to me at [email protected]. Feel free to forward this to interested parties.

For reference, I have led numerous small-group kayaking trips, some in Chiapas, but mostly in Guatemala. You should consider this trip a group of peers with me as the logistical dude but open to suggestions from everyone in the group both on and off the water.

Feel free to forward this to interested parties.

Greg
www.mayanwhitewater.com

14/03/2026

On this International Day of Action for Rivers, let's commit to policies and actions that protect our Central American rivers and strengthen their communities. (below: in Guatemala and Honduras)