Chiapas, Mexico

Last March I went to Chiapas (Mexico) with some friends for some kayaking adventures. Rush Sturges from River Roots is shooting an amazing film project with mexican kayaker Rafa Ortiz, so along with them; Evan, my brother Aniol and myself went to his beautiful land to enjoy some of the best rivers in the world.

Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, bordering with Guatemala and the Pacific ocean. It’s also home of the Zapatistas Army of National Liberation (EZLN) a revolutionary leftist group that fights the Mexican Government to try to give power back to the people and make the state a better place to live, specially for the indigenous communities.

There are two MUST rivers to paddle in Chiapas, the Agua Azul and the Santo Domingo. The Agua Azul (Blue Waters) is very touristic offering many waterfalls and slides near Palenque where there are also some amazing Mayan ruins. It’s clear pristine and warm waters make the Agua Azul one of the most beautiful rivers ever. Surrounded by jungle and little communities paddling this river is an amazing experience.

The Santo Domingo flows into Guatemala and is a really wild river. Deep into the canyon the Santo has a lot of gradient creating some of the craziest slides and waterfalls I’ve ever seen. After a really steep section with big drops such as Angel Wings, the Dome, Toboggan and others, a tributary joins the Santo offering some big water rapids downstream all the way to the takeout. Definitely one of the hardest most continuous sections I’ve ever paddled deep in the canyon surrounded by vertical walls and millions of trees, a beautiful place.

Overall it was an amazing trip with some of my best friends. Big thanks to Rafa and Rush for organizing everything, the camera crew Matty B, Adam and Tatcher, the photographers Tony, Pancho and Marcos, Isra for his hard work, Lane, Evan and Aniol, Iker… so many people, thanks everyone!

Big thanks for the photos to: Adam Elliot, Aniol Serrasolses, Matt Baker, Marcos Ferro and Tony Czech