The problem with active activity is that taking pictures can create a risk. Paddling the Petrohue – a class 3 or 4 rapids entailed such a consideration, which is one reason you’ll see no photos of Sam and Mary, blazing paddles in hand, running the river.
We didn’t want to lose the cameras, and thought our guide would not be pleased if we stopped paddling to snap a ”candid.” And then there were the “horseflies.”
Horseflies?Actually, we think there are a form of bee; we were told that if were hungry enough, the pollen sack could be extracted and eaten. (We weren’t.) But we weren’t told that they come out in January and they are all over the riverbank.
We’re not talking about two or three. We’re talking about thousands. (They were even present mid-stream, although Sam managed to bat down and drown a few.)That’s another good reason to don a wetsuit and other gear provided – it protects
you for the river, 
it protects you from the flies. The trip itself was first rate – a bit of a drive from Puerto Montt, where you could see the volcanic peaks of Osorno and Catbuco shooting up in the distance like Latin American Fujis. ALSUR Expedition, the company we went with runs a first rate rafting service with English-speaking 
guides; ours hailed from California and had run rivers all over the west.The trip is pretty average white-water – a safety briefing and paddle practice at the beginning, a series of rapids starting almost immediately and then a pull-out and picnic lunch (very primitive) at the end. There were no big surprises, but it was a different way to see this part of Chile and we’d recommend it to anyone with an slight taste for adventure.
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