River SUP, a surprisingly easy activity

This summer I went on a short break to the town of Venta del Moro with the intention of visiting Las Hoces del Cabriel. While I was there, I made contact with Kalahari Aventuras, a company that specialises in river sports. I wanted to do a couple of activities to have fun and get to know the area.

I knew I wanted to do some rafting through Las Hoces canyon and a very nice guy told me I was in luck, as you can only descend this section of the canyon in July and August. The rest of the year, you have to do it on a stretch further downriver, called Tamayo.

I jumped at the chance and asked him what other kind of activities could be done in the same area. Without hesitating for a moment, he said: “Try River SUP, you descend on the river but on a paddle surf board”.

I told him my balance wasn't that good and I thought it sounded quite difficult. But he answered straightaway: “Don't worry, the boards we use are special for white water, they're very stable, but if one of the sections worries you, then you can always kneel on one leg and it works practically like a kayak”.

I found the first day of rafting fascinating, I never thought there would be such a beautiful, wild place only 2 hours and 30 minutes from Madrid and in the province of Valencia. We did 20 kilometres and it took us 4 hours to descend.

But what I didn't expect was that I'd like River SUP so much. They'd already told me I'd be surprised by the view of the water and how safe I'd feel. And it was true.

The guide told us it wasn't a very well-known river activity and that it's only being done on the Cabriel for now.  He gave us a really thorough description of how to handle the board and the paddle before we started out.

It only took me 5 minutes to feel good on the board. Seeing the clear water and the landscape from so high up made me feel I was walking on top of them. I never thought you could go down rapids standing up. The paddle not only served for driving me forwards, it was also a good way of holding myself upright.

The excitement I felt on the rapids (easier than the rafting ones) gave me an endorphin rush and a permanent grin on my face all the way through the descent. The instructor not only showed us how to handle the paddle, he also showed us some simple tricks that helped to improve our navigation and confidence.

Getting away to Las Hoces del Cabriel was an amazing experience I'll never forget and one that I'd be happy to repeat next year.