Mexico. That was all I could think mid exam week during my fall semester at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. While other students were headed home or to the typical all-inclusive resort with the family, I was headed to the waterfall paradise that is the Tlapacoyan municipality, Veracruz, Mexico. With just a few logistics wrote down on a small piece of paper Ryan McAvoy, Jordan Poffenberger, and I found ourselves in the Mexico City airport shortly after Christmas. After quite a few problems with trying to transport our gear and kayaks with us to our destination we made it twenty-four hours later to Aventurec in Tlapacoyan (long story short we learned it isn’t that easy to travel across a country with kayaks, especially when you speak VERY little Spanish…) .
Children of Jahlacingo. Photo- Dylan McKinney
Truchas Lead-in. Photo- Jordan Poffenberger
Photo- Jordan Poffenberger
Shortly upon arriving we realized that this wasn’t any typical year for whitewater in Tlapacoyan! The rain was never ending and everything was still pretty high/the high side of good. On day one we started off by heading with a crew that had been there for a couple week to TRUCHAS! With a somewhat challenging hike in on an eroded cliff, a 90+ foot repel, a 50 footer, and the best smoked trout at the takeout, our first day in Mexico was beyond incredible. Over the next few days we were able to get on some of the classics, Big Banana and Roadside. Quickly within the first few days all three of us learned that this high water meant massive, retentive, and frothy holes… After grabbing a couple laps on Truchas and other sections of the Alsescea, Jordan and I headed with some other fellow east-coasters to 60 foot Tomata 1 Falls. A crew of five of us fired it up with good lines all around for the most part. None of us seemed to have any interest in running Tomata 2, due to higher than normal flows, so we called it a day a began the interesting hike out of Tomata 1 that is directly above the lip of Tomata 2!
Photo- Dylan Evans
Rolling off the lip of Truchas. Photo- Jordan Poffenberger
Truchas, day one. Photo- Matthias Zeiner
The rest of out trip continued to be incredible, where we got to get on the Upper Jahlacingo, the Diaper Section, and more laps on Big Banana, Truchas, Roadside. Mexico was truly a special experience that I hope to make happen year after year. The whitewater is spectacular, scenery is gorgeous, and the people and culture are incredible. These places and rivers proved to be even more picturesque than all the photos I had seen before. Not only did Tlapacoyan have some of the more perfect waterfalls in the world, but the runs/sections were world class as well. Go ahead, book your plane ticket, and head on down south of border to the Veracruz State!
Check out some more photos and a video I put together from my trip!
Mexico Video: Mexican Waterfall Paradise of Tlapacoyan
Cheers,
Dylan
Peppers in Tlapacoyan Market. Photo- Dylan McKinney
Photo- Leif Anderson
Dylan Evans walking through the Market in Tlapacoyan. Photo- Dylan McKinney
Typical food seen in Tlapacoyan. Photo- Dylan McKinney
Third drop of Triple Drop. Photo- Leif Anderson
Jules showing us how to boof a 50 footer Photo- Dylan McKinney