KAYAKING IN COLOMBIA

Magdalena River in Najanro give aspiring kayakers the skills, experience and confidence to learn the sport of whitewater kayaking. Learning to kayak is fun and is a great way to enjoy the outdoors together with friends or family. There is a great sense of accomplishment as you progress from the basic strokes and maneuvers to running class II rapids with control and confidence. Our friendly professional kayak instructors teach proper stroke techniques as well as responsible whitewater kayaking practices.

 

Magdalena offer an ample variety of excursion /for adventurer ;families ;groups of friend companies etc .we invite you to choose the program or routes with fits you most .

The tours are viable the wholes year

Design
Kayaks typically accommodate one, two or occasionally three paddlers who sit facing forward in one or more cockpits below the deck of the boat. If used the spraydeck or similar waterproof garment attaches securely to the edges of the cockpit, preventing the entry of water from waves or spray, and making it possible in most styles of boat, to roll the kayak upright again without it filling with water or ejecting the paddler.

Kayaks differ distinctly in design and history from canoes, which are more flat-bottomed boats propelled by single-bladed paddles by a kneeling paddler, although some modern canoes may be difficult for a non-expert to distinguish from a kayak. One advantage to a kayak is that with a canoe's high bow, it is harder to paddle against the wind. Since Kayaks do not have such high sides, it is easier to paddle on a windy day [citation needed].


Origins

Boys in kayak, Nunivak, Alaska, photographed by Edward S. Curtis, 1930
Kayaks (Inuktitut: qajaq, Inuktitut syllabics: ᖃᔭᖅ) were originally developed by indigenous people living in the Arctic regions, who used the boats to hunt on inland lakes, rivers and the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean, North Atlantic, Bering Sea and North Pacific oceans. These first kayaks were constructed from stitched animal skins such as seal stretched over a wooden frame made from collected driftwood, as many of the areas of their construction were treeless. Archaeologists have found evidence indicating that kayaks are at least 4000 years old.

Though the term "kayak" is now used broadly for this class of boat, native people made many different types of boat for different purposes. The baidarka developed by indigenous cultures in Alaska was also made in double or triple cockpit designs, and was used for hunting and transporting passengers or goods. An umiak ("women's boat") is a larger open decked boat ranging from 17 feet to 60 feet, made with seal skins and wood. It was paddled with single bladed paddles and typically had more than one paddler. It is thought the kayak originally started out as a decked over umiak and evolved into its traditional form.

The word "kayak" means "man's boat" or "hunter's boat", and native kayaks were a very personal craft, built by the man who would use them (with assistance from his wife, who would sew the skins) fitting his measures, for maximum maneuverability. A special skin jacket, Tuilik, was then laced the kayak, creaing a waterproof seal. This made the eskimo roll the preferred method of regaining posture after a capsize, especially as few Eskimos could swim.

The builder used found materials and anthropomorphic measurements, using his own body, to create a kayak conforming closely to his own body. For example - typically the length was three times the span of his outstretched arms. The width at the cockpit was the width of the builder's hips plus two fists (and sometimes less). The typical depth was his fist plus the outstretched thumb (hitch hiker). Thus typical dimensions were about 17 feet long by 20-22 inches wide by 7 inches deep. This measurement style confounded early European explorers who tried to duplicate the kayak because each kayak was a little different.

Contemporary kayaks trace their origins primarily to the native boats of Alaska, northern Canada, and Southwest Greenland. Wooden kayaks and fabric kayaks on wooden frames (such as the Klepper) were dominating the market up until 1950s, when fiberglass boats were first introduced. Rotomolded plastic kayaks first appeared in 1973.


This Greenland paddle is 7 feet in length, and much narrower than European paddles.


Modern kayaks have evolved into numerous specialized types, that may be broadly categorized as sea kayaks, whitewater (or river) kayaks, surf kayaks, and racing kayaks, though many hybrid types exist as well. Sea kayaks are typically designed for travel by one or two paddlers on open water and trade maneuverability for seaworthiness, stability, and cargo capacity. Sea-kayak sub-types include open-deck "sit-on-top" kayaks, recreational kayaks, and collapsible "skin-on-frame" boats. Whitewater kayaks are highly maneuverable boats, usually for a single paddler, and include such specialized boats as playboats and slalom kayaks. Surf kayaks, often called "surf skis", are specialized narrow and long boats for surfing breaking waves and surf-zone rescues. Racing kayaks are designed for speed, and usually require substantial skill to achieve stability, due to extremely narrow hulls, though downriver racing kayaks are a hybrid style with whitewater boats.

Modern kayaks are typically constructed from rotomolded plastic, wood, fabrics over wooden or aluminum frames, fiberglass, Kevlar, or carbon fiber. They come in one, two, and occasionally three or four person models.

Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient drops enough to form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white. The term is also used loosely to refer to less-turbulent but still agitated flows

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We are looking forward to seeing you this year!

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San Agustin Huila