November 1st

November 19th - Ecuador, Upper Misahualli and town of Tena

Andy: Want to know how to stop a rooster from crowing? Put it in a pillow case for the night! We were kept up the first night by an overzealous rooster. For the following night, our hosts (Ramon and Carmen) stuffed the rooster into a pillow case and voila - it stays quiet for the entire night. It did look a little pissed when it was taken out the next morning.

Started the day off with a very bumpy 2-3 hour drive to the Tena valley. It's hotter and more humid down here (it is a jungle town), and the water is nearly 80 degrees. Very nice not paddling in a dry top. We probably only traveled 40 miles, but the roads are pretty darn rough. The drivers here are crazy, passing on the right, left, around cliffs, up hills etc. Phil had a good comment - "it's like they never out grew that invincible adolescent driving phase!". At one of the highest passes, the locals have created a small shrine to protect them on the harrowing mountain roads. Instead of a shrine to a religious figure, it's a shrine to a automobile differential! (no joke - complete with flowers, a differential, and a small enclosure)

Today we got a lesson in how fast rivers can rise in Ecuador. When we put-on the upper Misahualli , the river was running clear, small, and creeky. Within 15 minutes, it was five times bigger and running brown and dirty (and dirty means full of cow shit in Ecuador!). Mary and Phil were getting progressively more nervous as this tame little creek swelled into a raging torrent. I'm not sure what was making them more nervous - the whitewater or all the cow shit in the river...... I'm glad I had ear and nose plugs on this run.

Wendy, Mary, and Wade were meeting us at a lower put-in, and by the time we got to them Mary and Phil called it quits - the river was just too dangerous (between the logs, rapids, and cow shit). It was a spectacular run while it lasted!

We finished the afternoon with a scenic float down a lower and easier section. The jungle foliage was amazing.

Wendy: The food here is a little bit different from what we are used to. Most meats here are served with rice and french fries. They like deep fried carbos in this country! Last night I ordered "trout with garlic sauce." It was delicious, but came with the head and eyes attached, an entire fish served on the plate. I was mildly apprehensive about eating it, but it wasn't until after I had finished that I got completely grossed out....Wade (one of the other guests) asked me if I was done, and when I said yes, he took the fish head from his plate and sucked the brains out! Turns out he's eaten fish heads before...I casually declined eating mine, saying I was already full from eating the rest of the fish.

Today's run was easy since the rivers were up and it was raining, but it was amazingly beautiful. It turns out that Ecuador is one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world, and today we got a taste of that. The section of river, called the lower Mishayalli (aka lower Mish), is a relatively remote tropical run. Mary (one of the guides) was raised in Panama, and as a result knows all about the plants and animals that live in the tropical regions. She treated us to a tour of the tropics, where we saw several species of flowers and plants. We even picked some yummy smelling flowers to decorate our helmets! We also saw homemade canoes made out of dug-out tree limbs that the local people use to ferry across the river. Quite amazing to see their rudimentary equipment as we floated by in expensive boats and clothing. The river was rising as we boated, and we parked our boats on the beach as we changed clothes. By the time we were ready to load boats on the van, the river had risen almost a foot (in less than 15 minutes).

Andy, walking to the put-in of the Upper Misahualli . Notice the pouring rain, and the local children playing in the class IV river! The children have no fear!

Looking down river from the put-in bridge on the
Misahualli . Notice the child swimming down river next to the kayaker.

Local child watching us at the put-in to the Upper Misahualli

Catholic church in Archidona. Ninety-eight percent of Ecuadorians are Catholic.

Workers clearing slopes to put in a new oil pipeline. They've lined it with sandbags to prevent erosion...and with as much rain as this place gets it's not likely to work. This pipeline "road" is cut across hundreds of miles of Jungle.. including under rivers, through mountains, etc.

Gelato shop where we treated ourselves to dessert. Yum!

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