Months of anticipation led to our Ecuador adventure kayaking trip in December 2002. Originally five members of the Gold Country Paddlers in California and the Oregon Kayak & Canoe Club signed up for our seven day trip to be guided by Phil & Mary DeRiemer, who are well known for their instructional clinics and adventure travel. Unfortunately two members of the original group had to drop out, but in early December Michele Vivas, Eric Arons, and I hopped on several long flight to meet in Quito, Ecuador at the Sierra Nevada hotel.
Not unlike Costa Rica, Ecuador is a friendly Latin American country with a fair amount of tourism, although Ecuador does require a bit more caution. We encountered no particular safety issues, but it is important to exercise the standard cautions associated with overseas travel and large cities such as Quito. The Sierra Nevada hotel serves as an economical bed and breakfast for a variety of tourists, mountain climbers, and kayakers so it's a relaxing place to begin your journey. The surrounding neighborhood is complete with tourist shops, restaurants, "gringo" coffee shops such as the Magic Bean, and Internet cafes for only $.60 an hour (Ecuador uses U.S. dollars as its official currency). There's a great handicraft market for souvenirs at a park within walking distance.
"I had an up-close encounter with a rock while upside down in 'Bamboozel'..."
After sitting with the previous week's group and hearing a few of their stories, we had breakfast with the DeRiemers and met Edmundo, our expert driver for the week. Having your own van to drop you off at the put-in and meet you at the take-out is a great convenience on overseas trips such as this. Our first kayaking destination was the Quijos Valley, one of two kayaking areas that we would visit during our week of kayaking. We (especially Michele) stocked up on inexpensive Chilean wine at the local "Supermaxi" supermarket during the three hour drive to the Baeza and Borja areas, two Quijos-area villages at the center of our activities. This valley is dominated by farms (and rivers, of course), and we quickly discovered that every Ecuadorian farm at least a few enthusiastic roosters and dogs to make sure you wake up on time.
The Quijos valley, between 4,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation, is cooler than the Napo Valley (where we visited during the second half of the week), so drytops are recommended on the river. Not wanting to waste any time, we picked up the kayaks and put in for the "Lodge to Sardinas" warm-up run on the Quijos. Most of the rivers we discovered in Ecuador required at least class III+ skills and all were relatively continuous. This Quijos section was generally busy and continuous but not particularly technical in nature. After a four-five mile run, we reached the take-out at a gravel pit (put-in for the El Chaco Canyon run) and headed back to the farm where we were guests of a local couple. We were treated like family while staying at their house, enjoying both the hospitality and homemade delicious cuisine.
After the traditional Ecuadorian wake-up call, we headed out to the six mile El Chaco Canyon run on the Quijos, definitely one of my favorite sections given its combination of exciting IV-rapids and a remote, scenic basalt canyon. The rapids were bigger and required more maneuvering on this run, the highlight of which is the complex "Panel of Experts" rapid. Following that I had an up-close encounter with a rock while upside down in "Bamboozel," a pushy but fairly straightforward rapid--that is, if you take the right line! I was rewarded with a quarter-sized red bump on my shoulder that later turned into a red, yellow, and purple bruise the size of a baseball. Alas, after some ice and medication I was still able to kayak the entire week. Throughout the trip, Phil and Mary demonstrated their expertise in identifying technique improvements for us and explaining them patiently until it sunk in.
