Words: Andy Holt Photos: Andy Holt https:// escapetoadventure. com
PADDLER 93
ECUADOR
AMAZON JUNGLE GOODNESS
Words: Andy Holt Photos: Andy Holt https:// escapetoadventure. com
Having visited Ecuador many times, let me delight you in our adventures( and a couple of epics) and what Ecuador offers as a winter destination to its hot Amazon jungle paddling goodness.
Ecuador is situated in South America, nestled between Columbia and Peru on the west coast; it has the Andes Mountain range running down the middle of the country with over 6000 + metres of snowcapped volcanic peaks towering above the dense jungle below, which drains water into its vast rivers to the west coast and the east into the Amazon jungle. As it’ s on the Equator, its daylight hours are the same all year round, and as expected, it is very hot and a prime winter destination for paddling.
There are two main areas for paddling: one in the north and one at a higher mountain elevation in the Quijos River area. Then the other is more central, near the town of Tena in the Amazonian jungle basin. The northern area is more renowned for Alpinestyle rivers, which are more continuous with powerful rapids and set pieces. The Central area, though, has a different style from volume Scottish style creeking and pool drop to big, bolder, and higher volume jungle runs.
It was back in 2014 when I first visited Ecuador, and I admit it didn’ t all go according to plan for that first trip. There was a catalogue of errors, most of which were and should have been avoidable. It’ s a story some of you could relate to, especially about your first trip away to a foreign country. We were a team of seven, and we had hired a UK coach / leader who had been to Ecuador before, so they knew the rivers. However, it came into play that he didn’ t know them as well as we thought he would.
To cut a long story short, we missed a vital takeout on a section of the river, which then committed us to the next section; this resulted in an unplanned camp-out. The next day, we were all tired and hungry and faced with another 30km section in a deep, inescapable canyon; I made a mistake on a rapid and found myself fighting for my life in a recirculation hole, and only my boat in there with me saved me. Then, there were several communication problems with our shuttle drivers one day.
PADDLER 93