Jondachi Fest!

If you've ever been to Ecuador on a kayaking trip or had it on your paddling bucket list then you've heard of the Jondachi River. The Upper Jondachi is considered Ecuador's most classic steep creek. It's 6 miles of class 4-5 creeking through a lush jungle gorge. In addition to the Upper, there are Middle and Lower sections of the Jondachi with equally, if not more beautiful,  scenery and slightly easier class 3-4 rapids. 

Emily Shanblatt lines up for the Money Boof of the Upper Jondachi

Unfortunately, a few years ago the government-owned thermal electric generating company proposed the building of a dam on the Jondachi River which would de-water part of or all of the river. Not only is this sad from a recreational standpoint, it would also be very detrimental to the amazingly biodiverse environment. In an effort to try and bring awareness to the cause, the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute hosted the inaugural "Jondachi Fest" this past January. Due to my love for both the country of Ecuador and the Jondachi River, I decided to take another trip down to the equator this year to support this great event. The festival included nightly festivities in Tena, a race down the Upper Jondachi and a group paddle and overnight on the Lower Jondachi/ Hollin section.

The Jondachi Fest tent in Tena

After having been in Ecuador for a couple weeks, it was finally time for the Fest! There were tons of international boater in town for one reason- to help save the Jondachi River (and of course to run some of the best whitewater in the world)!

The First big event for the festival was the Upper Jondachi race. In order to prepare for the race, we tried to squeeze a few laps down the Upper leading up to the festival. Because the race section was to be determined based on the day of water level, we had to try and remember the entire run as best we could.

Clay Warren stomps a boof on the first drop of the Urcusiqui, the tributary used to paddle in to the Jondachi

Emily Shanblatt also gets her boof on on the Urcusiqui

Clay Warren drops into Tres Juevos on the upper Jondachi

Em Shan paddles to the takeout of the Upper Jondachi

There was a race meeting on Thursday night at a pizza shop in Tena, then Friday morning everyone was awake early and ready to paddle fast! We all met at the put in of the Urcusiqui to get race bibs and a few more logistical details. We were told to paddle down to the confluence of the Jondachi and wait there for more info. In my previous years of traveling to Ecuador I made some good friends in the tourist town of Banos, which consequently has a kayaking club sponsored by the local fire department. I loved seeing my Banos buddies at the race. It was also fun riding around in the fire truck ;)

The Banos Fire Department Truck

Once at the confluence, we were told the approximate start times of the race, the exact ending point as well as given a safety talk. The race would run from just below the confluence to walking bridge over the Jondachi. It was a mostly class 3 race, but did have a few rapids (especially the last one) that you had to be paying attention to.

Emily and I pre-race after walking down to the end of the course

Getting prepared at the start line!

3...2...1... Go! That's me putting my first race stroke in! (Photographer West Howland)

The last rapid of the race

Coming in hot into the finish line

After the race, there was still a lot of paddling to do as the finish line was pretty much at what most people consider the start of the Upper Jondachi. In an effort to avoid the crowds, Emily and I snuck downstream on our own and ended up having the river to ourselves.

Emily enjoying the sunshine during our lunch break

Lucho boofs into Typhoid with storm clouds in the backgrounf

One of my very favorite Ecuadorian buddies, Andres, enjoys an overhanging cave on the Jondachi

Me getting interviewed by a local News Station at the takeout (Photographer Emily Shanblatt)

The evening after the race there was a super fun part and awards ceremony at a local restaurant in Tena. It was a great night to celebrate a successful race and kick off to the festival. Congrats to Hannah Kertesz for taking first place amongst the women. I was a few seconds behind her securing second place.

The next morning we had to wake up early to prepare for a long day (19miles) on the Middle and Lower Jondachi as well as a portion of the Hollin. As much fun as the Upper is, I think quite possibly the most beautiful sections of the Jondachi lie downstream. Steep jungle walls line much of the many miles of river. As part of the festival, there was a large group putting on a the lower in both kayaks and rafts and paddling down to an eco-lodge perched on the side of the river. I volunteered to lead a group of kayakers down the lesser done Middle section. We all then regrouped at the beautiful lodge for a camp fire, cold beers and an overnight jungle retreat.

Getting ready to put on the Middle Jondachi

Typical Jondachi Scenery

A serene moment on the Hollin

The reward for a long day of kayaking!

The scene at the riverside lodge 

The lodge where we spent the night was a 5min paddle from the bridge where our taxi driver was picking us up. We paddled out first thing in the morning and it was bittersweet for me. On one hand, I knew it was my last day in Ecuador for a while, as I would be heading home to the States that evening. On the other hand, I felt a sense of joy that with the success of the festival, there was the slightest hope that the Jondachi might be around for many more years to come. If you want to support the cause, please consider donating to the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute (http://ecuadorianrivers.org/donate/), the non-profit that hosted the festival and is on the front line of fighting for Ecuador's rivers.

A view of Volcan Antisana on my way to the airport

For more coverage of the Jondachi and the festival, check out this digital piece by Canoe and Kayak: 

http://www.canoekayak.com/photos/ecuadors-jondachi-river-threatened-paddling-classics/

See you at Jondachi Fest 2016!

Another trip to Ecuador!

Anyone that knows me knows I love Ecuador. I love the culture, the weather, the geography, the cheap beers, the cool animals and of course the amazing kayaking. This past January I returned to Ecuador for what is probably my 6th kayaking trip there. I just think its the most perfect place for a kayaking vacation and I have a feeling I'll be returning there for as long as I live. This year was just as fun as always, and I got to paddle lots of great sections or rivers and hang out with great friends, both new and old. A big part of my trip this year was to attend Jondachi Fest, a festival to help keep the Jondachi river free flowing. I will write a separate blog post about that, but for now, please enjoy this photo journal of the rest of my trip....

A typical Quijos Valley View

Putting on the Lower Quijos

Beautiful jungle scenery on the Lower Quijos

Toby MacDermot enters "Piggly Wiggly" on the Cheesehouse section of the Quijos

Ally puts on the Oyacachi

The crew moving down the Oyacachi

Em Shan on the Jatunyacu

Emily in Torro on the El Chaco Canyon Section of the Quijos

El Chaco with the ladies!

Stefi and Emily celebrate a successful run down El Chaco Canyon

Toby welds my boat with the help of a Pilsener bottle

Moto riding in Banos with Emily, Stefi and Elvis!

Emily cruising through the Ecuadorian Scenery

Put in of the Piatua

Ally charges through a rapid on the Piatua

A reminder of the importance of water

My final few days in Ecuador revolved around the Jondachi River and the festival held there in an effort to save the river from being damned. A full trip report of that is coming soon! 

From the Amazon to the Andes to the Coast: An Eco-tour Adventure with Wofford College

Last month I had the pleasure of guiding yet another Wofford College Interim trip. This is the fourth year I have been guiding Wofford students on an adventure where they have the chance to learn coursework on eco-tourism while also gaining unforgettable life experiences exploring places and cultures very unlike their typical surroundings in Spartanburg, SC.

The first three years I worked with Wofford we visited Belize (which was amazing!) but this year I wanted to do something different. I wanted to take the students to my favorite country in the world- Ecuador. My dream was to show off the extreme diversity both geographically and culturally that exists  within this small country. We did this by starting in the Amazon basin on the border with Peru, traveling through the snow-capped Andean mountains and finishing on the beach staring out at the ocean.

Our trip across the Ecuador (we actually went all the way to the border of Peru, but google maps couldn't give directions from there)

The Amazon potion of the trip involved living and traveling on board the Manatee Explorer, a 30-passenger river boat designed to navigate the Rio Napo, part of the Amazon basin and a tributary to the Amazon river. The water level of the river was a bit lower than ideal which led to some excitement with the boat getting stuck a couple times. Fortunately, we had also had some extremely lucky and amazing wildlife spottings, including monkeys, pink river dolphins and tons of parrots at the clay licks. After five days of hiking, swimming, kayaking, jungle cruises, cultural interactions and beautiful sunsets, it was time to head into the Andes.

The Ecuadorian border with Peru- as far east as we can go still in Ecuador!

Taking it all in

A monkey moment

Parrots enjoying the clay licks

An Amazonian Sunset

After a chunk of time in the warm and humid world of the Amazon, it was time to get into the mountains. We were picked up by our bus in Coca, a jungle hub town, and began driving west towards   the Papallacta Hot Springs. A night in the cool temperatures of almost 11,000 feet prepared us for what  was next- hiking to the refuge of the Cotopoxi volcano which lies at almost 16,000 feet. For many of the students who have spent the majority of their lives in the east coast, this was easily 10,000 feet higher in elevation than they had ever been before this trip. 

Our first view of Cotopoxi

I was impressed with how many of the students made it all the way to the refuge. We walked slow and breathed in as much of that low-oxygen air as we could, but eventually made it. And with another stroke of good luck, the sky cleared giving us a perfect view of the volcano for most of our visit there. It was a pretty surreal experience to be making snowballs at 16,000 feet when the day before we were deep in the Amazon. 

Snowball fight at 16,000 feet!

After hiking Cotopoxi, we spent another day enjoying the mountain environment with zip lining, horse back riding and visiting historic haciendas.  

Zipping through the Andes 

Whats a ride in the Andes without a pair of chaps?

Riding through the valley of volcano

The llama- an Andean tradition

A view from Hacienda San Augustin de Callo

For a bunch of college students who flew from the winter of South Carolina, a few days in the cold temperatures of the Andes was long enough- now it was time for the beach! So off we went, further west towards the Ecuadorian coast. After a long bus ride we finally got our first view of the ocean. Hard to believe that in just a short span of a few days we had literally crossed the entire country of Ecuador from the Amazon, through the Andes and arriving at the coast.

The following days were filled with exploring the Machalilla National Park, including a visit to the beautiful Isla de La Plata and Los Frailes beaches. We hiked, we kayaked, we snorkeled, we swam and we laid out on the beach. Most days ended with cold drinks and a beach volleyball game at a local tiki hut bar.

A view from Isla de la Plata

The blue footed booby!

Enjoying Los Frailes Beach

We also took the time one day to visit a local school and see how the children spent their days. Along with us we brought donations to the school, the most popular being a soccer ball which happily replaced the "trash ball" they were previously playing with. The students loved the interactions playing with the local kids.

Enjoying the new soccer ball

Playing games with the kids

We ended our trip to the coast with a visit to the hip surf town of Mantanita. After a short lesson, the students were off on the surf boards (with the instructors in the water of course) riding Mantanita's waves.

Some people picked up on it faster than others!

Surfing is tiring!

The following morning we flew back to Quito for a day of visiting the city and the equator line before it was time to head back to the states and end our two week adventure across Ecuador.

All in all the trip went great and while I have traveled extensively all of Ecuador, this trip was special to me because it was the first time I linked up all of Ecuadorian's distinct regions into one big trip. Thanks to Wofford College for allowing me to guide you on this wonderful experience and thanks specifically to all the students who came along and brought with them their energy, enthusiasm and great attitudes!