Paddling at the Center of the Earth
by Nancy Pietroski
We never really solved the Great Toilet Mystery and didn’t catch the Southern Cross in the night skies, but we did witness an egg balancing on its pointy end. Where can you observe this ovoid phenomenon? At the Equator, the center of the Earth. Our journey to latitude zero first took its roots on our Grand Canyon trip in August. Phil and Mary (DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking) mentioned that they had run trips in Ecuador for over 10 years. Being self-indulgent yuppies and absolutely avid boaters, we did not want to miss the opportunity to paddle spectacular rivers with unpronounceable names in this culturally colorful and ecologically diverse country.
Lisa & John and Aaron quickly signed on, making our small private group. Lev joined at the last possible minute (after 341 voice messages and 165 emails). Lisa & John left for Ecuador on New Year’s Eve to spend some time hiking and sightseeing; Dave, Aaron, Lev and I flew down several days later. We began our sojourn in Quito, the capital city. Disembarking from the plane at 9,300 feet, we denizens of sea level altitude were feeling hypoxic. The first day we spent sightseeing in the city, abundantly grateful for Aaron’s very competent Spanish and cheap taxi fares. We walked into the middle of a large street protest (fortunately not anti-US), sticking out like sore Gringos as we navigated between a row of riot police (very formidable except for their short stature) and the angry shouting mob carrying effigies of crooked politicians. We escaped into several spectacular Catholic churches and deemed our Sunday mass obligation fulfilled for at least this year if not the next. The second day we were joined by John & Lisa and we all took a van tour of the surrounding area, including a stop at an historic hacienda- turned-resort, the obligatory stop at the Equator where we saw the great egg balancing act, then to one of the largest outdoor markets in the Southern Hemisphere if not the world (Otavalo). Laden with hand woven items and other local sundries, we lunched in a small town known for its leather goods (Cotacachi), then headed back to Quito.
On Sunday morning, we met Phil, Mary, and Mike (a paddler from Salt Lake City) and headed south to Borja, crossing a mountain pass at 13,400 feet and ending up at Finca Carmen, the dairy farm of Carmen and her family, who are friends of the DeRiemers. We outfitted the boats, which were supplied by the DeRiemers (everyone seemed satisfied with their choice of boat) then were driven by Edmundo, our tireless chauffer, several miles down the road to run the Chaco section of the Rio Quijos. The air and water were cool, the rapids big, and we were suitably impressed by this warm-up. We were treated to an absolutely delicisio dinner (the hot sauces were killer) prepared by Carmen and her daughter Carmencita, who just graduated from culinary school, and felt quite indulged, the dirtbag boaters that we are!
For dessert, we were treated to an offer we couldn’t refuse—Bernardo, a recent medical school grad from Mexico, in Ecuador to video boat kayakers running these spectacular rivers, had heard about Phil and Mary and stopped by to ask if he could film us on several rivers. (We agreed, he followed us for 3 days, and in the end handed us a wonderful DVD movie of the trip, complete with chapters, exquisitely fitting South American music and interviews, for a very reasonable price. We were ecstatic.)
The next day we ran the Rio Cosango, a tight twisty creeky run with sparkly clear water and very fun rapids, including one of my (new) favorite rapids of all time, “Crescendo”, which I deemed “Descendo.” Phil took Mike and Dave on the lower section of the Cosango (Class IV+) while the rest of us did a re-run of the upper section. Exhausted but jazzed, we headed back to Finca Carmen, ravenously hungry as the tantalizing smells from the kitchen greeted us when we crawled up the driveway. We were treated to another wonderful traditional Ecuadorian meal. The following day we left Finca Carmen and drove south to the jungle where we donned shorties and Deet to run the lower Misahualli. Very creeky and tight, with more sparkly clear water, but warm this time and with lots of boofs. Everyone was delighted with this run and emerged pumped up and punctured by multitudes of bug bites, nasty little creatures like black flies that left several of us looking like we missed our last measles booster. We stayed in the town of Tena, at a very comfortable hotel overlooking the Rio Napo. We happy-houred on the balcony then ate at the finest restaurant in town, complete with their own pet sloth (Quasimota) who loped inverted along the door lintels like a little Yeti as we supped.
On Wednesday, we embarked on a “wilderness” run, which entailed a long hike down a very steep muddy path, but sans boats, as local men and women carried our kayaks down the ravine to the river. It’s a symbiotic relationship—the locals get to make a little extra money, and the gringos still have some flexibility in their necks and shoulders when they finally make it to the put-in. We started on the Jondachi, another tight beautiful creeky run which merged with the bigger and beefier Hollin, the first rapid of which was very Grand Canyon-like. We disembarked from the chasm 5 hours later, exhausted but thrilled with the diversity of the two rivers. Another night in Tena, then a relaxing paddle the next day on the Jatunyacu (aka Alto Napo), a large friendly labrador-like river with lots of play and hot sunshine. That night we stayed at a jungle lodge, complete with monkeys, guinea pigs, guinea hens, and a toucan that visited us in the dining room. Also that night, Lev and I were cleansed by a local shaman. Although our friends (the nonbelievers!) may have secretly harbored skepticism, both Lev and I felt like the evil spirits were expunged from our corporeal beings. Or maybe it was all the vodka. Very interesting experience, nonetheless. On Friday, we visited a mariposa (butterfly) farm then headed back to run the same section of the Misahualli we had done a few days earlier. We were pleased to find the water level a little higher than before and had another delightful run. Back to Finca Carmen for another savory meal then a viewing of our video shot by Bernardo, and Phil and Mary’s slides of their recent trip to Bhutan.
On Saturday, our final day, we drove back north and paddled the upper section of Rio Quijos, taking out where we put-in the first day. We came full circle, very fitting for our equatorial adventure. Driving back to Quito, we stopped at a local hot springs and soaked in our final views of the emerald agrarian countryside (when the clouds parted). We ate our final dinner in a restaurant high atop the city and toasted our wonderful adventure with what were billed as the best Bloody Marys in the world (those killer spices!). Lev spent several extra days in Quito after the rest of us left on Sunday—let him tell you about his wonderful adven- ture....
Phil and Mary DeRiemer turned in another excellent (Class III+—IV) river experience for the 6 of us from Philadelphia and 1 from Salt Lake City. But much more than that, it was a rich cultural journey with our intimate exposure to a family living and working their own farm, and travel to and among the large city and small towns. We were warmed by the friendliness of the Ecuadorian people. To top it off, animals lovers all, we got our canine fix with the tons of dogs roaming everywhere. As Aaron’s Ecuadorian coworker told him before he left, “You will be visiting Paradise” and we felt like we did.