What day of the week is it?

Covered in bites from an unknown variety of insects, scratched up from head to toe and sunburned, our bodies were mentally and physically aching for some down-time at the beach. To cap off the beauty of our scratchy/red selves, we opted on the overnight bus trip to the coast - 12 hours and two buses after Tena, we found ourselves in Montañita, a little surf town where the rum flows more plentiful than freshwater and nobody knows what day of the week it is (literally- the first guy we sat next to sincerely asked us).  We had heard about Montañita from fellow travellers.... it is the kind of place that has created its own legacy - not really true Ecuador but instead a little slice of many sunkissed dreams mixed with reggae-tone and ceviche. 

A toast to the sun & surf

This all sounds quite lovely as a beach destination - and I will be the first to admit that I truly believe in the goodness of losing track of time, but we could not have prepared ourselves for Montañita during Carnival weekend.  Many places in Ecuador still celebrate carnival with cultural festivals & parades, but Montañita is strictly about the fiesta!  There are not only masses of tourists lined up on cocktail alley getting henna tattoos and signing up for surf lessons– but there are also Ecuadorian families lined up side by side on the beach like combat sunbathing while the kids spray everyone relentlessly with foam. A unique combo of people definitely make people watching an activity unto its own.

The crazy crowds of Montañita

Once again we were thankful for our friend Gus’s connections with his friends in Ecuador - Bill & his lovely family hosted us in their home in Manglaralta, which was the perfect distance away from the Carnival madness in Montañita (a 45 min walk on the beach). Both Emily and I needed a little saltwater healing for our jungle wounds and staying at a house allowed us to relax and take care of our bodies as needed (for me this meant long early morning walks followed by a swim before breakfast and for Emily this meant sleeping in until her heart’s content).

Bill, Erica & their sweet daughter Freida Bea

We were also able to meet up with our friend Robbie from Seattle (who is volunteering in Ecuador right now) - so the three of us enjoyed the simple joys of beach bumming together.  In addition, due to Carnival festivities, we were invited out to several of Bill’s friend’s homes for dinner.  Which ended up being some of the nicest homes around Montañita (if you’re approaching over the hill but still feel like a party-animal, this is the place to stretch your $ and live like a king).  We indulged in some of the finest food & drink we have had in awhile and enjoyed amazing sunsets, waterslides and infinity pools to boot!  Seeing how the other 1% lives their lives was an interesting treat.... but in the end we were also happy to throw on our backpacks and spend our evenings sipping the cheapest boxed wine on a beautiful public beach.

Party night in Montañita.... oh cocktail alley - may we never see your foam again.

Emily testing out the waterslide

Infinity pool at sunset!

Isla de la Plata

After Montañita, the three of us headed north to Puerto Lopez where we explored some beautiful beaches  and took a boat out to "the poor man’s Galapagos", also known as Isla de la Plata.  Although it pales in comparison to the real Galapagos, it still offered some beautiful views and a chance to see the Blue Footed Booby!  The tour, much like any other group tour was mandatory for the national park and was a bit like being a herd of sheep (we tried to escape a few times but were always reeled back in).  But such is the price you pay to see some unique and protected areas.

los tres amigos

The infamous Blue Footed Booby!

A baby booby with momma

· Side Note · The name ´Booby´ has nothing to do with actual boobs on the bird (it gets laughed at enough because of its feet) it actually gets its name from the Spanish term “bobo” which means stupid, fool or clown.  Because like most seabirds, the Booby is a bit clumsy on land & easily captured.

A friendly turtle on the way to the island

A unique bug we saved from the surf

Ari jumping for joy

Everything looks better in the reflection of Ray Bans

Keeping it safe

The view from the top - overlooking our pristine beach

Sunset Yoga in front of the house

Puerto Lopez Fishing boats don’t even need a catch to attract the birds

Tena

At the base of the Amazon basin, Tena has become the rafting capitol of Ecuador...  the lure of the unknown has brought river rat explorers from around the world to the area as dozens of rivers pulse as the life veins of the jungle. Many people boast that the quantity and quality of the whitewater per square mile (particulary for kayakers) is second to none on our big blue planet. Thus, as those that have come before us and will continue to flow in, our water gypsy souls were immediately drawn to this place.

Ari wading to our picnick spot for the day

    We found our people quite quickly and through a couple of connections we managed to jump on a trip down the Jondachi-Hollin with a friend at one of the oldest river companies around here aptly named ¨River People¨. With an hour drive out and a 30 min hike into the put-in, the river is pretty much the most remote day trip you can do in the area.... once you are on the river there is no sign of civilization until the take-out.  They actually just started to run the Jondachi commercially a few years ago - so we were treated to spectacular views of primary rainforest, waterfalls and crystal clear water for over four hours on the river.

The 30 min hike into the river was a bit muddy.... they actually hire the local community to carry in the boats.

Looking down at the put-in

The river was a bit low - but still offered plenty of whitewater! We had a great crew for the day and our guide even let me take over for the last part..... including the only rapid that they scout - it went smoothly and it felt great to be in command again:)

Emily jumping - the water was the perfect temp!

Green viper snake at the lunch spot

They even had cold beer waiting for us at the take-out! 

The wonderful land of Intag

     Moving on and up to better things, we finally made our way out to the wonderful land of Intag.  Luckily our friend Gus from Orion hooked us up with his friend Edmundo who lives in the area.  We couldn´t have asked for a more perfect connection, Edmundo is a very special individual with a spark in his eyes - working hard as the unofficial mayor of the village to protect their heritage and the phenomenal environment around them.  His plate is full with many projects, but he was able to find time over the weekend to be a wonderful host - showing us around and letting us stay with his family.

  Right away we were taken to scope out the river..... some parts they have gone down & others they were considering. Most of the rivers were really more suitable for kayaking, but when the water is high enough they are ´doable´ for rafting with a little bumping along:)  It felt great to be back by the river again, talking ´shop´ about different river runs and checking out the gear.  They eagerly had us go into their warehouse and go over all of their rafting gear, from boats to throwbags and everything in between.  To our surprise, the actually had some pretty good gear - aside from the ´water-ski vests´ they had for the guest pfds. We also discussed how useful a bowline is, why footcups are almost better than sliced bread and the skills that we believe every guide should have.  The happy ending to our meeting was rolling up a raft and tossing it in the back of the truck!  
 

     On the way back to Edmundo´s house, we decided to see if the road was open to get up onto a Plateau with sweeping views of all of Intag. The top of the Plateau was inhabited by indigenous people over 3000 years ago and is a very holy site to the people of the area. There are several large man made pyramids or tombs, and they have recovered many different artifacts from the land. There is a small museum there, showing some of the items recovered - cooking pots, lots of stone tools, ceremonial items - most of which were recovered by the family that lives up there now when they were plowing and cultivating the land. The road that goes up to the top was made by hand by the locals fairly recently, it is narrow, steep and rocky. It had been raining a lot and Edmundo wasn´t sure if we could make it, but ever the optimist, he decided to give it a try. We hadn´t gone far when we encountered a tree across the road, not wanting to turn back so soon, Ari and I jumped out of the car, and managed to carry the tree out of the road. Edmundo was amused. And so we continued on, Ari and I exchanging glances as the road got steeper and steeper, unsure of what we were getting ourselves into. Sure enough, just around the corner there was a huge boulder blocking our path, but we´d made it this far, and there was nowhere to turn around, so we jumped out of the truck again to go see what we could do. After much heaving and shoving we managed to get the boulder off the road and climbed back into the truck, covered in mud and grins! After this, Edmundo took to calling us Las Super Mujeres (Super Women).

Super Mujeres!!

Walking up one of the manmade pyramids

Lookin´cool with our tucked in pants.... this was right after a major episode of ants crawling up into our pants and having to drop drawers in the middle of the trail.

This sap is called ¨Blood of the dragon¨ and is supposed to cure everything from cancer to acne.... I guess most things that are good for us have a strong terrible taste - we didn´t go back for seconds:)

    I suppose the day after I had spent half the night up being wrung out like a wet rag, until there was absolutely nothing left in my body, was as good a day as any to run the first river of our trip, the Christopamba. The Christopamba is a tributary of the Intag, the main river that runs through the valley. It is a small volume river that runs through the jungle - lots of rocks, low hanging branches and vines, and tight gorges. Edmundo was keen to have us evaluate the river to see if it was suitable for commercial rafting. I had been pretty sick the last few days, and hadn´t been able to eat much, but I wasn't going to miss it. We were going to go with a local guide, Sebastian, who had been down this section before, his little brother, Edmundo, and another volunteer we met there, Solome. As I mentioned, it had been raining a lot, and the little river was "muy torrentoso" as Edmundo kept mentioning. "Do you think it´s OK?" He kept asking, "Oh yes, muy bueno" Ari kept saying, with a big grin on her face. I was concentrating hard on not shitting my pants.

Edmundo-geared up and ready!

The climb down to the put-in

   

      We tried to scout a little downstream of the put in, so we could get a sense of what exactly we were getting ourselves into, and were tickled to see continuous class IV rapids disappearing into the gorge beyond.  We put-in in the middle of a rapid under a small bridge, and were off faster than a prom dress. It felt exhilarating to be on the river again, and I soon forgot about my condition as I focused on listening to, interpreting, and executing the guides commands. We were glad to be with a guide who knew the river, but less thrilled by all the rocks he kept driving us into. We had a little talk afterwards about the many benefits of the ferry angle, and about the need for the command "stop" to give your customers a chance to recover. Needless to say it was a very exciting experience, undoubtedly made more so by the fact that we never knew what was around the next corner.

      The scariest part for me was at the end, when I was completely exhausted after paddling for over an hour straight, with no fuel in my body, and we stopped to scout the last and biggest rapid. Everything in the jungle is in various states of decay, and we were scrambling along the side of steep jungle walls, trying to find something in the slimy, poky fauna that might hold our weight, all the while traversing above this ferocious little beast of a rapid. I was shaking as I climbed, in my head thinking that if I fell into the water, there was no way I would make it. After the scout I took some time to gather my strength, said a little prayer, and climbed back into the boat, grateful to have Ari up there next to me. We yelled like wild banshees for a minute and then took off, and a before I knew it we were at the bottom, and the bottom of the boat was still beneath us. We both wish that we could have stayed and run the river again and again, but I was pooped (no pun intended?) and we called it a day, heading up to Edmundo´s farm to enjoy my first real meal in days. We were torn about leaving Intag all together, having made such wonderful friends and fallen in love with the wild beauty that surrounded us. Not to mention the easy access to boats and equipment. But we keep reminding ourselves that this is our "recon" trip, and that we are building connections for future adventures. Rafting is still in its infancy in Intag, so there is lots to do to help form and create a good boating community....maybe next year!?

On the first day as we were driving through the valley, Edmundo stopped and pointed up to the sky... at first we had no idea what he was talking about and couldn´t see a thing.  But as we focused in a bit more, we could see the thin lines crossing the entire valley - a zipline!  After a few ¨no way¨ & ¨holy crap¨ comments, we laughed a little nervously thinking that anyone who did that was a little crazy - considering it was the longest and highest zipline in the country.  Turns out the zipline operators were Edmundo´s cousins so we took a pre-tour of the place.  As we were treated to lemonade and coffee cocktails we couldn´t say no and eagerly agreed to meet them on Sunday.

All geared up - the zipline was 800m long and 320m high!

classic nervous smile

Ari about to land

The rewarding view at the end of the line