Kayaking in Ecuador

Another great week of kayaking in Ecuador! They say that in the dry season in Ecuador, it rains every day. In the rainy season, it rains all day. Well, we arrived in the dry season only to find that our first kayaking destination – the Quijos Valley – seems a bit confused about what season it really is. River levels were high so after a short warm-up run on the Quijos, we beat a hasty retreat towards Tena in the jungle.

Last year in Tena, we received the full jungle treatment. Crazy hot and humid during the day but while yo are on the river, you hardly notice the heat. What a change a year made! This year, temperatures were quite moderate for all but about 7 hours in Tena this year. The overcast weather made river selection a bit tricky but we managed fun runs on the Upper Mis, the Jatanyacu at very high water, and the Lower Jondachi/Hollin. Arn had been looking forward to the Jondachi/Hollin run for an entire year – since we ran it last year. Without question, his favorite kayak run ever for quality of scenery and fun whitewater too! While in Tena, we went to the Marquis for a $6 steak virtually every night we were in town. The meal would be cheap at 4x the price and we still can’t figure out how it is possible to deliver a delicious filet for that price. We even ordered off the menu as Arn was craving chimichurri sauce on his steak and the chef was more than happy to accommodate him!

After our time in Tena, it was back over the hill for a run on the Cosanga – the town run followed by the continuation of the town run into the “warm up” run for the canyon stretch. We took out before the canyon and had a glorious (but rare) sunny day on the water in the cloud forest. Instead of kayaking on our last day, we took a long care ride to see the tallest waterfall in Ecuador. The entire Quijos river does a spectacular double drop and falls over 500 feet to the floor below.