¨¨It´s ok, we´re on vacation!¨¨

Hello friends, once again reporting to you live from Ecaudor. We are now rokkin it out in Banos (and yes, its the same word as bathroom)greatly anticipating our last run of the trip; Rio Topo.
Well, let´s see, what´s been going on since we last updated ya´ll. Pat and I ran the Hollin, which was an overnighter filled with fun.
The first day started with a 40 something foot waterfall followed by some awesome rapids, one of which went through a cave. After a failed waterfall attempt in a raft (not the 40ft one)and a 2 hour long raft pinning incident we had to push hard to get to our intended sandy beach of a campsite. As we came around a corner we were amazed to find a virtual resort left deserted. This place was exactly what you think of when you picture Gilligan´s Isle mixed with Tarzan complete with thatched roofs, multiple rooms and bedrooms, and a view from the front porch to kill for. With a decent nights sleep in our hammocks behind us we set out for the second day. The second day was hardly as entertaining as the first, but it was a beautiful canyon and anytime we became bored with the whitewater all we had to do was look up.
There are many more stories to be told, and in due time they will all be unraveled, but for now I must be going. The streets of Banos are calling us!

Keep on Rokkin
-Ben

Grab life by the pollo

Hey everyone, so there´s a lot that´s gone on since our last post. Let me fill you in. First off, we boated the Upper Jondachi, which was an epic run. Pat caught a bug and was vomitting at the put in, which made things interesting for the rest of the run. The entire run had easily over 100 rapids in 6 miles. It was non stop IV+/V the entire way down. For the most part we boat scouted rapids, but sometimes it was necessary to hop out and take a look. On one rapid where we happened to do neither I had one of the scariest experiences of my life. Pat dropped in first and gave me the ¨¨mediocre¨¨ sign from the bottom. I dropped in and quickly realized that this was a rapid we should have scouted. I made it about 1/4 of the way down when I got flipped by a rock/cross current. As I rolled up I hit a rock with my back and head, quickly realizing that it was a rock wall. The stern of my boat began to submerge under the rock and before I knew it I was being rapidly pulled into and undercut. With all my strenght I pushed back using one arm and my back to keep from sliding under anymore. At this point I thought to myself, ¨¨Oh crap, I have to get out of here now or else I´m done¨¨. With that mentality I gave it one last push with all I had...It freed me and flipped me over at the same time. After a few more rocks to the dome and some water in my lungs I must have decided I was ready to be out of my boat. Luckily I swam the rapid that was above the biggest pool on the entire run and Pat was able to retrieve my boat. After the incident there was little time to think about what had happened, we had to keep moving.
Once the run was completed we were both exhausted and ready for bed. It took us 6 1/2 hours to go 6 miles and there was a million boofs and holes the whole way down. I will never forget this run and its amazing whitewater, dense and beautiful rain forests, and arduous scouts. ¡Vive el Jondachi!

Today was an entirely different kind of boating. We set out to paddle the Anzu, which was a good 2 hour drive from Tena. We had beta that told us it would be a river, but with a ¨¨creeky¨¨ feel. With this in mind and the put in Pat noticed that the flow of the river was brown and moving quite quickly. As we pondered this a local, one of many that gathered to watch, told me ¨¨Ten Ciudado, este rio esta mas alta, quiere morir?¨¨ The rough translation being, be careful this river is very high, do you want to die? After hearing this and beta from the locals saying that it had rained heavily the night before, Pat and I were sure that the Anzu was flooding. Regardless, we decided to put on well above the recommeded flow. The run started off slow, but began to manifest itself as a burly full on BIG WATER run as Pat and I both blindly dropped off an 8-10 foot boof/waterfall. Once the rapids began to pick up and the river more that tripled in size from confluences with other rivers the run began to really turn it up a notch. We began to boat scout the biggest pushiest whitewater I have ever been on. In one rapid there were a series of three holes that were at least 10 ft tall with the capability to destroy a full sized creek boat. After a few free rodeo lessons and wide eyed decents of sick whitewater Pat and I had had a full on big water day on a run that was supposed to be small and creeky. Needless to say it was one of the best days we´ve had in this country and I will never forget the size and strength of that river! WOOP WOOP!

Hola!

The last five days have been spent in Baeza, which is a small sleepy town on the eastern side of the Andes. So far we have boated six different runs in the area, We had a few class IV warm ups on El Chaco canyon, which was very scenic, and had some good waves and holes to bounce around in. Our first Creek was the Consanga, which was also very scenic, and had some great rapids full of boofs and quick manuevering. So far the highlight of our trip has been the Quijos river on the Cheese House section, and the Bridge to bridge section. Our first attempt at the Cheese house section was going well, until It ended in a class V swim out of a huge hole, and then accompionied by the ecuadorian mile run to chase the boat. My M3 is well, quite dead and hopefully I´ll be able to sell it for a few hundred dollars. The next day we got another boat, and conquered both the Cheese House and the Bridge to Bridge. Both section were a riot with big holes boofs, boulder gardens and wave trains.These runs had it all, and the action did not let up for the whole six miles from the put in to take out.
We just arrived in Tena about 2 hours ago after a short bus ride through the Andes. We gettin ready for some more jungle Action, and will keep you posted, Ciao!
Pat-