Rafting in Ecuador

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Travelling from USA to Ecuador from 26 January to 3 February 2008 for a week of whitewater rafting with a company called Small World Adventures (www.smallworldadventures.com). I arrived in Ecuador early afternoon (Saturday) and was picked up by the driver that the rafting company, Small World Adventures, sent for me. He drove me to my hotel, Casa de Piedra, in the Mariscal--tourist--section of Quito. I found others from our rafting group and after dinner, met up the next morning (sunday) with our tour and rafting guides, Don, Darcy, and Larry, owners of Small World. We boarded a comfortable Mercedes Sprinter van and headed out east of Quito to the Quijos valley, where Small World has a beautiful compound with comfortable private cabins on the Quijos river, in the town of San Franisco de Borja. Small World's compound is very comfortable...every rafter gets a private room with private bathroom with hot showers and a patio. They have a central building with a restaurant, bar, living room, and a beautiful hut hanging over the river. We enjoyed a run on the Quijos river that afternoon. The next morning (Monday), after a great dinner and then breakfast, we hit the lower Quijos, which was fun, though it had a long paddle out at the end. The Quijos is a snow melt river and is pretty cold by Ecuador standards. The rapids are fun but mild, not the "Class IV" that Small World claims. As part of Small World's program, we left the Quijos valley on Tuesday and drove west to Baeza and then southeast to the rafting/kayaking capital of Ecuador--Tena. Tena is a lively town. We stayed at Los Yutzos hotel, right on the river. Tena is hotter and far more tropical, with a very low elevation. The Small World compound on the Quijos was cool and dry--higher elevation. On Tuesday afternoon, after the long drive from Borja to Tena, we rafted the Jondachi, a true jungle river with some incredible scenery and class III rapids. The put in is at the end of a very long muddy hike (mud up to your thighs!). This was the most beautiful rafting run I have ever seen...absolute jungle and warm water. After the long day of driving and rafting, we had a great pizza dinner in Tena and then enjoyed the shopping and bars in this lively, youthful town. On Wednesday, we rafted the Jatunacu (sp?) river near Tena. This is a wide open river with really fun Class III rapids...plenty of room to splash. We also took a side hike into a cave and enjoyed more jungle scenery. Wednesday night, we had a more "upscale" dinner in Tena and then strolled the town. We woke up early Thursday and said goodbye to Tena and Los Yutzos, thankful for the air conditioning and tv at that hotel. We headed back to Borja and the Small World compound---about a 3 hour drive--and ran the Baeza to Borja section of the Quijos. This run was a little more challenging and bumpy, and the water was again cold. Back at the Small World compound, we took a walk up to the town of Borja, only to get caught in an Ecuadorian Mardi Gras celebration. The Ecuadorians celebrated carnival by pelting people with water balloons! We also saw people cooking "Cui" or bbq guinea pig for the holiday. On Friday, we ran the most exciting section of the Quijos. Right from Small World's compound, we jumped in our rafts and ran the so-called "Borja to El Chaco" run and took out in the town of El Chaco. This was the most challenging and fun of all of our runs. Friday night we had our last meal at the Small World compound. Saturday, we headed back to Quito with a 2 hour stop at the Papallacta Hot Springs ("Termas de Papallacta"). Great way to relax one's muscles after 6 days of rafting. Back in Quito late Saturday afternoon; staying at Casa de Piedra, but this time in a slightly different location; sister hotel. Larry, Small World's owner, took us on a night time stroll in Old Town Quito and for an upscale Ecuadorian dinner. He arranged a tour guide for me for Sunday, since my flight left late. For about $15.00, I had a private driver all day, who showed me Old Town and then Mitad del Mundo--the Equatorial Monument and Museum. All in all, an amazing trip.

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Photos

Ecuador Rafting
Rafting the Quijos River in Ecuador, near San Francisco de Borja and El Chaco