Swimming at Balnerio Alpayacu
If you ask most any gringo kid in Shell what they like to do most, they'll probably say it's swimming at Alpayacu. Alpayacu is five miles north of Shell on the road to Baños. The kids in grades 5-8 come here every other Wednesday afternoon for PE. Other days they get there when David or someone else offers to take them. Five o'clock on a steamy afternoon, or three o'clock on a lazy Sunday afternoon are great times to head to Alpayacu!
Some of the kids like to jump off of the bridge, which is more than a 20 foot drop. David has done it twice, and that's enough for him. Dustin has jumped off the bridge quite a few times, and probably will many more times. There is a lower spot to jump and dive from. You can view this animation of one of the kids diving in. (It's a 380K image, so be prepared to wait a couple minutes.)
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On this particular day we had sixteen of us in the seven passenger van! They have a saying in Ecuador about how much room there is in a vehicle: There's always room for one more!
This view is from under the bridge. Many Ecuadorians come here to swim, take their bath, and wash their clothes. It's a very popular place on a Sunday afternoon. Dustin and Taylor like to buy the Salchi Papas, or french fries, from the food stand.
One side of the river is shallow, while the other side is very deep. The river can change color in a matter of minutes when there is a lot of rain upstream. Normally the water is quite clear and very cold.
You can swim downstream to get out at some steps, or climb out on this rocky bank. This side of the river is great for diving. In this picture you can see the bottom of the bridge from which people jump.
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