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Kayaking the Rio Misahualli

Saturday Dustin and I made a trip over to Tena again. It started off a bit iffy though. We left the house at 6 AM as usual, with Ellyn driving us to the bus station in the truck. As soon as we pulled in, I noticed that our usual Flota Pelileo bus wasn't in the terminal, and wondered what was up with that. I walked into the terminal and next strange thing was that about half the ticket counters were closed. The San Franciso counter was open, and the man behind the window told me there was a paro, or strike in Ambato. Basically, that means the local folk are upset about something, and to make their statement, they block the main roads--burning tires, logs, rocks, tacks--anything to try and bring things to a halt. Do it for a day or two, and it's an inconvenience. Do it for much longer, and it has a major impact on much of the country. Fortunately things have been rather stable the past couple years, and we haven't seen many strikes.

At any rate, the San Francisco guy also told me that if we went across town, we could catch a San Francisco bus heading through Puyo for Tena, but that wouldn't be going through the terminal. And, we'd have to hurry, as it was supposed to leave Puyo at 6:30 AM, less than ten minutes away. We made it to the corner across town, parked, and I got out to see if anyone standing there could tell me if the bus had already passed. Guess not, 'cause here it comes! As it pulled up, I asked the controlador, or conductor, if they'd throw the kayaks on top. They already had some things up there, but sure, they had room. I sent Dustin into the bus to look for a couple seats, and then passed the kayaks up onto the roof. A couple minutes later they were tied down, and I climbed down to find Dustin still standing there with the gear bag, telling me the bus was full. Well, there's no such thing as a full bus in Ecuador, so I grabbed the bag and jumped on. We sat on the padded engine cover at the front of the bus, with our bag behind us, and it wasn't too bad. Well, wasn't good either, as we usually doze on the bus when we go somewhere that early on a Saturday morning. No matter, 'cause after about ten miles there are some free seats, and we take them.

Two hours later we arrive in Tena (that's a forty-five mile trip) and get the kayaks off the bus roof. A quick call on the cell phone, and Oswaldo, a taxi driver from Tena, met us at the bus station and we headed off for Archidona, and the put in. Oswaldo agreed to meet us at the take out two and a half hours later, and then we were off. This was our third time down this stretch, and I wasn't nearly as nervous as the last time. We had a great time on the river, and none of the rapids gave us any trouble. We didn't just go straight down the river, but worked on rolls, paddle strokes, and eddying in and out. Dustin wasn't too sure about his roll at first, and when he tried to practice in a rapid, he ended up swimming. So that was a bit discouraging for him. Later we stopped for some PBJs and apples, and then worked on rolls. I reminded him to really work on flicking his hips, and then he had his roll back. He was happy about that, and so was I. We got to the last rapid, and Dustin told me to go first. He had flipped in that rapid last time, and rolled right back up. So now he wants me to go first. I was fine, 'til the last rock, which I managed to hit. Instead of leaning into the rock, and getting pushed around it, I leaned away from the rock. Half a second later I was upside down. My first attempt to get back up wasn't successful, but on the second try I popped back up--my first combat roll! That was a great way to end the day.

Oswaldo met us right at the arranged time, and we headed back into Tena, to get a burger at Cositas Ricas. Once again, my wonderful ordering skills were in the spotlight. I tried to order one hamburger and one order of fries, which we were going to split. When the order came out, there were two burgers, and one order of fries. Oh well, I was hungry, and they are good burgers, so we enjoyed.

We found out earlier in the morning that there were two buses heading in the direction of Shell that afternoon. One at 2 PM and one at 5 PM. Our hope was to make the 2 PM bus, and we were right on time. We grabbed another taxi at 1:30 PM and went to the bus station. I groaned the minute I saw the Expresso Baños bus at the station--no roof rack! Every time we head home from Tena, the controlador wants to put the boats in the compartments under the bus. That works fine for smaller play boats, but our kayaks are too long, and they always go on the roof. I really didn't want to wait three hours to try and get the boats on the 5 PM bus. Fortunately they managed to fit Dustin's kayak in a lower compartment on the side of the bus, but mine wouldn't fit. To my surprise, they said they'd put my kayak inside the bus! Sure enough, they put it right up front, one end resting on the two front seats, and the other end by the driver. It was a huge bus, bigger than we normally ride, and there was still plenty of room for people to get in and out. They charged me an extra three bucks to put the boat inside, but that was fine with me. Better that than a three hour wait.

The drive home from Tena is always longer, and a couple times the
bus stopped to get news from other bus drivers about the road blockages near Ambato. Later we moved my kayak to the aisle, and it really was a great ride home. As we always do after kayaking, we arrived home tired, but very satisfied.