Flying Formation
The lower run on Ecuadorâs Cosanga River is often described as a continuous version of the Chattoogaâs Five Fallsâ¦without the two-mile paddle at the end. Instead of the two-mile flat water paddle across the lake, you paddle into the Quijos River for a few more...
Soaking It Up At Pappallacta
There are specific times when soaking in hot springs is pure joy: after a day of skiing or a week of kayaking come to mind right away. This is especially true here in Ecuador as the paddling tends to be âbusyâ? and at the end of six full days, the muscles start to...
Belting it Up for 2007
When Angel pulled off his belt and explained that each of us had to give our burning muneca a belting for each year of the 21st century, our participation in Ecuadors New Years Eve celebration took a turn for the weird! But then, New Years Eve celebration in Ecuador...
A Private Run Down the Upper Green: 1989 and Now
Here it was a Saturday morning in August–typically the driest month of the season, especially in a year in which we are in a drought and we still had the option of five different rivers to paddle (the advantage of being surrounded by dam-controlled rivers). So...
Saying GoodBye to A Friend
st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } Vladimir Vanha en memoriam by Ken Kastorff It was with sadness that I learned that one of kayaking's most influential design pioneers passed away recently--Vladimir Vanha. � The first time I ever saw Vladimir Vanha he was...
Playing Favorites
Most of us have a favorite river. But when you run many different rivers it is hard to call one single section a âfavorite.â? Instead, it is easier having a favorite style of river (i.e.: big water or steep creeking). But that also gets thrown out a bit...
Sardines and Chocolate for Christmas
The ERA team has had some unusual Christmas experiences together. Because of trip schedules and travel restrictions over the holidays, we have often finished up our trips in Costa Rica and headed straight down to Ecuador. This allows us time to do a run-down of the...
Playing Grinch for Christmas
We barely made it out of town this morning before the marching band, ice cream vendors, buckets of cokes vendors, as well as hordes of parade participants effused with the Christmas spirit took to the highway to parade from the town of Borja to El Chaco. In our van...
Changing Latitudes
Weird that Sunday morning we were eating gallo pinto in San Jose, Costa Rica….and Tuesday morning we were paddling our first run of the season in Ecuador. It is great to be back!! We started out with a warm-up run (a good idea after landing at 10,000 feet, then coming...
Traditions Cross Over Cultures
It was strange to be departing Costa Rica this morning to catch a flight to Ecuador. We have a schedule that is pretty much the opposite of 90% of the tourists that travel to Costa Rica: we arrive at the tail end of the rainy season, and leave when the rain stops and...