After a fun-filled week in Quito we decided it was time to make our way into the jungle.  After spending a day preparing for the trip, we hopped on a bus to Coca.  The bus left late in the evening and arrived around 5:00am, which is usually too early to find a place to sleep so we chilled/napped at the bus terminal for a couple of hours.  After the sun was up and things started moving outside we grabbed a cab to Hotel Florida ($12) near the river.  It was without a doubt the filthiest place we've stayed yet, but it was at least a place to take a nap, shower and keep our stuff while we wandered around town looking for options to get to Nuevo Rocafuerte (NR).  Coca is quite large and busy, and definitely not a tourist destination.  We eventually found a couple of tourist offices and asked for information about tours and/or boats heading down the river.  Tours into Yasuni National Park are expensive ($300 per person for 3 days) so we quickly ruled that out and decided to see if we could find a more affordable guide ourselves once we arrived in NR.  We found that there was a boat through one of the transportation co-ops by the port due to head to NR the next morning (perfect!) and was only $15 each (though we later saw that some of the locals had paid as little as $4 each... we'd been Gringo’d again… but what can ya do).

Right after talking with the tourist office and buying our boat tickets, we decided to head back to the hotel and rest.  We had just started down the street when a creepy looking guy on a motorcycle, who had been parked on a curb beside the tourist office, started his motor and began following very closely behind us.  When I looked back it was super obvious that he had his sights set on us (though, as usual, we weren't carrying anything valuable along with us - just a small backpack with our Lonely Planet and Mandrew's slimy handkerchiefs).  Before long, we noticed a little shop across the street with two big guys stocking the display, and we quickly crossed to duck inside.  We pretended to look around for a few minutes but when we looked outside he was still there, staring at us maliciously.  I smiled back as if to say “ok, we are on to you, it’s not going to happen so move on!” but he just stared back.  I went back inside and told the store guys what was going on - they agreed we should stay in the store, and found us a place to wait where we couldn’t be seen from the street.  We ended up having to wait over 20 minutes before the guy finally gave up!  It was brutal how obvious he was - what the hell was his game?  The storeowner said he was shocked by it, especially in this part of town, but we had been feeling a bit of an unfriendly vibe since we arrived.  For the rest of the day we left the backpack at the hotel and stuck to busy streets.

The next morning at 7:00am we departed on a CRAZY packed lancha (like a really big canoe) to NR.  We were told the trip would take 10 hours, so we arrived early and scored some seats near the front of the boat, maybe better for sightseeing.  At first there weren’t too many people or things aboard, but as we waited to depart we realized that the massive crowd of people on the street above, as well as the mountain of stuff piled on the dock, was meant for our boat.  To say the very least, it was insanely packed!  And the boat wasn’t all that big.  There were probably 30 or 40 women with newborn babies scattered in the crowd as well, and it seemed that no matter where you looked there was someone breastfeeding openly.  

Yes they are real, and we have seen them!  There is a story for the more manly in here too, don't worry.  It involves criminals and crocodiles... !

During our trip along the Rio Napo from Coca to Iquitos our first stop was in a tiny town called Nuevo Rocafuerte, the place to find a local guide to take you on a trip into Yasuni National Park (without having to pay the crazy prices quoted by travel agencies in Coca).

We met Roni Cox while walking around Nuevo Rocafuerte (NR) after only ten minutes.  He pulled his motorcycle over to us and asked (in Spanish, of course) if we wanted a guide (himself) to Yasuni National Park.  While that is exactly what we were looking for and he seemed super cool, we weren’t too quick to accept.  We had been reading a few too many horror stories about people going into the jungle with fake “guides” who essentially take people down the river to their friend’s place and rob and/or murder them.  I don’t think any of these stories came directly from NR, but after the weirdo motorbike robber encounter in Coca, we've been a bit more on our toes.  We told him that we were actually looking for Frederico (a guide that a Park Ranger recommended to us) but we would consider his offer and come by his house later that day to let him know.  We knew that there was a College in town (down the only street) that trains guides so we went there and asked if they knew Roni.  They sure did and said that he was great. 

Within a few hours we managed to meet a couple of solo travellers, María-José from Chile and Rodrigo from Argentina, who were also looking to go into the park and after some consideration the four of us decided to go for it!

Roni turned out to be a great guide, very enthusiastic and funny.  The four of us had a blast riding in the smaller lancha (boat with outboard motor) through the Yasuni River and into a large lagoon called Jatuncocha (Quecha for "large lake").  We spent 3 days and 2 nights in the park, hiking for a few hours each day, learning about the plants and birds, watching the pink river dolphins breaching in the river (SO COOL!!), and fishing for piranhas before dark.  After eating dinner and playing a couple rounds of cards (ninety-nine, or noventa y nueve en Español), we took the lancha out to do some caiman watching!  We really didn’t have too much chill time, always on the go and keeping watch for some rare creatures!  Mandrew had a great time snapping photos of birds as we passed by - he said it was a lot like the video game "Pokemon Snap" or something ... On the last day we did end up seeing the giant river otters, which was a great bonus! 

When we got back to NR we parted ways with María-José and Rodrigo, sadly as they were a lot of fun, and started looking into plans to get further down the river, eventually to Iquitos in Peru which we have been told can take anywhere from 3-11 days on a barca (cargo boat).  We had been hearing rumours that there would be one leaving from Pantoja (the first small town on the Peruvian side of the border) on Saturday or Sunday (it was Wednesday at this point).  It's always a bit hard to tell with this kind of info in these small, isolated towns - we actually thought near the end that we may have somehow started this rumour ourselves - so really weren’t too confident.  At any rate, we'd had enough of NR and decided to make our way across the border and into Pantoja to try our luck.

Our time in Baños and Quito has been a blast, but we’ve both been experiencing some serious nature withdrawal – we need to get back into the forest!!  Well, if things go as planned, in the next few days we’ll be setting off on a serious adventure deep into the Amazon jungle.  This trip could take anywhere from one to three weeks, likely without any internet or phone access – look out for our SPOT GPS updates letting you all know we’re still alive and kicking.  =)

Our original plan was to catch a bus from Quito and head further inland, over the mountains and into the area known as “the Orient”.  There are a few parks that are supposed to be great, Yasuni National Park among them, and since oil companies have begun to work on extracting the vast reserves found under the park, we figure there may not be much of it left after a few years.  Upon reading a bit about getting into the park (quite a feat in itself), however, we found that it’s actually possible (though not always recommended) to continue along the Rio Napo all the way deep into the Peruvian jungle.  We’re not exactly sure what this kind of adventure will have in store for us, but that’s part of the fun, right??

After spending the morning doing some research online, it seems the trip will be something like the following:

• 8 to 10 hour overnight bus from Quito to Coca
• One-day by boat to Nuevo Rocafuerte at the border of Ecuador and Peru.
• Two hours by boat to cross the border to a city on the Peruvian side called Pantoja.
• Four to five days by cargo boat down the river to the town of Mazán, with a handful of loading/unloading stops along the way
• Quick jaunt on a three-wheeled motorbike across a narrow strip of land (skipping out on 13 more hours on the boat), and then a one hour boat ride to Iquitos, Peru.
• From Iquitos, the world’s biggest city without road access, we will spend some time recovering and enjoying the surrounding jungle, after which we can either fly back to civilization or travel another five days by boat to the nearest town with road access and then catch a bus.

"Six days, 228 miles, a close grizzly encounter, way too much sun, an incredible thunderstorm, and a constant feeling of awe - this was a trip we'll both remember for a lifetime."

Six days, 228 miles, a close grizzly encounter, way too much sun, an incredible thunderstorm, and a constant feeling of awe - this was a trip we'll both remember for a lifetime. 

There are few experiences more humbling than being alone on the river, floating through such a vast and beautiful wilderness.  With the current constantly pulling you along, it's all you can do to eagerly peer around each bend and discover what surprises are in store: breathtaking rock formations, charred remains of forests, sand & gravel islands, looming storm clouds, and plethora of wildlife.  This was the kind of trip that reminds you that you're just another one of nature's creatures. 

The paddling itself was quite non-technical and effortless; with the current flowing at about 7 or 8 km/h you can cover ground just relaxing and letting the river do the work. Much of the actual work we did was to investigate some of the smaller side-streams and islands along the way, or to avoid being drawn into areas that were too shallow or full of fallen trees.  There were only a handful of small rapids, most of which we worked hard to get to just for a little excitement.

We'd both recommend the trip to anyone who's had any wilderness camping experience. If you're well equipped for camping, you should have no trouble gaining your canoeing experience on the river. 

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Day One

We started our trip at Tatchun creek, a couple hour drive from Whitehorse (thanks to Chelsea’s mom for the ride!).  This put us just downstream of the Five Finger Rapids which we were too scared to attempt right off the bat.  In retrospect, we totally could have handled them – we may go back just to prove it to ourselves.  As we loaded the canoe and tied down our gear, a First Nations woman hanging salmon nearby warned us that there was a bear very close by.  Needless to say, we didn’t dawdle long for our goodbyes.

The first day of padding was quite casual.  As we got used to steering through the big eddies and quick current, we spotted a moose on shore and floated quite close before it got spooked and took off.  Later in the day, just before Minto, we spotted a large black bear on shore who didn’t pay us any mind, reminding us that we should take care at camp to avoid any encounters:  cook, eat, and store (in airtight containers or drybags) all food, dishes, and anything else with any kind of scent, including clothing worn when cooking or eating, a good distance away from where you sleep and where you store your canoe.  Despite this reminder, our dinner of rice and bean burritos proved impossible to contain, forcing us to move from our initial island camping spot just across from the Minto airstrip.  That spot was a bit too cozy anyway and we had no option to move our tent more than 5 or 10 feet from where we were eating.  Lesson one: burritos are a bad meal choice in bear country. We covered 37 miles, as the river flows, putting us just past Minto. 

We ended up spending the night instead at a spot marked “Thom’s Location” on the map, with a nice camping area and a usable cabin.  Because there was fresh bear scat nearby, bear claw marks on the trees, and wolves howling in the distance as we were stoking our camp fire, we decided to sleep inside the cabin, with the door tightly tied shut.  And because Chelsea was afraid of spiders, we pitched the tent inside the cabin.  This was a restless night for me, with hours spent listening to the scampering of rodents throughout the cabin.  I guess we shouldn’t expect to be the only ones taking advantage of such a cozy cabin – the tent was a good idea after all.

Day 2

Another day of beautiful weather and wildlife spotting (mountain sheep, beavers, bald eagles, ducks and other birds).  We stopped for a long break at Fort Selkirk (a historic trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company) to have some lunch and explore some of the old buildings and artefacts.  After an easy day of padding, covering about 26 miles, we stopped at a large sandy island with a beautiful beach.  Lesson two:  when you’re on a remote beach, it’s impossible to resist getting naked and playing frisbee.

Day 3

Our third day was definitely the most exciting.  We awoke in sunshine to rolling thunder from a distant storm which we watched for a few hours as it slowly closed in around us.  Before the dark clouds and lightning got too close, we took shelter on shore below some cliffs and nervously watched the show.  With cliffs on one shore and hills on the other, the thunder echoed and rolled on for minutes at a time.  We managed to duck under a tarp just as the sky opened up dumping rain and hail on us.

Later that day once the rain had dried up, we started to wander from the main drag and explore more of the side streams and island channels in the hopes of finding a good fishing spot and spotting some more wildlife.  This brought us to Seventeen Mile creek, where after tying the boat to a fallen tree in a channel no more than fifteen feet wide, Chelsea was caught mid-pee (literally with her pants down) when a grizzly bear poked its head over some shrubs on the opposite shore about 10ft away.  I managed to alert Chelsea by shouting “Bear! Bear! Grizzly!” allowing her to demonstrate her ability to multi-task under pressure by quickly pulling her pants up, getting back into the canoe and untying the rope, all the while blowing her whistle, waving her arms, and assertively chanting “Hey! Hey! Get outta here!”.  Although we couldn’t see it, we could hear movement in the bushes beside the bear, probably from a cub (eeks!).  Luckily, after contemplating coming in for a closer look (perhaps to eat us), the bear slowly turned and went back into the bush.  Lesson three:  before stopping close to shore, make a ton of noise!

Despite the earlier scare, we found a great fishing spot on shore at the mouth of Selwyn creek and managed to catch a couple grayling for the evening meal.  After covering about 41 miles, we set up camp on another sandy island and finished the day.

Days 4 & 5

The fourth and fifth days offered an unexpected challenge: intense sunlight.  With the long, northern summers (over twenty hours of sunlight) the sun can really take a toll.  We had run out of sunscreen early on the fourth day so we were forced to hide under clothing instead (at one point I wore a pair of shorts over my head to keep my ears from burning). 

Despite the heat, there was a good variety of wildlife along the river.  I’m not sure how, but Chelsea managed to spot a lynx in some bushes on shore (I didn’t see it until we had paddled to within 15 feet of it).  We also spotted a wolf about a hundred feet downriver, though it didn’t hang out to give us a better look. 

After passing White River the water became even thicker with silt, making it tough(er) to filter directly from the river.  Luckily there were the odd creek with cleaner water to use.  You could actually hear a “hiss” from the silt as the canoe moved through the water, pretty wild.

Day four was a long one (we covered 51 miles) – we decided to pick up the pace and try and arrive in Dawson a day earlier (the sun had amplified our thirst for a cold beer).  The sun had finally taken its toll midway through day five, so after 37 miles we stumbled onto an island, set up a tarp for shade and had a long, cool nap.  Lesson four: spray-on sunscreen works fine, but only holds about a dozen applications - useless for a long trip.  Bring lotion!

Day 6

On our last morning on the river we awoke to smoke in the air and a haze in the distance ahead of us.  With a summer as hot as this, its common knowledge that there’s a risk of forest fires, but what would we do if we found ourselves padding into one?  We decided to press on and re-evaluate if the smoke got much thicker.  Luckily, after a few hours it cleared and we were able to continue on.  Later that day, as we neared Dawson City, we could see a large plume of smoke in the distance on the left shore – the fire was still there, but the wind had shifted.  

After covering the final 36 miles, we arrived in Dawson City.  Although it was nice to be done and enjoying some patio beers, we both admitted to each other we wished we had just a couple more days…

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Assuming we can get all our ducks in a row today, tomorrow we take off down the Yukon River to head to Dawson City, the heart of the 1898 Klondike gold rush.  We'll be putting in just past Carmacks, giving us about 6 or 7 days on the river depending on how energetic we feel.

After the first couple days we'll be deep in the wilderness, so we've got to make sure we've got all the necessary safety & emergency gear.  We need to be prepared for bear or moose encounters, wind, rain, sun, forest fires, bloodthirsty mozzies, and tons of angry beavers.

Mandrew's looking forward most to burying his poopie in the dirt and wiping his ass with fresh river water.  Chelsea's excited to sing as loud as she can without anyone hearing (including Mandrew, since marriage has quickly trained his selective hearing).

Wish us luck!

With Andrew's parents visiting we couldn't resist a little Alaska visit.  We drove from Whitehorse to Haines on Monday - suuuuuuch a cool 5 hour drive!  Lots of awesome scenery, we saw a black bear and her two cubs eating dandelions by the side of the highway, drove over the mountain summit, all of it in perfect sunshine.  Spent a few days in Haines checking out the Chilkoot river where the Sockeye salmon were running.  Sadly, the Sockeye run is very low this year and fishing in the river was shut down.  Good to see the fisheries managing the run though.  The Grizzly's were hungry and must have found a better place to eat, but we did see one big mama Griz and her cub which was ADORABLE AND A HALF!  

We also did a very quick one day jaunt up to Juneau on the Fjord Expedition boat where we saw sea lions, seals, porpoises, hump back whales and eagles.  We also stopped at the Mendenhall Glacier where we did a small hike.  The next day we took the Malispina ferry to Skagway with the car.  We had sun and hot weather the entire time, which is very rare in Southern Alaska.  We got a little cloud in the sky on Friday when we drove back to Whitehorse.  The drive from Skagway to Whitehorse is the most amazing drive in the world!  So glad the Marston's got to do it, and get a small taste of Alaska.  Jim said he was very surprised by how lush and hot it was.  

Hope you enjoy our pictures!  I know we took a lot, but we figured that since we always get questions about what it's like, we figured we would go all out for ya's!

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