Jondachi Fest!

If you've ever been to Ecuador on a kayaking trip or had it on your paddling bucket list then you've heard of the Jondachi River. The Upper Jondachi is considered Ecuador's most classic steep creek. It's 6 miles of class 4-5 creeking through a lush jungle gorge. In addition to the Upper, there are Middle and Lower sections of the Jondachi with equally, if not more beautiful,  scenery and slightly easier class 3-4 rapids. 

 

Emily Shanblatt lines up for the Money Boof of the Upper Jondachi

 

Unfortunately, a few years ago the government-owned thermal electric generating company proposed the building of a dam on the Jondachi River which would de-water part of or all of the river. Not only is this sad from a recreational standpoint, it would also be very detrimental to the amazingly biodiverse environment. In an effort to try and bring awareness to the cause, the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute hosted the inaugural "Jondachi Fest" this past January. Due to my love for both the country of Ecuador and the Jondachi River, I decided to take another trip down to the equator this year to support this great event. The festival included nightly festivities in Tena, a race down the Upper Jondachi and a group paddle and overnight on the Lower Jondachi/ Hollin section.

 

The Jondachi Fest tent in Tena

 

After having been in Ecuador for a couple weeks, it was finally time for the Fest! There were tons of international boater in town for one reason- to help save the Jondachi River (and of course to run some of the best whitewater in the world)!

 

The First big event for the festival was the Upper Jondachi race. In order to prepare for the race, we tried to squeeze a few laps down the Upper leading up to the festival. Because the race section was to be determined based on the day of water level, we had to try and remember the entire run as best we could.

 

Clay Warren stomps a boof on the first drop of the Urcusiqui, the tributary used to paddle in to the Jondachi

 

Emily Shanblatt also gets her boof on on the Urcusiqui

Clay Warren drops into Tres Juevos on the upper Jondachi

 

Em Shan paddles to the takeout of the Upper Jondachi

 

There was a race meeting on Thursday night at a pizza shop in Tena, then Friday morning everyone was awake early and ready to paddle fast! We all met at the put in of the Urcusiqui to get race bibs and a few more logistical details. We were told to paddle down to the confluence of the Jondachi and wait there for more info. In my previous years of traveling to Ecuador I made some good friends in the tourist town of Banos, which consequently has a kayaking club sponsored by the local fire department. I loved seeing my Banos buddies at the race. It was also fun riding around in the fire truck ;)

 

The Banos Fire Department Truck

Once at the confluence, we were told the approximate start times of the race, the exact ending point as well as given a safety talk. The race would run from just below the confluence to walking bridge over the Jondachi. It was a mostly class 3 race, but did have a few rapids (especially the last one) that you had to be paying attention to.