Canyoneering in Banos
Repelling down waterfalls in the high jungles of Ecuador near Banos.
We met our guide, Pablo in Banos at the company office of Jose and Two Dogs. There we put on our wetsuits and some cheap looking Venus tennis shoes. They turned out to be just as good as our expensive 5’10 canyoneering shoes. Pablo was pushing the pace and I was just a little irritated. What was the deal? Then we drove very fast down a narrow road out of town with hip hop jumping out of the speakers and an MTV video playing on a navigation screen. We turned up the Rio Blanco river valley onto a dirt road as warm rain came down through rolling mist.
We stopped at a roadside pullout where some farmers were getting ready to go to work. First we climbed 500 feet up a steep trail out of the river valley. Luckily we are in good shape and we had just climbed a 16,800 foot mountain because Pablo was practically running up the trail. I hate to think how anyone who wasn’t in shape would have done. We just rolled our eyes and set our own fast pace.
We turned past houses along a muddy dirt track that disappeared into the thick jungle. Then we dropped down into a narrow creek Canyon of water smoothed dark stone. Thick jungle vegetation crowded around the edges and the sound of falling water echoed and filled the air . Pablo hooked up ropes to existing anchors. We put on our harnesses and tied in to safety lines. We each went down separately while he took our photos to document our adventure. Our first repels down the first waterfall was relatively short, about 25 feet. The 4 waterfalls became progressively taller with our last repel down about 75 feet. We finished with a fun water slide of smooth stone and then exited through a field and back on to the road we had driven up just a short distance from where we had parked. I felt like I had entered and exited another world.
I love that David and I are older and still up for these types of adventures and risk. We also have enough experience to know whether our young guides know what they are doing. We could do these types of things on our own but it is nice to be able to let someone handle all the details and logistics so all we have to do is show up and enjoy the journey.
Our trip was fast and furious with Pablo pushing the pace. Turns out he had to pick his girlfriend up on the way back to get her to work on time. Here I just thought he was just young and impatient.
Read MoreWe met our guide, Pablo in Banos at the company office of Jose and Two Dogs. There we put on our wetsuits and some cheap looking Venus tennis shoes. They turned out to be just as good as our expensive 5’10 canyoneering shoes. Pablo was pushing the pace and I was just a little irritated. What was the deal? Then we drove very fast down a narrow road out of town with hip hop jumping out of the speakers and an MTV video playing on a navigation screen. We turned up the Rio Blanco river valley onto a dirt road as warm rain came down through rolling mist.
We stopped at a roadside pullout where some farmers were getting ready to go to work. First we climbed 500 feet up a steep trail out of the river valley. Luckily we are in good shape and we had just climbed a 16,800 foot mountain because Pablo was practically running up the trail. I hate to think how anyone who wasn’t in shape would have done. We just rolled our eyes and set our own fast pace.
We turned past houses along a muddy dirt track that disappeared into the thick jungle. Then we dropped down into a narrow creek Canyon of water smoothed dark stone. Thick jungle vegetation crowded around the edges and the sound of falling water echoed and filled the air . Pablo hooked up ropes to existing anchors. We put on our harnesses and tied in to safety lines. We each went down separately while he took our photos to document our adventure. Our first repels down the first waterfall was relatively short, about 25 feet. The 4 waterfalls became progressively taller with our last repel down about 75 feet. We finished with a fun water slide of smooth stone and then exited through a field and back on to the road we had driven up just a short distance from where we had parked. I felt like I had entered and exited another world.
I love that David and I are older and still up for these types of adventures and risk. We also have enough experience to know whether our young guides know what they are doing. We could do these types of things on our own but it is nice to be able to let someone handle all the details and logistics so all we have to do is show up and enjoy the journey.
Our trip was fast and furious with Pablo pushing the pace. Turns out he had to pick his girlfriend up on the way back to get her to work on time. Here I just thought he was just young and impatient.
