s/v Karma

Karma in Motion

Who: Clint, Reina & Duke
Port: West Palm Beach, FL

Where are we?

Your destiny, is a result of your actions. Live by a code of conduct that will secure supreme hapiness and worldy joys; which are usually the little things.
22 February 2018
13 June 2016 | Puerto Natlaes
12 November 2015 | Southern Patagonia, Chile 50 39.60S:74 33.12W
02 November 2015 | Golfo de Penas, Patagonia, Chile
17 October 2015 | Laguna San Rafael, Patagonia, Chile
13 October 2015 | Laguna San Rafael, Patagonia, Chile
01 October 2015 | Caleta Poza de Oro, Patagonia, Chile
20 September 2015 | Los Altos, Paraguay
06 September 2015 | Chiloe
04 September 2015 | Puerto Montt, Chile

Part Four - Welcome to the Jungle!

17 April 2014 | Tena, Ecuador
Clint & Reina
The best word to describe our drive from Balcon del Lago to Tena is DRAMATIC. We headed east of Quito up and over the Eastern Cordillera, the widest of the three branches of the Colombian Andes. Shortly after cresting the ridge at just over 13,000 feet we came to the Papallacta lake district with its glacial lakes and rugged country side. Travelling on the eastern side of the Andes we then followed the oil pipeline as we snaked down from the through the clouds and into the rainforest.

Tena, at 1500 feet above sea level, sits at the edge of the rainforest on the fork of the Ríos Tena and Pano which flow down to the Amazon. With much warmer temperatures and an extremely humid climate it was like entering another world.

We went to Tena for one purpose, to kayak. We purchased kayaks in Panama for our trip to Chile. We wanted to gain some experience and learn some safety techniques before exploring the 50 degree waters of Patagoina. So, as a birthday present to each other we signed up for a three day whitewater kayaking course.



Patricio, our exuberant instructor, spent the first day assessing our abilities and introducing us to the most important safety technique the Eskimo Roll, or if you are in Ecuador the Skimo Roll. In the event you should flip your kayak, the Eskimo Roll is a technique that allows you to right the kayak while staying in it; therefore, preventing it from filling with water. In whitewater kayaking, or as will be in our case cold water kayaking, you sit inside the kayak verses the other style of kayak in which you sit on top. After squeezing into the kayak you seal the opening with a skintight, waterproof skirt that you had on around your waist before you got into the kayak. The skirt is elastic and it is stretched over and secured on top of the opening of the kayak which keeps the water out and keeps you warm and dry inside, even in cold water . In the event of a roll, you either need to right yourself using the Eskimo Roll or pop the skirt and swim out of the kayak. In more advanced whitewater kayaking it is not always safe to "bail" out of the kayak and in very cold water it is best to stay as dry as possible.

The trick to the Eskimo Roll is flexing your hip to rotate the kayak to get it level with the surface of the water while at the same time using your paddle against the water for leverage. The most difficult and unnatural part is your head has to be the last thing out of the water. Reina and I had watched a bunch of YouTube videos on the subject and I felt like it was going to be a piece of cake!!!! Wrong!!!!!

Envision being strapped into something, dumped upside down under water without the use of your hands ... you are totally disoriented, in zero visibility water, feeling like you are being water-boarded. Now, you need to remember all the steps Patricio has taught you and execute them properly without running out of air.

It is uncomfortable to be upside down under water without being able to hold your nose. My lovely wife did not like the feeling and it was obvious that she was not going to advance if we did not come up with a solution. Our ever resourceful Ecuadorian instructor, Patricio, could see that it was going to be a problem. He went to a nearby house where he was able to scrounge up some wire and he quickly fashioned a homemade nose plug. After a few revisions and the addition of some athletic tape for padding, she was good to go, no more excuses.

When you are submerged under water it is instinctual to want to get to air as quickly as possible; as soon you start the technique to right the kayak, a natural instinct is to bring your head up first! It is also instinctual for your head to move opposite to the force of your paddle which you are using to try and right the kayak. The dam kayak will never right if your head is not the last thing out of the water!!!!! This I can assure you!!!!



Now, I truly understand why water-boarding is so effective.

By the end of the first day we were exhausted and very discouraged, YouTube and Patricio made it look so easy. I could see in the eyes of my lovely bride that this was not going to happen. I could also see that she was saying "this is bullshit" especially considering that this was her birth week (the celebration of Reina's birth is an annual week long event).

Fortunately, the second day we were well rested and brought good attitudes to the river. We spent the day on the lower section of the Río Anzu getting more comfortable with reading the water and learning how to pick a path in the rapids and avoid obstacles.





Half way through the day we stopped for lunch to renew our energy and to try to tackle the Eskimo Roll again. As discouraged as we were the first day, we both got it on the second day, it helped to not be exhausted! Clint was much better and more comfortable in the water than I was and it was no big surprise he finally got it after several tries on the second day.



When it came to my turn no one was really hopeful it would happen but BAM I did it! I didn't believe it at first and neither did Patricio.



We were really happy we got our rolls. It is something we are going to have to continue to practice. It is one of those things that is hard to learn but once you get it, you get it.

We decided to spend our last day taking in the scenery and challenging ourselves with the rapids. We started higher up the Río Anzu with more aggressive class 3 rapids.



The river was beautiful with a lot of lush trees and interesting birds. We were surprised to see quite a few of the locals dredging for gold. The picture below is a commercial unit for dredging, what we saw similar in concept but definitely homemade. Even the homemade rigs were a luxury by Ecuadorian standards, so I can only conclude that there must be gold in the river!!!!



We were surprised by how much we enjoyed whitewater kayaking. Hopefully we will get a chance to do it again and we are very much looking forward to taking our kayaks out for a spin in Patagonia, the upright kind of spin!!!!!!



Fortunately we had some time to experience Tena by land not just on the water. We spent an afternoon exploring one of the areas many caves. We had a local guide who led us through the lush jungle...



...to the head of the cave...



...where we climbed down into utter darkness...





...to join the bats, yuck!

We also visited the Parque Amazonico La Isla. The park is a nature preserve on a small island in the heart of town where the Ríos Tena and Puno meet. Gravel paths wander through several acres of groomed rainforest inhabited with native animals and plants.

We were surprised by this fellow roaming freely through the park. Do you know what he is?



We didn't, we had to look it up. He is a tapir. A tapir is an endangered herbivorous mammal found in Central America, South America, and Southeast Asia. Believe it or not, this friendly, so ugly he's cute, animal is a close relative to the rhinoceros.



The juagarundi is a relative of the cougar. They are not currently endangered but their population is in rapid decline due to loss of their natural habitat. This beautiful creature makes some really unique sounds including whistles, yaps, chattering sounds, bird-like chirps, and the ever so common purr.



This little guy is a guatuza. He is the South American cousin of the guinea pig.



The Nocturnal Curassow is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.



There were also some resident monkeys that lived freely throughout the park. Unfortunately they were feeling shy the day we visited.

The animals were interesting but what really captured us were the large trees and beautiful flowers.



















The vibrant colors of the tropical flowers in the lush green forest were stunning.

Well I have to say as action packed as our time in Tena was the most terrifying moment for me was turning forty!

My wonderful husband went to great lengths to try to arrange a surprise romantic dinner out. I must tell you this is no small feat. First of all, it is hard to get anything past me; secondly, he does not speak a word of Spanish; and thirdly, fine dining is not even a concept in these small towns; not to say the food is not good, but like breathing, eating is a basic necessity. It is something one does without much fuss.

With the help and at the suggestion of the owners of our hotel, Clint pre-arranged for a local establishment that is not typically open for dinner, to prepare a special birthday dinner for me. He had a couple special requests; filet mignon, some flowers on the table, and my favorite bananas foster for desert. The filet and flowers were no problem, the bananas foster was a bit of a curve ball from them. Clint found a recipe on line and had our hotel explain it in Spanish to the girls who would be preparing my feast.

It was a wonderfully comical evening. We were the only ones in the very cute bistro style restaurant so it was certainly romantic. The filet was excellent and the rest was interesting. The flowers for the table turned out to be a huge altar-style arrangement that towered over us on its own pedestal next to the table. There were more flowers in the arrangement then Clint has given me in our entire time together.

Saving the best for last the truly funniest part of the evening was desert. I did not realize Clint still had another surprise in store for me. After dinner I was very proudly serenaded with the English version of Happy Birthday (the girls had clearly been practicing) and we were each presented with an ice cream dish filled with what looked like a white frozen drink with sugar around the rim, and a small straw. I did not think much of it, we are continually stupefied by the customs of foreign countries, and I just figured it was a special drink in honor of my birthday. Clint on the other hand was a little concerned since he had made a special request. Clint asked what we were being served. The poor girl looked very confused and excitedly told Clint it was the bananas frozen with rum that he had requested. It quickly dawned on Clint what must have happened. He thanked her and assured her it was exactly what he had wanted. Clint then clued me in. All I can say is how very classic; oh and my new favorite dessert is bananas frozen with rum.



Cheers!
Comments
Vessel Name: Karma
Vessel Make/Model: Sunward 48'
Hailing Port: West Palm Beach, FL
Crew: Clint, Reina & Duke
About: We've been working towards this for almost 10 years. It has been a dream with many challenges, all of which have made it more worth while. We are so grateful and excited to start this next chapter!
Extra: Twenty years fom now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the things that you did do. So sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails, EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER. -Mark Twain
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Karma in Motion

Who: Clint, Reina & Duke
Port: West Palm Beach, FL

Where are we?

Your destiny, is a result of your actions. Live by a code of conduct that will secure supreme hapiness and worldy joys; which are usually the little things.