Traveling by boat from Coca, Ecuador, through the Amazon to Iquitos, Peru, and beyond
This is just a quick informational post for anybody looking to make the trip by boat from Coca, Ecuador, into the Peruvian Amazon through Iquitos and eventually to Yurimaguas where you can continue by road. This post only covers logistics. Specifics from our trip can be found in posts about Coca to Pantoja and Pantoja to
Pantoja to Iquitos
10/7/19 – 10/8/19 We were up at three forty five on October seventh. I sat on the porch of our hotel watching the moon reflect off the river. I could see a flashlight moving deep in the jungle, miles away. The boat took off just as it began to get light out. I appreciated that
Coca to Pantoja
10/3/19 – 10/6/19 Up at five fifteen. At the boat by six. It didn’t leave until seven thirty, but they wanted our bikes early. The boats are referred to as canoes. Fifty feet long. No wider than a car. I lifted my bike to the deckhand and watched him toss it, derailleur side down, on
Quito to Coca
9/28/19 – 10/2/19 No visit from family and friends is complete without a laundry list of gear and parts. Soph’s family left behind a suitcase full of dry bags, gear cages, a maintenance kit for our stove, a cutting board, a rear derailleur, water filters, rechargeable batteries, chain rings, chain ring bolts, waterproof socks, mounting
Galapagos
9/17/19 – 9/24/19 Views of Cotopaxi from the plane. Ecuador topography like crumpled paper. Staring at ridge line roads, dreaming of what we might ride. Quick stopover in Guayaquil. Descending to the islands. Half-moon remnants of cinder cones covered in seagull shit ceaselessly deconstructed by whitecaps. Million year old Isabela in the center of it
Quito
9/14/19 – 9/16/19 I had to find a place to repair the drone. I took the bus and found a shop that seemed confident that it could be fixed. “Sensores” he told me. I gave it to him and he said a few things that I interpreted to mean it would be ready on Tuesday.
Sibundoy to Quito
9/4/19 – 9/13/19 I woke up to terrible back pain that took thirty minutes of stretching to rectify. I said goodby to Álvarez and Dani. Their dog followed me to the edge of town and I turned back for fear that he would never return to them. Luck had been on my side on the