Tena and back to Colombia

After some exciting and strenuous kayaking I decided that I better finally take care of myself.  I went for a massage, which are dirt cheap in Ecuador, and I decided I would also try the steam bath at the hostel.

What awesome fun in the steam bath!  You go in this box and get steamed 6 times and in between you smash yourself with a freezing cold wet towel.  It's hilarious and you feel great after.  I recommend you go with a bunch of friends and laugh your asses off.

It was kinda odd, but I left a little noxious after the waterfalls.  Not sure what the was about, but I did bump my head a bit on first drop.  Anyway, I thought the massage would help and it did a bit, but I still felt a bit off.  

It came time in my trip to do some serious thinking.  My original plan to make it to Argentina and back to Canada for August and that was simply not going to work.  It was with great hesitation and disappointment I decided to head back to towards Colombia.  Later that day I arrived in Tena, Ecuador which is also known for amazing kayaking.  I checked myself into a hostel and the next day I kayaked a grade 4+ river,  The Quijos with "The River People" and a guide named Tim.


On the way to the river that day I felt really noxious again.  Luckily, by the time we reached the put-in I felt better.  I decided if I felt that way again, I'd seek some medical aid.

What an amazing day on the river.  Huge rapids, One tense moment when one of the guide got caught side surfing an epic hole, but was patient and eventually surfed off.   Also scary when I got run over by the raft.  We were paddling down the river, one of the guides was leading with me behind with the raft and another safety kayaker trailing.  The lead guide pulled into a micro eddy and I didn't find any room to follow.  A minute later I went straight into a monster hole and had only time to say a VERY short prayer, before I was torpedoed to the bottom of the river.  I held my breath and waited patiently for the right time to roll, but that opportunity didn't present itself and I needed to breathe.  I managed to get my head up long enough for air, but that was all.  When I finally tried to roll the third time I was blind-sided hard and felt my spray-deck come off the cockpit of my kayak.  Time to swim.  When I popped my head out of the water, the raft that had just collided with my floundering boat and was right beside me and so was one of the safety kayakers and the clean up was easy.  My helmet was knocked clean off my head!


So, a great day on the river with a little scare at the end,  but all-in-all, an amazing day.  Pictures for sure next time!

Immigration and vehicle permits are pretty into Columbia.

The road just before Medellin.

Going up the tram car in Medellin with some British Travellers.

When I finally got to Medellin, I was still experiencing some nausea .  I decided it was time to get into the hospital for some tests.

They put the IV on me while I waited for the test results.

So, all the tests came back negative. They tested me for Dengay Fever, Malaria and a whole slew of other things and everything looked good.  A bit of a relief, but it didn't answer the question of why I was feeling like shit.

These aren't quite Oreo's but they still made me feel better after all the the blood tests and waiting.  Good medicine.