Four days into the trip.  What a place! We are surrounded by mountains topped with snow.  The valley has been from 50F to 90F.  The water is between 60F and 70F. 

It took 31 hours to get my sore butt down here.  The last six were on a rubber band airplane in clouds with a ceiling of 1000ft.  Dive bomber approach to runway 13 ( whoo whoooo).  Then a three hour trip on a bumpy dirt road averaging about 35 klicks. 

I arrived thinking I was headed to the lodge.  No no.  Eco Camp.  Hmm,  I heard these guys were the class four boaters.  Ah… 

To get onto the spit of land between the Fu and Rio Azul you cross the Rio Azul on a craft made of two canoes tied together.  Seems easy right.  Well, up river is a class three rapid.  Down river is the confluence of the Azul and the Futa (say raging).  In between is a fast moving class II that the canoe ferries accross.  (I´m thinking, ah okidoke!)

Clearly these guys have been doing this a long time.  We nearly shot straight across with about two paddles from the guides.

Eco camp was way cool.  A big common lodge with a huge cooking, heating, hotwater generating wood stove and a long common table.  (where everyone hangs out).  There is another smaller sauna lodge down the hill with a small wood stove for the sauna and of course hotwater for the showers.  The only electricity out here is a solar panel on the roof to an inverter that generates power for everyone´s chargers and those that actually brought lap tops(yes there were several!)

Food was (is amazing)  Chilean food is the best, but don´t be vegatarian

I chatted with Furgeson (the camp boss) and he assurred me that I wouldn´t be tossed into the Futa first day.  He told me that on the weekends they send all the yakers over to Eco camp.  Those that will be doing the rivers in that area stay and those doing the rivers over by the lodge have the option of moving or taking a 40 minute commute each day.  I opted for the lodge.

Ah well, time to go paddle (working on my offside roll)  Check in later for the Lodge story and more