Travel Logistics: Nuevo Rocafuerte to Santa Clotilde

We left Nuevo Rocafuerte on Friday evening, just in time to catch a spectacular sunset on The River.

The ride from Nuevo Rocafuerte to Pantoja takes about three hours. If you are just going from Nuevo Rocafuerte to Pantoja, you should be able to find someone who can take you there for $50. Luckily, our price already included this fare.

On the south bank of the Napo River, Ecuadorian territory ends just after Nuevo Rocafuerte. But on the north bank, one does not leave Ecuador for another two hours — near the union of the Napo and Aguarico Rivers.

Along this stretch of The River, there isn't much aside from incredible beauty, Kichwa villages, and some oil supply ships.

As soon as we pulled into Pantoja, it started raining. Regardless, we went up the hill to the immigration office and had our guide's friend, Cesar, stamp our passports.

We cooked dinner on the gas stove on the boat and spent the night in a hostel in Pantoja that charged 5 soles per person (a little less than $2 per night). Aside from foam pad mattresses, this place didn't offer much. That was all we needed, though.

Pantoja, from The River

The next morning we set off at around 6:00 a.m. and were joined in the boat by two members of the Peruvian army who were given one-month leave and a member of the Peruvian environmental police. All of them are stationed in Pantoja and jumped at the offer of a ride to Santa Clotilde.

We spent all day riding down The River. We stopped off at a farm near Pantoja where our guide picked up 50 pomelos. We then stopped at another farm where he owed the owner for a chicken he had bought last time he traveled upriver, but the owner wasn't home to collect on the debt.

We spent the night on hammocks in a Kichwa family's house on The River and set off early the next morning for Santa Clotilde.

In this photo, Avery displays proper pineapple-consumption technique.

We pulled into Santa Clotilde at 2:30 in the afternoon and searched for a hostel. Hostal Cielo is apparently the most affordable option in town at 10 soles for a room, but there was no vacancy. Next door is another hostel that cost 15 soles. Split between two people it came out to less than $3 per person.