Boating in ecuador - tent or not to tent?

[kayakingricht]

Hi

i'm going over to ecuador in ten days time with two mates. we've looked in the guide book and there is quite a few runs that suggest having over night kit.

so we were wondering whether we should take a:
- small light weight tent or
- a bivy bag each or
- mosi nets and a tarpaulin (or a large tent outer type of thing)?

any suggestions on this or any other travelling tips?

thanks,

Rich

(english dude - hense the shakespeare cr@p in subject!)

[speicher]

If you are camping i the jungle you need to really make sure that tent keeps out insects as much as possible...whatever you go with make sure it seals up good. Of course it rains too but in my limited experience there it was still warm even when I was soaked. Fire ants are evil!

[speicher]

You know, with that said I'd also add that if you aren't planning to overnight on the river you can probably avoid sleeping out altogether and just stay in Hostels obviously. However if you're planning on a multiday keep the bugs out!

[will raft 4 beer]

when doing an overnighter in Thailand, our guide had a hammock with rainfly and mosquito net. Hammocks are great for keeping cooler than ground sleeping, and are often lighter. i just did a search and came up with this one, but I'm sure there are many options. http://www.mosquitohammock.com/ Don't know if equador has malaria, but keeping bugs out in rainforests is definitely a bonus, and rain too, hence the fly.

Perry

[BastrdSonOfElvis]

Two mates? You lucky bastard...we're only allowed one on this side of the pond. 'Course, one is expensive enough.

[yoder]

www.siamhammock.com

check it out. it's lightwieght and cozy... I used one when I was in ecuador and loved it.

cheers,

brian yoder

[Akboater]

What is your e-mail address Kayakingricht?

Akboater
skiernik@yahoo.com

Better bag up tight with netting. I had a buddy that returned home from a trip there last winter about 30 pounds lighter and ravaged by Malaria.

Enjoy!

NH

[LarryV]

I´d bring a lightweight tent for the overnighters that is both waterproof and bug proof. Most of the day runs are pretty much bug free but nightime is a different story in the jungle. The problem with bivy bags are that the overnight runs are all lower elevation runs and that means it´s going to be hot at night. It´s bad enough in a tent. Usually a layer of capiline and a sheet is plenty so you don´t need the sleeping bag weight. Of course there are plenty of good day runs if you don´t want to bring the extra stuff. Contact me if you have any questions about runs once you are down here or if you have boats to sell. Larry@smallworldadventures.com

[latenightjoneser]

stay in hostels. It is like $10 per person per night.

also, unless you have a car, camping is going to be miserable. On the amazon side, it will rain every day.