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After ten days of hiking to and through the foothills of the Chepite mountain range we broke from the darkness of the forest canopy onto the sunlit shores of Rio Hondo.
Here, for the trip downriver, the men constructed a balsa log raft by cutting down seven trees, collecting a particular type of strong bark to tie the logs together, and building a raised centerpiece on the raft to put our packs on. (The word balsa in Spanish means raft, in reference to its excellent floatation qualities.) By morning of the eleventh day we were ready to set sail on the H.M.S. Dominique (named after the most beautiful of Ecuadorian girls). In the five days to follow we would raft in the morning, stop at noon, build a camp, and go for an afternoon hike on land.
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