Heading to Ecuador, South America for 3 months.

[Alaskan Adventurer]

Hey guys, I leave in about 3 weeks for Ecuador, South America. I am bringing my Minelab Sovereign Gt md and my Grizzly 3 sluice. I will be down there for 3 months, and if things work out I will be coming back, regearing and returning. If you are from the area(Ecuador or Peru specifically) let me know. Ecuador is part of the Incan empire and has numerous unexplored areas and lots of old ruins just waiting to be detected. Along the northern coast are 7-10 shipwrecks still undiscovered. Locals frequently find artifacts and coins washed up on the beach after heavy storms.

The country is tiny with a huge variety of terrain. West is Pacific coast, central consists of the Andes mountains and east of the Andes is the Amazon rainforest. There is an insane amount of gold in this region of the world if you have the cojones to go there. The danger level is way overrated and if you stay as low key as possible, stay respectful and embrace the culture, you will be fine. Anyways, i will post updates as my trip progresses with photos. If you have an adventurous side and wish you were from a different time period(so like me, lol) this is the place to go. One of the few wild regions still in the world.

Cheers!

AA

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[Vance in AK]

This country is beautiful and the people are wonderful. Just show them respect and all is well.

Sounds like Alaska!!!

Stay safe & good luck!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[bill-costa rica]

what a great adventure. wishing you the best of luck and some good gold finds. just don´t let your guard down too much. most of Latin America see gringos as very rich, almost like they are a bank machine they can make a withdrawal from on a regular time schedule. Their income is much lower than ours. we seem rich even when we don´t have a lot of money.

bill-cr

 

[TheHarleyMan2]

How bout some pictures

I know the few times I had been in South America, (can't tell you, and no I didn't do anything illegal), You couldn't get me to trust anyone there and I certainly wouldn't go there looking for fortune, for no matter what you find or who you may friend, someone seeing an American is going to find a way to either rob you, throw you in the scat infested jail cells, beat you, and some cases even worse.

Hope you find all what you are looking for, but word of advice, no matter how much one could be your friend, never turn your back on anything and always be aware of your environment!!!

DO NOT keep your money and passport in your pockets, or around your neck. Stick it down your pants in a ziplock bag! That way if you get robbed and your shirt is ripped off, chances of your pants getting ripped off are slim to none. Make sure your money and passport tucked in your pants is NOT noticable on the outside.

 

[bill-costa rica]

sure would like to see some pics of the rivers and gold

bill-cr

 

[stilllookin]

Alaskan Adventurer
Where are you? Whats happening? Hope all is well and your finding the yellow stuff.
Wayne

 

[Alaskan Adventurer]

Hey guys. Things are going okay. Getting around in this country is beyond difficult, with the almost impassable rainforest and huge mountains and deep valleys. I am not getting rich, but i have an idea that might work that i will keep to myself for now. I can't post pics on here for the life of me. It goes on for awhile then gives an error message. Any ideas?

The country is worth visiting for the beauty alone. Been here for two months, and i am still alive and well. So far, no crime against me. *knocks on wood* Come as a tourist and scout mining/prospecting opportunities and enjoy the history and culture.

 

[GrayCloud]

Luck to you and keep your guard up AA.

 

[architecad]

Hey guys, I leave in about 3 weeks for Ecuador, South America. I am bringing my Minelab Sovereign Gt md and my Grizzly 3 sluice. I will be down there for 3 months, and if things work out I will be coming back, regearing and returning. If you are from the area(Ecuador or Peru specifically) let me know. I already have some connections going including some riverfront property where you can literally see the gold in the soil/gravel. They are going to allow me to work it for 20% of the gold. Ecuador is part of the Incan empire and has numerous unexplored areas and lots of old ruins just waiting to be detected. Along the northern coast are 7-10 shipwrecks still undiscovered. Locals frequently find artifacts and coins washed up on the beach after heavy storms.

The country is tiny with a huge variety of terrain. West is Pacific coast, central consists of the Andes mountains and east of the Andes is the Amazon rainforest. There is an insane amount of gold in this region of the world if you have the cojones to go there. The danger level is way overrated and if you stay as low key as possible, stay respectful and embrace the culture, you will be fine. Anyways, i will post updates as my trip progresses with photos. If you have an adventurous side and wish you were from a different time period(so like me, lol) this is the place to go. One of the few wild regions still in the world.

Cheers!

AA

Good luck and be careful if you going to the jungle, specially near of the Colombian border. The Guerrillas FARC-EP and the ELN usually get hide in the Ecuador side to avoid be seen from the Colombian army. They need money to finance theirs goals as terrorist, and kidnap an American with a metal detector is a good deal.

Arch

 

[Alaskan Adventurer]

Yeah, i avoid Northern Ecuador for that reason. I had to travel through Esmeraldas, and i did that in a hurry. Highest crime city of Ecuador, and anywhere north of it is a no-go for me.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[snake35]

I hope that your adventure is going well. Keep us posted on your progress and stay safe.

 

[rioblanco]

Hi AA
Hope all is well for you down there.
I have dredged in Ecuador , and will be back this fall. I spent alot of time in the far north , close enough to spit across the border.
Keep it up, its there just get a little dirty
Jay

 

[Alaskan Adventurer]

Hey guys, thanks for the good wishes. Things are going okay. Right now, i am playing the waiting game concerning a couple things going on. Working on my Spanish though, which is coming along slowly but surely. Can't wait to actually be able to communicate with some of the senioritas who whistle at me, lol.

Hey Rioblanco:

If you want an opportunity to make a killing, pm me. I have learned a hell of a lot in the last month.

 

[bill-costa rica]

hay
if i send you a pm will you tell me too ¿¿¿¿ i want some

bill-cr

 

[Alaskan Adventurer]

Sure Bill. I hinted at it in our emails. Well...kinda. It isn't rocket science, but it is the next best thing here in Ecuador.

 

[Alaskan Adventurer]

I mentioned in your other thread, be damn careful dredging near Colombia. I have heard more and more horror stories concerning the FARC. Here is a little story for ya.


An aquaintance of mine(someone i know fairly well) told me about some prospectors who were traveling through the jungle searching for a specific river. They came across a clearing, which turned out to be part of an ancient river bed. It was absolutely loaded with gold and basically has never been worked. They quickly set up and excavator/wash plant operation and were able to work it for a couple of weeks. There were approximately 15 people involved, and they had 0 armed guards. The fools just bagged there gold, and let it build up. Well, while they were sleeping, they were raiding by the FARC. They gave the miners an ultimatum:

"You guys have exactly 10 minutes to live. Drop everything, leave with nothing and be gone." They were forced to pack up, and leave their millions in gold they had bagged.(foolish). I can only imagine what that gold financed. :P

At least they were given the chance to live and all of them made it out.

The Santiago river is still aways from the border though, and chances are good you would be fine.(if that is the river you are dredging)
If it isn't the river, look into it. It is a huge river and has some amazing gold values throughout.

 

[rioblanco]

I never made it up the santiago but it is on my bucket list , stayed a week in san lorenzo............ thats border town. but I dredge on the border too, lol. some rivers are the border................ its not all bad.
I love it when
the pet parrot wakes me up in the morning
when catilina makes me breakfast with instant coffee on the side
when the ladies bring eggs over to cook up
when the little kids get a net from catilina to catch my supper from the river
sitting under a palm thatched roof in the black of the night listenint to all the sounds
going up river with the BOYS to get some real gold,
boiling tree potatoes on the rocks for lunch
rubber band spear fishing in the holes
when the banana man comes down in his dugout canoe and snags one of my dredge ropes
end of the day cleanups

wh

 

[Alaskan Adventurer]

Yeah Rio, sounds like heaven. I am growing more and more fond of this beautiful little country. Heading to Tena and the upper Jatunyacu/lower Verdeyacu in the next few days. I will let you know how things go. Just going to sample around and do a little sluicing to test the waters. Very pristine area with lots of natural beauty.

Gotta love that instant coffee, in a coffee growing region....*scratches head*

 

[DrJoePrime]

Just found this thread and it's very interesting!

Hope you are able to post some pics.

My wife and I visited Ecuador a number of years ago. Rented a car and went our way. Mostly on the coastal side. It's a beautiful country with beautiful people. A few hustlers, of course, but nothing we couldn't handle.

Regards, Joe (California)

PS: With my XP Deus I'm ready to do some nugget hunting.

 

[Alaskan Adventurer]

So I had my first bad experience in Ecuador a couple days ago. I had a trip setup to a river called the Verdeyacu, and had a dropoff arranged with a whitewater rafting company. I got dropped off as planned and follow the trail north as advised. Apparently this trail can you take you for many days, but i only hiked north about 8 kilometers(quite enough with close to 100 pounds of gear). I had my main backpack, and a large duffel bag with my sluice, shovel, rope, pans and misc gear which weighed about 50 pounds. I had to stash one bag while i hiked with the other...rinse and repeat. I probably ended up hiking about 15 kilometers total heading up. Due to the remoteness and the elevation, there are only a few trails that actually head down to this raging class 4-5 river. I find a nice trail and head down. It is absolutely beautiful country and it is basically solid bedrock. This bedrock is really crumbly and after doing some crevicing, didn't turn out to be too lucrative. I notice there is a hell of a lot of moss growing out of these bedrock cracks, so i ended up just picking put the moss and washing it.

I was planning on making this a 4.5 day trip, but i ended up going for only about 2.5 days. I have a special hammock called the Clarks Jungle Hammock and it is specifically designed for the tropical rainforest. It has a bug shield along with a rainfly that completely covers it almost like a tent. I also have a large piece of tarp under it. For 2 full days I had 0 visitors. It was peaceful, and absolutely wonderful. When i was walking the trails it reminded me of the rainforest in Avatar. It was THAT beautiful. The only things missing were the pretty little floating spores and the big scary monsters in the movie. :P On the morning of the second day, 3 people scare the hell out of me by wandering right off the trail. It was a father, his 15ish year old son and his pregnant wife. He had a hunting rifle with him and it was really obvious he was hunting. After greeting them, i went back to crevicing and for the most part kept an eye on them out of the corner of my eye. Eventually the mother and son came down to see what i was up to. They were obviously experienced prospectors and she starting helping me with washing the pan of moss i had already collected. There were a few course pieces and some fines and she showed me. I smiled, and thanked her. They then start using my sluice, which i didnt mind. No gold from the little bit of sand that was in the area.(I already knew this was the case and told them, they apparently didn't believe me). In the end, the father comes down and they leave as fast as they arrived. I had noticed when i first encountered them, that i had forgotten to put my machete on that morning. I head up to my hammock to retrieve it, and lo and behold...the damn thing is gone. It had poured rain the night before and my backpack got a little wet, including my backup wallet i usually had hidden inside my bag. I had put my wallet under a blanket in my hammock(which was zipped up) to dry. I remembered this when i noticed my machete was gone. Argh, they snagged my wallet as well. In the end I lost my machete, my wallet($400.00 inside, which was pretty foolish of me but i had everything that i owned with me) and a nice headlamp of mine which ran about 125.00. Since i was so remote, hadn't seen a soul in over 2 days and the people just seemed innocent enough I had stupidly put my guard down and lost quite a bit.

After realizing both my main light, wallet and my only real weapon were gone, i decide i didn't want to spend the night here again. I was worried maybe they had plans on returning while i was asleep to rob me completely(or worse). I packed up, and headed back to the nearest village. This will never happen again, but hey....at least i am still kicking!

 

[TheRandyMan]

A very gentle reminder of the dangers you face there, my friend.

Do not make another mistake like that...you might wake up dead the next time.