Kayaking the Entire Amazon From Source to Sea with Darcy Gaechter

08/28/23 • 58 min

1 Listener

Armchair Explorer: Travel and Adventure Inspiration

What constitutes a life well lived?

When Darcy Gaechter turned 35, her life was everything she had hoped it would be. She had a loving partner, a rewarding job as a kayak expedition guide, and hard-won fame within the competitive world of whitewater kayaking. By her own measures, she was living the dream. And yet, many of her friends and family looked at her life and saw only what she did not have - a husband, children, a traditional high-paying office job.

Listening to them, doubts began to take root in Darcy's mind. Maybe, she decided, it was finally time to surrender her wild lifestyle and join the more stable - if not more boring - upper crusts of well-behaved society. But before she could do that...she had one final adventure to take.

It was an adventure so ambitious, so wild and deadly and unprecedented, that she believed it could cure her of her seemingly bottomless desire to tackle these quests, to chase the next horizon. And thus, mere months after her birthday, she found herself dipping her paddle into the frigid source waters of the Amazon, ready to kayak through its innumerable dangers - natural and manmade - in the following months.

Whether you're interested in kayaking, Amazonian culture and indigenous history, the interpersonal dynamics of expeditions, or all of the above, this episode is sure to engross you - from beginning to end.

FIND DARCY

Follow Darcy on Instagram @darcygaechter, and hear about her latest projects, events, and more on her website. The book she wrote about her Amazonian adventure is called Amazon Woman: Facing Fears, Chasing Dreams, and a Quest to Kayak the Longest River From Source to Sea. Get your copy today online or at your favorite bookstore (we especially love local bookstores)! Want to kayak with Darcy? Book a trip with her adventure company, Small World Adventures, and enjoy some of the best paddling Ecuador has to offer.

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Share the show with your friends! Subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening, follow @armchairexplorerpodcast on Instagram and Facebook, check out Armchair Explorer's website, and learn more about APT Podcast Studios on their website.

CREDITS

This episode was produced by Armchair Productions. Find our other shows at armchair-productions.com. Jenny Allison wrote and produced this episode, along with host and producer Aaron Millar. Charles Tyrie did the audio editing and sound design. Theme music written by the artist Sweet Chap.

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What constitutes a life well lived?

FIND DARCY

SOCIAL

CREDITS

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Previous Episode

On Location: The Call of the Wild in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

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Our ‘On Location’ episodes are funded by destination partnerships. Thank you to Visit Estes Park for making this one happen. They help with production costs, but the storytelling is all ours, and we only ever showcase content we love and think you will too. For more information on how you can experience everything that we did in this episode go to visitestespark.com

This episode was produced by Armchair Productions’ producers Aaron Millar and Jason Paton in conjunction with the creative team at House of Pod.

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Next Episode

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For more information on how you can explore San Francisco for yourself, visit sftravel.com.

Thank you to everyone who featured on this show:

Val Lupiz, Cable Car Museum

Gimmy Park Li, Wok Wiz Walking Tours

Fang-Li (and students Katie and Catherine), Shangri-La Gifts

Josh and Michelle, Fairmont Hotel and Tonga Room

Tom Creedon, Scomas Restaurant

James Morehead, Viewless Wings, Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast

This show was produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts for the travel industry. Find out about all our shows at armchair-productions.com

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