Adventurist describes journey on paddleboard from Buffalo to New York City

Adventurist Paris Montoya paddle boarded for 21 days and traveled more than 500 miles from Buffalo to New York City.

He spoke with Good Day New York about the thrill of his journey particularly seeing the Erie Canal close up.

"The canal itself is on par with modern-day pyramids of Egypt," said Montoya. "You see every inch shaped by man's hands. It's really an incredible thing we have in our home state that not a whole lot of people get to experience."

The canal has 35 locks or elevators for boats.

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"There is one that raises you 41 feet, in my case I went down it, you're in a large pool and suddenly the top of that pool is 40 something feet about your head. Then there is a massive gate that comes up like a guillotine to let you out the other end," said Montoya.

The handles and levers for the canal's locks were built in the early 1900s.

"I saw so much wildlife. It was beautiful. I saw a bald eagle every day for seven days straights. The last day one was about 30 feet away from me," said Montoya.

He never saw a dead body along the way but he did see rats.

"What's funny is the seasonable things, in the summer you see watermelons float by. In the fall, we plucked many pumpkins out of the river," said Montoya.

Next up for the adventurist is another major journey. He announced he's headed to Tennessee to paddleboard in a 31-mile race.