December 22, 2006
Day 450
Today we took the boat up the Corentine to Apoera. With Christmas just around the corner, it was very crowded with teenagers going home. With not an inch to spare, it wasn't very enjoyable. It got worse when it started pouring rain as soon as we left. I covered myself with plastic, but still got pretty wet. The old leaky tarp hanging above our heads did almost no good.
During the trip, Craig and I met a local guy named Germaine, who was on his way home from his logging job. He was pretty weak after barely surviving a bad case of malaria, saved only by his youth (21 years) and his fitness (he can run 10 K's in 32 minutes), and he was still in good spirits. He told us we could camp under his uncle's house, so we should have a good spot to spend Christmas.
There wasn't even enough space on the boat to lay down, but I piled some stuff behind me and managed to clear enough room to lay on my side in the fetal position under my plastic in the rain. The real issue was that there were several kids drinking and being rowdy next to me most of the night. Talking to them only seemed to make them louder and inspired them to shoot off more fireworks, so I just pretended I was in a happy place and finally got a little shuteye.
