May 30, 2006
Day 244
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 11

Craig shows off the piranhas we scored in Puerto Federico.

We got another early start today, unsure how far we'd have to go. We stopped briefly at a single house on the Bolivian side and ate lemons with the girl who was there. She told us that Puerto Federico was coming up in Bolivia in a few hours, but was unsure of what lie beyond. The morning was characterized by a thick fog which kept us cool, even though it greatly decreased visibility. Still, the river was straight enough that navigation wasn't an issue.

When we arrived in Puerto Federico, we were greeted by Federico himself. He founded the town ten years ago and humbly named it after himself. We collected oranges from one of his numerous trees and brought them back to his home to eat. Craig, Gabriel, and I all wanted to try cayman meat, so when Federico's son arrived, we decided to offer to exchange a kilo of sugar for the croc. There seemed to be some miscommunication, though, because he ran to the back of the hut and returned with a plate of three large piranhas. They weren't willing to trade the cayman for the sugar, but they would trade for the piranhas and give us the cayman for free. That worked for us.

We ironically left Puerto Federico with two of the most dangerous animals in the world, ready to be put into our gullets. While in the canoe, Craig chopped up and cooked the cayman with curried rice. Surprisingly, it tasted like chicken.

We continued paddling the rest of the day, eleven hours in all. We knew there was some kind of estancia on the Brazilian side before Versalles, but we had no idea how much further it was until we finally saw it. When we pulled into the estancia, really just a small shack in a swampy area, the first thing we noticed was the mosquitoes. They were the worst we had seen on the trip so far. I only spent about five minutes outside the shack and the tent, but the mosquitoes acted quickly and accurately. Every inch of exposed or semi-exposed skin soon had bites on top of bites, and I haven't been able to stop scratching ever since.

I fried up the piranhas along with some rice on the wood stove in the shack. The fish were so delicious, not many extra spices were needed. Everyone else seemed impressed by the meal, but then again, I never told any of them that we didn't actually catch the fish.

After we finished eating, another group of campers started. One of them invited me to join in, so I had a second meal. The group was a bunch of pro fishermen, led by Jander Moro, who had his own fishing television program in Brazil. I couldn't believe the size of some of the fish he had caught in the river that day. The entire group was very generous, and we had a great time trading travel and fishing stories despite the mosquitoes.

Once again, we were told that we'd get to Versalles tomorrow, but this time we actually believed the people telling us. It's been eight days since we left Remanso in our canoe, and we have been in very high spirits lately. We can't wait to get to the party, and it's finally going to happen tomorrow.

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May 29, 2006
Day 243
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 10

Piedras Negras, Brazil, where the church takes up half the town.

Starting before sunrise meant paddling in the cool night air, but it also spelled trouble almost right away today. We were navigating through the dark waters with no moonlight when suddenly a small island appeared in front of us. We tried to steer away, but nobody saw it until it was too late. We ended up crashing sideways into some trees that were partially submerged in the high river. I'm glad we got the heavy-duty canoe, because it held up well, whereas a smaller canoe probably would have sunk.

The rest of the day on the water was pretty uneventful. We didn't see any animals other than the occasional macaws making their usual flights over the river. There were only a few islands to navigate around and we didn't see any other boats. Weather-wise, it was very clear and hot.

We got to Piedras Negras after only 4.5 hours of paddling. It supposedly had a population of only ten families, but it still had a small store with cold beer, a large church, and diesel-generated electricity for the whole place all day. It's strange how much more affluent the communities are in Brazil than Bolivia, and that the people speak different languages, even though they live on opposite sides of the river.

We figured we could make it to the next town, which wasn't even marked on our map, with about an hour of daylight left, but didn't want to bother. We've learned never to trust the advice of the locals because they always estimate too low. I doubt that any of them have actually paddled a canoe as far as we have.

We got camp set up inside a thatched-roof cabana with a smooth concrete floor above the river. The owners graciously let us stay there for the night and played some great Brazilian party music from their loudly painted abode all day. The Frenchman was particularly enthralled by the music as he has had to deal with Bolivia's gut-wrenching cumbia for the last four months.

We tried to relax a bit in the afternoon, but that proved to be very difficult because of the bugs. All day long, sand flies invade and leave their wicked acid stings. Their only saving grace is that they don't bite through clothing. As soon as dusk hits, the sand flies leave and it's the mosquitoes' turn. They're aggressive and bite right through clothes. I don't know how the locals can stand them. They are already driving me insane. The church was the only bug-free sanctuary I could find, and I wrote in my journal and slept in it most of the afternoon.

Once again, we were told that we'd get to Versalles tomorrow, but we know better than that now. We figure we'll be there in two days, but we're not sure where we'll stay tomorrow night. There are no more towns listed on the map between here and Versalles, but apparently there are some more estancias along the way.

The photo album for this entry is here.

May 28, 2006
Day 242
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 9

Sunrise on the Itenez.

We got up really early today and were on the water an hour before sunrise. The river was much straighter with almost no islands or oxbows today. Besides the usual macaw migrations this morning, we were joined by a school of white dolphins. They didn't jump out of the water like their saltwater counterparts, but they were still fun to watch as they breached near us in large numbers. They seemed to be curious as they swam all around, and occasionally even underneath the canoe for several hours.

We had coconuts for breakfast on the river just as the sun started to beat down hard. Once again, the locals' estimation that it would take four hours to get to the next town of Mategua in Bolivia were way off. Four hours turned into five, then six, then seven before we finally got sight of the little village.

The locals gave us delicious bread to go with our butter and marmalade for lunch, and we gave them coconuts in return. Once again, we got a nice place to camp that should be relatively free of mosquitoes and sand flies, which is good because my arms and feet have really taken a beating lately. I think even if I donned an army helmet and chain mail, they would still find a way to maul me.

We asked the locals about the upcoming river conditions and once again got conflicting responses. One guy said that Mategua was the halfway point between the estancia and Piedras Negras, which means another eight hours or so. Another guy said that Piedras Negras was only three hours away, and in fact, there were two more places we could stop at further down the river. And for the third time, someone told us that we could go all the way to Versalles tomorrow. As far as navigation was concerned, one guy said that there weren't many islands and that we should always stick to the right, and another guy said that there were lots of places we could make wrong turns and that we should always stick to the left. Given this information, we plan to do the same thing we've always done and make our decisions based on complete guesses.

It was another early dinner and bedtime for us. We figure we might be able to make it to Versalles in two days, but we still have three days until the party begins, so we could always relax one more day if needed.

The photo album for this entry is here.

May 27, 2006
Day 241
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 8

It was another relaxing day in paradise. We had coconuts for breakfast, cleaned up our room a bit, and did some morning fishing. I caught two nice keepers and felt like I earned my keep by contributing.

Lunch once again consisted of beans, rice, and meat. None of us cared that we kept getting the same food because it was free and we got plenty of it.

It was hot and the mosquitoes were out in full force this afternoon, so we had a coconut cocktail and a siesta.

As another day came to and end with a beautiful sunset, we did some more fishing. My comrades grew quite jealous when I reeled in several big ones and they got nothing. The gauchos came down to watch us. They had gotten into a bottle of booze and began cheering us on like we were fishing celebrities.

For dinner, besides the usual beans and rice, we had lots of delicious fried fish. The conversation turned to soccer and the drunken gauchos wanted to have a game against us tomorrow. Too bad we have to leave. I don't think anyone would care even if we stayed there for a month. I never even got the name of the estancia, but I think it's better that way. It may be the best-kept secret of the Amazon.

The photo album for this entry is here.

May 26, 2006
Day 240
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 7

A gaucho rounding up the cattle.

I had a fantastic sleep last night in a nice, comfortable bed. Craig, Gabriel, and I got invited to the kitchen for breakfast. It occurred to us that all of our meals would be free here. We ate our fried bread and had a long cup of coffee, ready to see what the gauchos were up to.

Soon after, we heard some activity on the ranch. Ambrosia pulled his houseboat up to the cattle yard and attached it to a barge for transporting cows. Then Marcus and the rest of the cowboys started splitting the male cows from their mothers. About sixty head of cattle were slated to be transported up the river where they would be sold and slaughtered.

Once the cows were properly separated, the process of driving them onto the barge began. Slowly but surely, the cowboys poked and prodded until barge was filled with the young males. Then Ambrosia pulled up with another barge and the same process was performed for the females. Once both barges were ready, we said goodbye to Ambrosia, Marcus, and most of the rest of the crew as they took off up the river on the ship.

We got really lucky to arrive when we did. It was probably the most exciting day on the estancia in a long time. Seeing the cowboys in action is normally a big show for the tourists who are paying $100 per day to see it, but we got the real deal for free.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, eating coconuts, and fishing. The estancia is an absolute paradise with one exception: The mosquitoes and sand flies continue to be horrendous. Even though I wore socks and repellent all day, my feet got covered with bites and were swollen and red. The itchiness never seems to go away with sand flies, either. It's just something I'm going to have to live with as long as I'm in the Amazon, I guess.

The photo entry for this album is here.

May 24, 2006
Day 238
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 5

The Frenchman paddling.

The next town on our map of the river was Santa Cruz, on the Brazilian side. It looked like it would take all day to get there, so we left as soon as there was enough daylight to see the river. About three hours later, we came to a little settlement on the Bolivian side. We stopped to get information and were invited up to sample their lunch. The main course was a turtle cooked right in the shell. I put all environmental concerns aside and gave it a try. The meat was tough and bland. It was apparent that the people living there would never starve: They also had a large fish on a line for their next meal and could easily hunt or fish for anything else they needed. They are going to Versalles, so I guess we'll see them at the party.

The rest of the day was categorized by world-class wildlife. We saw giant toucans, macaws, parrots, capybaras, caymans, pink dolphins, and stingrays. Exotic animals were popping out of all corners all afternoon.

Once again, navigation was difficult as we were plagued by more large islands and oxbows. Getting good info has been problematic as well. The best directions people are willing to give us are "Always stay right," "Always stay left," or "Always follow the current downstream." Locals' guesses of paddle times were way off was well. The actual time it took us to get to every destination has been double that of what we have been told so far. Leaving so early is starting to look like a really good idea now.

The jungle was still thick on both sides, so we stopped at the next town we came to, after eleven hours of paddling. This name was Fiscal, and once again, it was on the Brazilian side. This town was a big bigger with maybe 100 people. We set up camp and got more info about what to expect tomorrow from a school teacher. Nobody there spoke Spanish, but Portuguese is still somewhat understandable if you understand Spanish and it is spoken slowly. Everyone was really nice again, but we'll have to get an early start tomorrow so we didn't have time to hang out much.

The photo album for this entry is here.

May 23, 2006
Day 237
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 4

We are about to start our journey.

The canoe was moved to the town's jetty for us early this morning. We paid for it, loaded up all our supplies, and took off. Remanso was a nice town for us to visit. By the time we left, everyone knew the crazy gringos who were going to canoe for a week to get to the party. I imagine we'll be seeing a lot of the townsfolk in Versalles.

Almost as soon as we left, the boat started leaking pretty severely. We stopped at Cafetal, the tiny town just down the river from Remanso, to try to get it taken care of. A few guys sitting near the jetty laughed at us and told us that they'd help. One guy pulled out a mallet and what appeared to be a handful of horsehair and started pounding it into a crack. At first, it looked like he was making it worse, but eventually, the leak slowed to a manageable rate. We'll just have to bail every hour or so I guess. I hope the canoe doesn't sink because we'll be totally screwed if it does. Assuming we can swim through the strong current of the piranha-infested waters to the shore, we'll still have to deal with tigers, tarantulas, anacondas, malaria-carrying mosquitoes, inch-long poisonous ants, and who knows what else.

We saw almost no people the entire day. Somehow, we figured the river would be fairly populated like the Rio Paraguay was, but that wasn't the case. We also thought we'd find beaches for camping, but the river was high, so there was nothing but thick jungle on both sides.

Navigation was also more difficult than expected. Everyone we asked said that getting down the river was straightforward, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. At least once per hour, we approached an island or an oxbow. We had to make a decision of which way to go using only a map of the entire country that didn't show the river in any discernible detail. I think we wasted a few hours by making bad decisions, but there wasn't any way to avoid them. In the end, we'll get to Versalles eventually as long as we keep moving downstream.

About an hour before dark we got lucky. On the Brazilian side of the Itenez, we spotted Lana Jeiras. It appeared to be just a few houses, but we figured we should make sure it was OK with someone if we camped there first. We were greeted by Claudio, a friendly man who spoke good Spanish. Not only was it OK for us to camp there, but Gabriel was able to sleep on the floor in a guest house for free because he didn't have a tent.

While we were cooking dinner, Claudio came out and gave us some catfish to throw on the fire. We had a delicious feast. Later, we had a coffee and a chat with Claudio. The hospitality he gave us was a great introduction on my first night in Brazil. Hopefully, that will continue down the river because most of the towns are on the Brazilian side.

The photo album for this entry is here.

May 22, 2006
Day 236
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 3

Remanso at sunset.

We started putting the word out on the street that we wanted to buy a canoe as soon as we got here, and people started delivering today. We looked at a couple this morning that were nice, but far too small for three people plus all of our gear. At least they were dugouts, canoes carved from a single tree trunk. The next canoe was made from several planks of wood. It looked like it would hold more weight, but it was designed to hold an engine, so paddling would be very difficult. Finding a severed cayman tail in the back was an added bonus, but we still decided to pass. Other people kept suggesting that we buy an aluminum boat or take the free boat instead. They simply couldn't understand why we'd want to paddle down the river in a wooden canoe when easier options were available.

Late in the afternoon, we were talking about buying two canoes for the three of us. It wouldn't be the ideal situation, but at least it would be possible. Suddenly, an old man approached us and said that he had a big canoe for sale. In fact, he claimed it would comfortably hold 600 KG, over twice the weight we had calculated for us and all of our gear. As soon as we saw it, we knew it was the canoe for us. It would easily hold all our stuff and give us enough space for a comfortable journey. I got in and started thrashing around. It was nearly impossible to tip, and no water leaked in. After a bit of bargaining, it was ours for $100. With any luck, we'll be able to sell it at the party and lose little or no money on it. Even if we can't sell it, losing $33 on a two-week adventure won't disappoint me too much.

After we had our boat squared away, it was time to stock up. We bought enough food for a week, some rope, and some emergency supplies. We also got three nice paddles from various people around town. We'll leave first thing in the morning.

May 21, 2006
Day 235
Remanso to Versalles Canoe Trip Day 2

A torrential downpour struck Remanso last night. It didn't let up in the day much, either. We had no choice but to put our plans on hold. Supposedly this is the dry season and it's not normal to have any rain this time of year, so maybe conditions will get better tomorrow. I don't think paddling a canoe for a week will be much fun if they don't.