Voyage of the Amazon Queen Jan 2002 Log.doc

VOYAGE OF THE AMAZON QUEEN ADVENTURE LOG Colombia-Brazil JANUARY 4-13, 2002 LETICIA-PUERTO NARINO (Colombia) LETICIA-RIO JAVARI-PALMARI RESERVE (Brazil) BY HARRY A. MARRINER 15 April 2017 Participants: Philip R. Gonzales-Captain and owner of the Amazon Queen Colombian crew: Jose, Enelia and their son Ivan Adventurers: Allan Liesveld-Bogota Harry Marriner-Bogota Sue Robinson-Bogota Bob Galatiuk-Bogota Emma Barber-Bogota 4 Jan 2002-Checked to see that passport, yellow fever shot card, ticket ($210 USD RT), Colombian ID card, $45 cash for processing fee (in Colombian pesos or Brazilian reales only) for the “free” Brazilian visa and 3 passport size photos, were all handy and available. As usual I packed too much and had to tote a heavy bag weighed down with a large gel cell battery that didn’t hold its charge. Checked www.amazonqueen.info website to see new updates. Met the group (minus Emma) at the Bogota airport and AeroRepublica flew us to Leticia without their usual delay. Allan had his pocket knife taken away and security almost took my nail clippers. Phil said they asked him if he had any ammunition with him. He said “Yes” and they said “Ok, go onboard.” We flew over San Jose de Guaviare and noted that the jungle around La Macarena Reserve had been cut down much more than I remembered from previous trips. Also many small settlements now dot the area, probably related to an increase in coca planting in the area. In Leticia Bob and I visited Col. Juan Suarez at the Comandante Comando Unificado Sur. He is going to transfer to Bogota in January, but offered us help if we needed it. He said all was calm in the area and not to worry about security. Phil took us on a beautiful sunset cruise up the Leticia channel around Isla Fantasia, then we had dinner at El Sabor restaurant owned by Ivan, who is looking for a buyer since he’s not in the “Leticia political clique” and sometimes gets hassled for being an “outsider.” Most of the prior politicians are in jail now for theft or corruption. We checked into the Parador Ticuna hotel owned by the ex-wife of Mike Tsalicas and noted that the yellow-green algae scum on the pool bottom hadn’t been cleaned in some time. I wondered about cholera, but swam in it anyway. The air conditioning and most of the lights worked this time along with abundant hot water from a naked plastic pvc pipe jutting from the wall. Just one cockroach crawled around the Ivan and Harry at El Sabor Restaurant bathroom. Paul Paulsen and I killed 5 during my last stay here. The hotel is improving! Unfortunately, Mike´s residence is presently in a USA Federal Prison for smuggling cocaine inside Amazonian lumber he exported. It´s a bit difficult for him to fix things in the hotel. He is known for developing the Isla de Micos (Monkey Island), bringing Titi monkeys, the Yagua Indian tribe and building a hotel for tourists there. We always enjoy finding Rhinoceros Beetles but didn´t see one as big as the one we kept for a trip mascot on a previous expedition. Rhinoceros Beetle and Harry We ate a cool ice cream cone at Mimos before bedtime. I learned that Leticia was originally named San Antonio by the Peruvians but there is an unconfirmed legend that a Colombian soldier fell in love with an Amerindian woman named Leticia Smith and decided to name the city after her. Many legends abound in the Amazon and it´s difficult sometimes to separate truth from fiction. 5 Jan-Pancake breakfast at the jolly Negra Carola´s restaurant. After breakfast I met with my friend, naturalist, educator and adventurer nicknamed “Kapax”, who is a German-Colombian mix. He told me that he fell in the street recently and injured his shoulder. Kapax, also known as the Colombian Tarzan, is famous for his long distance swims down the Amazon Harry and Kapax in Leticia and Magdalena Rivers, stopping at each town to educate youngsters on the importance of taking care of Mother Earth and all her resources. The Amazon Queen sponsored him on one of his ecologically oriented Amazon swims. He also works as a jungle guide. Above left: Kapax swimming the Amazon with the Amazon Queen as backup sponsor. Above right: Harry and Kapax with an anaconda snake in Leticia. Lower left: Kapax watching Harry imitate Tarzan swinging on a jungle vine. Lower right: Kapax and Harry sharing a joke while resting during a jungle hike. We unloaded 1,500 pounds of cargo for Phil into the boat, and then rode 24 kms in a broken-down Willys jeep with seven people over the so-called Trans-Amazonic Highway that has corruption stories associated with it. Lots of money disappeared on this project. Rumors say more money has been spent on this project than the Bogota-Medellin highway near Bogota. Pavement ends on Trans-Amazonic Highway. On the road…or should I say On the roof? Allan….is it really more comfortable on the roof than it is inside the jeep? We had to take off all the doors to the vehicle and borrow a spare tire from a trailer to avoid mishaps on the road. The 4x4 transmission was almost shot, no cap for the radiator and bolts were missing on the wheels. I had to straddle the floor gearshift lever without a knob and had hot exhaust coming through the floorboards to cook my genitals. Every time the driver changed into 4 wheel drive I wished I had an iron jockstrap. No one else was any more comfortable. No seats in the back and the roof was only a fraction of an inch above their heads. The road was almost impassable in spots with gaping holes, deep ruts, and slippery mud. When we arrived to the end of the road to start our jungle hike at 12:45PM, the front right tire was flat. Thank God for the spare trailer tire that was tied to the roof. It was no surprise to find that a beautiful farm near the end of the road was owned by the Governor of the Amazonas department. After stretching our jolted bodies we hiked 2.5 kms into virgin forest crossing bogs and streams along the way using logs as one-man bridges. At one point we stopped at a hunter’s hut and found a nice pond to soak our beet-red heads. . Hunter and Bob at hunter´s camp Harry, Bob, Sue, Phil and Allan at hunter´s hut Harry on a two log bridge…………….Harry on a one log bridge . Traffic jam. Waiting for our turn to cross the log bridge Allan toted a 35 pound pack with all his expensive cameras, telephoto lenses and other photographic equipment, but didn’t take one picture. Phil, Guide and an overheated, pale-faced Allan lacking 1.5 km to finish the hike. Allan and I overheated on the return 2.5 km hike and ended up lying on our backs on the trail to try and cool off. It didn’t work, so Phil poured water from a canteen over our heads, but it was only a temporary relief. One of the hunters saw our predicament and showed us how to cut a vine that drips crystal clear potable water. It was delicious! Allan slurping water from the vine He also showed us a type of rubber tree called “Cow’s Milk Tree” (Leche de Vaca) used as an anti-diarrheic medicine. First you make a slash in the bark, then collect the sap that oozes out. Harry and Phil tasting sap from Leche de Vaca tree. Uhmmmmmm……good stuff Phil and I decided it tastes like a vanilla milk shake. The sap can also be used as a substitute Band-Aid. Red sap from another tree looks like and substitutes for iodine. Along the way we ate some delicious local fruit and saw a Copazu fruit tree growing on the side of the trail. Sue and a Copazu fruit William, a local family´s pet Spider Monkey, wasn´t sure if he wanted us to use his trail, but finally let us pass without incident after bribing him with a banana. Phil lifted and inspected a giant orange caterpillar with dorsal spikes that was crawling near the car when we arrived at the end of the hike. He said it wasn´t poisonous. On the way back to Leticia we stopped at La Ponderosa restaurant at Km 9 for a dinner of chicken, rice, salad, farina, beer, and soup. The young Captain of the Port for all the Colombian Amazon was there and spoke to us for a long time. He knew Phil well and they chatted about river projects and local political situations. The driver had to re-tighten the wheel lugs since the noise from the loose wheel became deafening. Back at the hotel I had a nice swim in the green pool water where I ran into the Rakes family whom I hadn’t seen for several years. Their daughter-in-law mentioned that she had replaced Peggy Biagi as school nurse at the Colegio Nueva Granada, since Peggy died about a year ago after many years of service. Peggy’s husband, my old doctor, moved to Canada to be with his kids. Paul and Dione Gervis David and Nanette Hutchinson The Rakes also mentioned that Paul and Dione Gervis and David and Nanette Hutchinson were staying at the Palmari Reserve Lodge where we were headed. A few years ago The Gervis’, Hutchinsons, Rakes and Marriners went on a 5 day horseback trip through the beautiful Quindio area, and stayed at a former coffee plantation. It was funny to run into all of them again in Leticia . A political gathering was taking place at the hotel and a candidate for senator, Margarita Gonzalez, asked us for suggestions for bettering the Amazon for tourists. Bob, Phil, Allan and I took a $2.50 taxi to Sabor de Brazil, in Tabatinga, but it was very dead for a Sat. night at 11 PM. since all the action starts around 1 AM there. We were lucky to listen to a good one-man band sing and play. The Tacones Disco across from our Leticia hotel was full when we arrived back from our jaunt. 6 Jan-Phil woke us at 0710 and took us to Carola’s for breakfast. Emma’s plane had landed, so Tony (aka: Mogli) rode out on his motorcycle to meet her wearing a black tee shirt with the letters F.B.I. on it. In smaller letters it said “Federation de Borracheros de Iquitos” Translated that means “Federation of Drunks of Iquitos.” The cook Enelia and I bought food and supplies for the boat, but she didn’t have much idea about cooking for a group our size, and neither did I, so there was much laughing about quantities of items to buy. There was a nice 25 lb. Gamitama fish for sale, but I decided on Dorado catfish. . Fish for sale in Leticia How about this one for lunch? The size of the Amarillo catfish hauled daily to the refrigerated warehouses has gone down from around 200 lb. average to about 100 lb. average indicating over-fishing to me. These giant fish are known to travel 8,000 kms. from the headwaters of the Amazon to the Amazon Basin. Giant Amazonian Amarillo Catfish A German missionary on the boat next to us spoke English and told of his trips into little known Amazonian areas to “save” the Indians. An Indian came onto his boat with a 6 ft. long anaconda and tried to sell it for $10. After lunch of tuna fish sandwiches and a 1 liter bottle of Brazilian Brahma Chopp beer we loaded the boat with our gear and met Emma who had just arrived after a 4 day trip from Chile and Argentina. Allan did a good job repacking the propeller and water pump shafts that were leaking. Interesting to note that there are more tourists than normal in Leticia. The river is the highest I have ever seen it and now reaches a level 5ft lower than the bottom of the sandbags at the town dock. This is about 45 ft. higher than last trip. 1300-Today we start the upriver part of our trip and just passed KM 5 La Playa. La Playa at Leticia There´s always room for one more on the Leticia water taxi. 1330-Isla Ronda Harry at the helm 1507-Porto Alegria, Peru 1627-Isla Mico just ahead. Bob, Allan and I tried to go ahead with the skiff, but the shaft is too short for this high-stern fiberglass boat. The Amazon Queen passed us as we spun our prop. We did about 4 knots in the skiff. I’ve never seen so many trees, logs, plants and junk in the river. We had to dodge them all the way up. Logs and river obstructions We anchored in the Mico Island channel to get out of the way of all the lumber floating down the river. Jose and I went over and checked out a house that used to be owned by Mike Tsalica’s administrator before he was thrown in jail. Only the foundation remains and most of the cows have been stolen. I wanted to go up a small stream to visit the Yagua village and talk to the people we know there. Last trip, Yolanda, the chief’s daughter, gave me a good luck necklace made from seeds and a javelina pig tooth. I was wearing it when we decided to go upstream, but the outboard motor wouldn’t start. I gave the rope a strong pull and caught the javelina tooth in the cord. The tooth went flying into the air and plopped in the water at the stream mouth. I guess the Amazon river gods wanted to reclaim what was originally theirs. Sue made a nice beef stew dinner. It was very good with chicken and Chilean wine after a rum and coke sunset. Yolanda, the Yagua chief´s daughter and Harry wearing his Javelina tooth necklace My hammock was very hot and too short, but I really just wasn’t sleepy and listened to the jungle animals most of the night. First Allan snored, then Bob, then Jose, and then Phil. Bob woke up later and said I was the champion of them all after I finally fell asleep. Harry on his hammock with insomnia Allan snoring Jose didn’t secure the stairs well after working on the water filter. Allan slipped going from top to lower deck and the stairs jerked away cutting the fuel line. Wooden plugs held until about 2 AM when Allan found that the plug had loosened and the bilge pump had pumped about 80 gallons of diesel fuel into the river. I held the fuel line closed while Allan made a better plug, doubled the hose, and clamped it tight and tied it off above the fuel level in the tank. 7 Jan- 0320-The anchor drift alarm sounded and I yelled to Phil, but he was already up and trying to figure out what was happening. We found a 60 ft. long, 3 ft diameter tree hung up on the anchor line. Jose and Allan jumped on the log and tried to free it, while I looked for other logs coming downriver. Another large log was coming down towards . Above: Phil and Jose trying to free the log. us and I had to haul Jose up onto the boat before it pinned him to the bow. Phil said to wait until dawn, since the searchlight bulb burned out and we didn’t have enough light to work safely. I only slept about 15 minutes all night listening to the pink dolphins around the boat surfacing to breathe. I also heard a tiger, bullfrogs Phil and Jose looking for log damage to the boat. and other jungle animals and insects. Emma said she thought the croaking frogs were those who hadn’t found a mate that night, and “It was all about getting laid.” In the distance I saw faint lights from fireworks in the town of Arara and heard explosions and the faint sound of music. It was a political campaign celebration I found out later. 0550-We had enough light to work on getting the log off the anchor line. I went in the skiff with Jose, while Allan stood on the log and pushed it off as Phil moved the Amazon Queen around in different positions. We were happy the anchor line didn’t break, but then had more work breaking the anchor loose from the sticky mud. 0640-Hiked into Monkey Island on a trail to find a squash, pepper, banana and yuca patch. Saw some interesting birds (reddish brown woodpecker, 2 large hawks, and Camungo bird with a loud voice), a nice inland lake and interesting mushrooms. . We also found what is left of Mike Tsalicas’ small airplane buried in the mud. Jose said it crashed many years ago. Someone had dug part of it out of the ground. . We usually see a multitude of Titi monkeys in this area, but we didn’t see many this trip. The channel exit was 2 mts deep over the spot where there is a large sand beach and dunes during low water. Monkey Island and curious Titi monkeys 0937-Santa Sofia. Harry at Sta. Sofia Police Station Norma and her husband are still running the general store here, but are moving to Leticia soon. She remembered her birthday party 3 years ago in December when we transformed the general store into a discotec and danced the night away downing a few beers. Rumor had it that Norma and her husband were actually undercover police. Who knows? The long beautiful wooden walkway and bridge over the swampy area are now completely rotted away. Left here at 1002. 1120-Had a 1 hour nap, nice shower and feel Norma and her general store great. 89º at present and 80% humidity. We passed the rundown farm of the former narco named Evarista Porras who is now in prison. I remember this place with a graded walkway to the river and a picket fence with lights every 10 ft. Now you only see a narrow muddy path. Two cowboys were herding some cattle as we cruised by. 1220-We left La Libertad (Yagua Indian village) after a thorough look through the town. Two men and two women dressed in traditional garb for us and hawked their Nice necklaces and bracelets for $1. Interesting shell and bead hangings. Some of us were initiated into the tribe. Emma gets her face painted during initiation Birth control plant used by Yagua women Harry gets initiated into the Yagua tribe Our faces (and my beard) were painted red with Achiote seed paste. At least we weren’t painted with the black stain that takes a week or more to disappear. A tribal medicine man showed us a plant that Yagua women eat or drink in a potion to avoid pregnancy. The chief (curaca) wanted to charge everyone $.50 entrance fee, but Phil said “No way.” The chief was on Phil’s boat and said it was his village. Phil said “Ok, but you’re on my boat so you have to pay me.” The chief said “It’s my river.” And Phil said “No, it’s my river.” Finally they both laughed and called it even. Phil negotiating with the Curaca regarding fees Going into the village two logs hit the boat and broke the PVC pipe housing the GPS transducer. Many logs here to dodge and very difficult to get out. You have to wait for a clear space and run for it. 1400-Passed Zaragosa. Very slow progress going up river here at 5.5 km/hr maximum. Many tree trunks and strong current. 1536-Passed El Vergel 1638-Amacayacu National Park on other side of river. 13 kms to Pto. Narino. Saw hawks, parrots, doves, Martin Kingfishers. 1740-Passed the upper boundary of the park. . Harry on the ham radio Spoke to N4ADO/HK5, Bruce, in Cali on the ham set. Not much time for doing ham radio on this trip. 1845-Had to stop at an Army checkpoint (new to me). Three soldiers came down and looked around, but let us go with little delay after their bosses got dressed and checked us out. 8 Jan- 0823-Left Puerto Narino after a very hot night in Casa Selva hotel, owned by Fernando Munoz. Casa Selva Hotel at Puerto Nariño. Bob, unknown, Edilith and Phil Allan went back to sleep in the boat and I ended up killing 3 cockroaches. The fan and lights didn’t work since someone forgot to get gas for the generator and the town power plant is turned off at 2130. Luckily the battery operated fluorescent light did work. No mosquitoes in the room tonight. Nice Dorado fish dinner for $2.50. Hotel and breakfast was $12.50. Allan’s feet and ankles are red and swollen; he has blisters on his feet, and cuts on his hand. Edilith, a friend of Phil’s, came by and told us she ran for mayor and only lost by 2 votes since she was sick at the end of the campaign. She told us an interesting story about the Bongonga tree. It apparently looks like an Asahi palm tree. . Her mother is an herbalist and was once talking to some visitors about their handsome 22 year old son. He was from a wealthy Bogota family, had a good education, and was good looking, but had a very small penis. His parents asked the herbalist for help. She took them into the jungle, found a Bongonga tree, and cut off a length of the root to the size penis the parents wanted for their son. The woman said “Don’t pay me anything until you see the results, then pay me what you think is fair.” They took the root with them to Bogota and called her in about a month saying a check for $250 was in the mail and that the treatment was a success. The herbalist then cut down the tree to stop the penis growth. Harry and board rider kids in Puerto Nariño Harry shows the local board riders how a La Jolla surfer does it 0935-Arrived at our “adopted Ticuna Indian village” Santa Teresita del Nino Jesus. Phil honked twice and that brought the whole tribe down to the shore where they didn´t hesitate to clamor aboard the Amazon Queen. We toured the village, looked at handicrafts in the store, Soldier checking out a guitar in the store Placido, Yagua Shaman. Sue in background. spoke to Teodoro the chief, Placido the shaman and found out that our friends Humberto and Alicia had abandoned the village and moved to Leticia since they were bored and had some sort of problem there. I noticed more deterioration on the solar panel system that had been installed on an earlier trip and more kids and adults sick with fever. Some had very yellow skin. One girl had a tumor on her finger and another kid had a leaf poultice on her body to reduce fever. We took pictures of family pets such as: parrots, a monkey, a turtle, and a sloth. l On board the boat Phil performed a special ceremony during which he gave the villagers clothing, salt and soap. Then he invited the villagers for a cruise up river, but they wanted to go back and swap clothes, so declined. Four Capuchin monks were visiting and tried to recruit new church members. The head monk told me that “Before they didn’t need to know much, but now they need to know how to deal with the modern world.” 1414-Left Lake Tarapoto after swimming with the piranhas, pink dolphins, and nipple-biting fish. . We tried fishing, but didn’t catch anything. Nice chicken sandwich and salad for lunch. Phil and Alan swimming with the piranha and nipple biting fish at Lake Tarapoto. 1500-Passed Pto. Narino going downriver. 1645-Spoke to hams in San Diego, Venezuela and Brazil, Florida and Canada. 1915-Arrived in Leticia. Swam in the hotel pool. That felt great. Filet mignon (a bit tough) and a triple Caipirinha at the Tierra Amazonas restaurant. Had a good night´s sleep. Street food in Leticia 9 Jan- 0600-Phil said we took 18 hours to motor up to Pto. Narino from Leticia and 4 hours to get back to Leticia going down river. Not much flotsam in the river coming down. 1107-Omlette, coffee, 1 liter of Carambola juice and bread for $2.50. Then over to the Brazilian Consulate’s office to pay $45 for the visa. He said he couldn’t do it in the AM, so to come back at 1430. He said it was better to get the visa in Bogota. Phil and I went back later and had a nice conversation with the Consul about what he could do in the future to make it easier for tourists. We went back to the hotel, then over to Colombian DAS immigration at the airport to check out of Colombia, then on the boat to Tabatinga to National Police to get checked into Brazil. All went well until they looked at Phil’s passport and found he had a fine for overstaying the visa time limit last trip due to unexpected delays. He told them that he had paid the fine, but the police asked for the receipt. He told them he gave it to them on the last trip, but they said his passport wasn’t stamped with “fine paid” so we have to wait until tomorrow for Phil to repay the fine and get stamped into Brazil. 1800-Back to Leticia in $2.50 cab ride. Sue and I stayed on the boat to let Jose and his families have some shore leave. 10 Jan-0600-A boat next door ran their generator all night, but I slept ok in an Army jungle hammock with built-in mosquito net. It was narrow, but well designed. No sore muscles anyway. Sue cooked some meat with pasta and carrots for dinner. Others went to the hotel for Jose, Enelia and Ivan the night. We heard on the news that President Pastrana had given the FARC guerrillas 48 hours to get out of their protected zone, but doubt that Pastrana will hold to his word. He has always given in before, but 60,000 troops were supposedly mobilized to surround the guerrilla zone. 1130-Waiting at Tabatinga dock for Phil to return after paying his fine again. Walked to the market with Bob and bought a 4.6 liter jug of Sangre di Boi wine for $7.50 ($15 reales or $15,000 pesos). There was commotion on the dock and some guys carried an older man to a chair where he sat. It may have been a fight. 1215-I fell asleep and awoke to find us underway finally. Two fishermen were pulling up a net strung between 2 plastic barrels and were landing a 35 pound catfish. We saw lots of fish on the fish finder here and marked the spot using GPS. 1311-Nearing Benjamin Constant. Phil indicated the spot where he saw the decomposed body of a woman on the beach on his last trip. The piranhas had apparently eaten most of her after she drowned or drifted downriver. Much of the wood for the lumber mills here comes from the Javari River area. Brazil and Peru let people cut wood, but Colombia doesn´t. Jose used to cut wood for a living, but was fined when he brought it to Leticia. I saw some Colombian police confiscate a canoe load of charcoal in Leticia, so guess they are enforcing the law. Our cook Enelia is sick and dizzy with a headache. She has never been out of Leticia before and never on a boat so guess she is seasick. Sue made tuna fish sandwiches for everyone for lunch. 1345-Leaving some huts where we watched people making farina. First they soak the yuca root in a small dugout canoe filled with water. After the root softens, they grate it to get rid of the poison and then squeeze it in a press to get rid of the water, and then toast it in a large 1 meter diameter pan for 2 hours. The upper part of the stalk can also be cooked with oil and then chewed to prevent dental caries. Masato, a fermented beverage, is also made from yuca. Masato is consumed for several days during the Pelazon ceremony when a young girl reaches puberty. Tribal women encircle her and pull all her hair out. She remains isolated from the rest of the tribe for up to six months while she is indoctrinated into the tribal ways by two older women. 1355-Arrived at Benjamin Constant. 1626-Had a very interesting tour of a 1950’s style lumber mill processing Virola wood that was being shipped to Houston and Mexico. 180 men work 6 days a week, 24 hours/day at the mill in shifts. First cut on a tree section Lumber mill manager, Harry and Mogli inside a lumber barge Emma and Bob in the lumber yard Problems getting the 25HP Johnson outboard motor to idle. 2035-I ran the skiff up into a lake at night, then down a narrow channel with the group led by Tony (Mogli) the young Amazon Tarzan to hunt caimans with flashlights. Harry, Mogli and a big Caiman skull Mogli acted in a jungle movie produced by Frenchmen, and then moved to France with his French wife for a while to continue his career, but that didn’t work out, so they returned to Leticia. Lots of birds and night time jungle noises, but the water level was too high to see caimans without going deep into the trees and shrubs. A small Payara (Dogfish or Vampire Fish) jumped into the boat and hit Allan. Payara (Dogfish or Vampire Fish) The motor acted up again and almost didn’t start when we were leaving the lake. The flashlight discharged at that time also, but we managed to find the well-lit Amazon Queen on the river after running into a bush trying to find the exit channel. Lots of pink dolphins where we anchored in the river tonight. Harry HK3ZOR hamming it up 11 Jan-0130- I have the 0100-0200 watch tonight. Everything ok. Lights from Benjamin Constant can be seen in the distance at 170 azimuth and those of Leticia? At 090 degrees. Prop shaft packing leaking slightly. Rudder is bent at top where prior employee must have backed into something. That might be the reason the helm is more difficult to control than I Phil fixing damage after the trip remember. Examining bent propeller Bob woke me for my watch and Sue woke up to complain about my loud snoring. My flashlight needs a new gel cell. It just doesn’t hold a charge. 0743-Spoke to the Spiderweb net on ham radio and passed a sand dredge working in mid-river. There is gold in this general area, but probably this sand was only for construction. Jose said that above the Atacuari area he found several lumps of gold when he was on a lumber-cutting expedition. They had to cut the wood, staple the logs into long rafts, then wait until the river level rose to float them down to Benjamin Constant. 0820-Phil took the Queen down a very narrow channel shortcut and we had a few moments of anxiety when the antenna got hung up in the branches, but no permanent damage. We went back to the main river when fishermen with 2 catfish shook their heads and said “No way through for us.” 0946-Arrived at San Jonao (San Jorge in Spanish). Phil gave cookies to mestizos making farina. They created this small settlement and have a power plant that runs from 7PM to 2AM. None of the people showed much emotion San Jonao. Phil giving cookies. either positive or negative about our visit. They pay for their diesel fuel by fishing and limited farming. I saw Ticunare and Piranha fish in their styrofoam cooler. Atalaia (Atalaya) do Norte 1100-We left San Jonao and arrived in Atalaya (Atalaia) do Norte at 1245. Walked around town and bought some groceries. Not much interesting here, but a fairly large town. Making farina 1350-Left Atalaia (Atalaya) do Norte after fishing. Nothing caught. 1515-We took another shortcut canal and entered a beautiful hidden lake. At the end we took another canal to get back to the Amazon at 1535. We figure it is about 7 kms to the Palmari Reserve and Lodge. 1614-Arrived at Palmari Reserve owned by Axel Antoine-Pfeil. Toured the lodge and saw many nice pictures of local animals, birds and fish. Cabanas are $20.000 pesos/night/person, and there is a palm-roofed maloca building where you can hang your hammock in an open room. Esteban is in charge of the lodge. It is 89kms on the river to Leticia from here. We decided to sleep on the boat in the middle of a nice lake showing many fish on the fish finder. Palmari Reserve lake Harry and Bob outside Maloca Palmari Reserve Lodge 12 Jan- 0500-Left Palmari, even though a climb to the docel treetop was planned for 0500 today. Everyone cancelled at the last minute. I had the 0300-0400 watch today and heard lots of fish jumping, pink dolphin and jungle sounds. One needs at least 2 or 3 days to see all the jungle trails planned for fishing, animal watching and bird watching here. 0535-Entered the shortcut canal that Allan navigated very well yesterday. It is VERY shallow (less than 1.2 meters) and is only passable in the Amazon Queen during high water. Phil slowed for a curve and the current pushed us stern first down the canal, but Phil expertly maneuvered the Queen around while Jose pushed with the skiff and out we went into the lake. The antenna took a few more hits, but survived unscathed. Sue complained again about my snoring and said she was ready to throw me overboard last night. A very shallow shortcut canal entering a beautiful lake I have to find the anti-snore laser surgeon in Bogota when I get back or become an outcast hermit. 0635-Passed Itaquai River entrance leading 25 kms (1/2 day trip) to the Cacetero cannibals. There is a police checkpoint before you get there. In order to protect the Indians, most people are turned back who don’t have a valid reason to be there according to Tony. Many people have been lured to the beach during difficult times when food is scarce. One Cacetero buries an axe or club in the sand with a string tied to his ankle. The other person distracts the visitor. Then the visitor gets clubbed over the head and eaten. People don’t stop in this area if they have to travel through it on the river. This river is also home to the Mayoruna Indians who are famous for their Poison Frog Ceremony where they burn two or three spots on a person´s skin, then rub the open wound with a mixture of saliva and poison scraped off the frog´s skin. After vomiting the participant goes into a dream-like trance, then wakes up with a different view of the world and can hunt for long periods of time without getting hungry. Many of the Mayoruna are blond since in earlier days, so the story goes, they kidnapped white women and bred with them. 0646-Passed Atalaia (Atalaya) do Norte lumber mill. 0824-Passed the lake where we searched for caimans at night earlier in the trip. 1000-Passed the lumber mill that we toured in Benjamin Constant. We stopped in front of a few houses we saw from across the river. Allan gave the kids candy and cookies. We left at 1015 Allan giving cookies and candies to kids 1022-On my map I saw a short cut channel going by Baraiba and asked Tony if we could use it. He said yes, and Phil took it, but the exit back to the main Amazon River was just barely passable and very shallow with lots weeds. We arrived on the main river at 1118. Inside the channel Phil took Bob, Emma and me out in the skiff to get some pictures of the Amazon Queen from the water. Going up river we made good progress at 10km/hr . The GPS showed an ETA to Tabatinga of 1.5 hours at this rate, but we slowed down after a while. Very shallow channel near Baraiba 1310-Arrived at Tabatinga,walked from the dock to the police under a scorching hot sun, checked out of Brazil. Some of the group went to Leticia in a taxi. I stayed to help Phil. We visited the Capt. Of the Port to see if our manifest agent had arrived, but he hadn’t. Phil called him on his cell phone and found that the boat Dock at Tabatinga, Brazil inspector was at the airport and didn’t want to go back to the dock, so said we could continue on to Leticia. He would call us to go back to Tabatinga if necessary, but he never called. Back in Leticia I walked to the hotel with my backpack on my head and daypack on my back. I really sweated getting there. Then I realized that I had left a book on the boat, so went back to the dock to find that Phil had just moved the boat upriver in front of Jose and Enelia’s house. I walked along the riverbank up there and helped Phil pick up things left on board and carried some stuff back towards the hotel when I was hailed by Marcela and her daughter Diana, relatives of my neighbors. We drank borojo and copazu juice drinks and chatted about Diana’s anthropology project with native women, nutrition, and marketing traditions. 13 Jan- 0545-Ready and packed to go to the airport. Last night we had a great dinner and watched a scantily dressed Boi Dancer show at the Bella Epoca in Tabatinga with Max Oldenberg and his family. He is the shipping agent in Leticia. Phil told me the place was called Bella Vista, so the taxi I took got lost trying to find the place. Luckily Phil sent his taxi out to find us and guide us back to the correct spot. We had passed the Bella Epoca in our taxi, but Phil didn’t get our attention in time. Boi Dancer at Bella Epoca Restaurant The Aero|Republica flight was only about 45 min late and got us in to Bogota around 1145. My jug of wine was taken from me and put in cargo, but arrived without damage. THE END Photo credits: Most photos by Harry Marriner. The rest by Phil Gonzales, voyage participants, Jim Carrender and the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center. PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT27