Mamoré Canoe Trip

July 4, 2006
Day 279

The big event of the day was the World Cup semifinal between Germany and Italy. Ax was especially interested in seeing the game. In fact, the only reason he stuck around Santa Ana today was to watch it. We found a restaurant near the hotel with a TV set and watched from there. The game was 0-0 in regulation, so there was a thirty minute overtime period. There was lots of action with both teams trying to score the winning goal. With about ten minutes left, there was still no score and it looked like the game might go to a shootout. Then, suddenly the TV turned off! We soon learned that the power had gone out all over town. Power outages are fairly common in the third world, but this one happened at the worst possible moment. Ax just about went insane running around, cursing his bad luck, and trying to find somebody who might still have power. By the time the power came back on, the game was over and we didn’t even know who won. We didn’t find out until later that night that Italy beat Germany 2-0 in a stunning finish.

After the game finished, we managed to sell both canoes. We got a lot less than we paid for them, but at least we got rid of them. Now I can head out tomorrow.

For our last night together, Ax, Veronica, and I went to a karaoke bar. We sang a bunch of stupid songs and had a great time, but I couldn’t believe what the locals were singing. Every song was some sappy love song that was so far off-key it sounded horrible. Toward the end of the night, the only people in the bar besides us were a group of five guys. One by one, they each took turns professing their love to the women who had already gone home in fingernails-on-chalkboard fashion. I don’t think they understood that the point of karaoke is to slaughter whatever you sing and not take it seriously at all.

July 2, 2006
Day 277

The boat continued to Santa Ana today. Shortly after leaving, it got stuck in the shallow river. Thus began the long process of turning around, going upstream, trying to push off the banks, measuring the water’s depth with a high-tech bamboo stick, and throwing one’s arms up in the air. Finally, after several hours of effort, we were able to wiggle free. Later, we were joined by a larger boat which powered us up the river the rest of the way to Santa Ana.

Because we got stuck for so long, we didn’t arrive until late afternoon. We immediately started putting the word out that the canoes were for sale and got some early interest, although no commitments to buy yet. I have a feeling the locals will assume they can get the canoes for free if they just wait until we leave. However, I think at least some of us will be able to stick it out long enough to sell them.

There was a big party in town tonight, so all of us were out and about. Although it is big enough to have paved roads and lots of motorcycles, Santa Ana isn’t the type of city that normally sees a lot of tourists. Having ten of us walking the streets must have been a major shock for the people. I’m sure they’ll all know about our canoe trip soon.

June 30, 2006
Day 275

Nothing significant happened during the day today. We saw lots of birds, including our first macaws of the trip. We also stopped for some swimming a few times in the relentless Amazon heat.

This afternoon, we stopped a little early so we could play a game of ultimate frisbee. It was a fun, hard-fought game that only lasted about half an hour before everyone was too tired to continue.

At our campsite tonight, I was setting a fishing line when suddenly I noticed something strange in the river. An empty canoe was floating downstream toward me. Nobody bothered to tie down one of the canoes and it began floating away! Luckily, I was able to jump in it and bring it to shore. Crisis averted. I’m just glad it didn’t happen at night.

After we ate dinner, I checked my fishing line and had something on it. I began pulling it in, but it didn’t feel like a fish. When it got close, I saw what appeared to be a giant tarantula pop out of the water. Then I saw that it in fact was a large freshwater crab. It made a tasty dessert. I may not have caught the most fish, but at least I got the most exotic animal.

June 28, 2006
Day 273

There were lots of active dolphins on our trip today. They seemed to jump completely out of the water around us all day. We also passed a large group of storks and several capybaras. We found another great campsite in the afternoon with enough daylight left for plenty of fishing. Craig caught a really big catfish, and Louise cooked it up for us. It was another fun day, and there should be several more to come.

June 26, 2006
Day 271

Morale was pretty low this morning. The fact that we only had one canoe for a few days caused a separation in the group, and even though we were united physically yesterday, we still weren’t acting as one big group. Several people were ready to call it quits and head off the river as soon as possible. However, we all agreed that from now on, we’d do things like cooking and eating as a group and try and have more fun. After meeting with everyone, it looks like that trip will become fun for everyone.

The pace was slowed dramatically today. Instead of trying to get as far as possible on the river, we decided to paddle for 7-10 days for only around seven hours per day so we’d have time to relax at the campsite each day. Partway through the day, we stopped paddling and took turns swimming with the large group of pink and gray river dolphins that began following us. We also stopped for a long lunch and basically did a half day.

Right after we found a great beach campsite, it looked like a storm was about to hit, so everyone hurried to get their tents set up. It became very windy, and as Patricia and I were setting up our tent (which Louise was kind enough to lend us), one of the poles broke. We tried to tape it, but it quickly broke again under the pressure of the strong wind. Then the other pole broke, and it became apparent that the tent wouldn’t be usable in its current condition. We gathered some sticks from the nearby forest and constructed a tepee using a canoe paddle for internal support. It was just a temporary solution, though, so tomorrow we’ll experiment with using a mosquito net instead.

The storm somehow cleared up before it hit us, so we were lucky to have a nice, sunny afternoon. I broke out the frisbee and threw around with several expedition members for awhile, and everyone else read and fished. The first two days were characterized by lots of paddling, just like we did for the entire last canoe trip. However, from here on out, I think it will be much more laid-back, which seems to be what the group wants.