Day 149 - Amazon River & Rio Madeira

Our first day on the river was very eventful, to say the least! If this is any indication of the days ahead, we are in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

When we woke up this morning, we were moving downriver at full speed. The two barges are connected in line and pushed by a tugboat. The ride was surprisingly quiet with very little engine noise. The barges are made of heavy steel and loaded to the max. They feel incredibly stable and barely swayed at all.

Watching the different colored waters mix where the Rio Negro meets the Amazon was a most interesting sight. It looked just like coffee mixing with cream!

Around noon, we docked at Sol Nascente, a small fishing village, where our cook stocked up on dried, salted fish. Shortly afterward, we turned left and headed upstream into the Rio Madeira. We will follow this river to our destination, the town of Humaitá. From there, we hope to continue our journey by road to Brasília, the capital of Brazil.

Toward evening, while we were playing cards, a strong gust of wind suddenly lifted the tarp covering the bags of concrete. Within seconds, a massive cloud of concrete dust came billowing toward us. We quickly scrambled into our vans for safety. Once the dust settled, the crew got to work repairing the tarps and replacing the broken ropes.

But the excitement wasn’t over yet!

Hours later, after darkness had fallen, we heard the tugboat’s warning horn blaring. Just seconds later, we partially collided with another boat heading downstream. Apparently, the other boat’s crew hadn’t noticed us until the last moment. Fortunately, they managed to maneuver quickly enough to avoid a full-on collision.

Our barge suffered only a dent in the steel at the bow. The other boat probably wasn’t so lucky. We heard wooden boards cracking, followed by angry shouts from the other vessel.

This could have been a disaster!

And then, something funny happened.

We were already tucked into bed when we heard strange flapping noises coming from the deck. Curious about what was going on, I went to investigate. What I found made me laugh out loud. A whole school of flying fish had jumped aboard! I collected a total of 15 fish and put them in a bucket. Tomorrow’s lunch was taken care of!

I couldn’t help thinking it was a gift from God. We had spent the entire previous afternoon fishing without catching a single thing, and now, quite unexpectedly, we had more than enough for a meal.

Earlier that afternoon, we had also spotted a group of river dolphins following our convoy for a while. We had no idea that dolphins lived in these waters, but apparently, they do! They are known locally as bufeo (river dolphins).

What a day! Between the spectacular river scenery, a cloud of concrete dust, a near collision, and flying fish landing on our deck, we certainly had our share of adventures. And this was only day one!Läs mer