Day 150 - Moving up the River

(Ursula) Today was slightly cloudy and a bit cooler.

Around noon we passed a large transport ship stuck on a sandbank. Our captain decided to help them out. He tied our barges to the shore and went with the tugboat to pull them off. That's how they help each other out - unspoken rules - common courtesy. Who knows, we may need help, too.

The flying fish made for a nice lunch today. Despite the thousand little bones, they tasted very good with my homemade potato salad. The only one who disagreed was my brother. He was in dire stress with those "damn" bones.

At one point, the captain went the wrong way at a fork in the river and had to engage in a complicated maneuver to turn us around. While the barge was standing still, we had a chance to jump in the river to cool off. The crew did the same, and we took that as an assurance that there were no Piranhas around. It felt so good and refreshing.

Ute & Peter taught us a new card game called Mau-Mau. It is lots of fun! Their little monkey Mika was doing better, sitting at our table and having fun unraveling a roll of toilet paper.

The view from the boat was pretty much the same every day. The river sometimes narrowed, then became wider again. Dense jungle on both sides as far as the eye could see. Once in a while, we spotted a straw hut or small settlement.

It must be nice to live so peacefully here on the river banks. I was wondering how long we would last. In the evening, we observed dark clouds moving toward us. Might it be a thunderstorm? The captain took no chances and docked near a small settlement.

And immediately, there were millions of mosquitoes upon us. We stayed inside the camper for safety. The storm was over after about two hours, but the mosquitoes were relentless. They were trying to penetrate through every tiny space of the windows and mosquito screens.

We were hungry and wanted to eat at the settlement restaurant but didn't dare to venture outside.

A little past midnight, our transport continued moving upriver. There was a little breeze on deck, and I took the opportunity to take a quick bathroom break. But even at the front end of the barge, those little monsters were merciless!Okumaya devam et