A Journey to the Far Amazon

We went a long way. We went to a new world. The people were different. The plants and animals were different. We slept in hammocks on an old wooden boat as we traveled on the great river through that vast rainforest. We were afraid sometimes. We were more often captivated by the incredible beauty of the place. Fast moving flocks of brilliant colored parrots flew past our vision as slow moving, big clawed sloths moved though the giant trees surrounding us.

We barely missed death on a few occasions, machetes or snakes or floods. We saw things that would change our lives forever, all of us. A local man was cutting bananas. A scorpion stung him. His hand swelled to twice the normal size. We got him to a British freighter traveling up the river to trade goods. They gave him a shot. He survived. The people of the village showed us much appreciation. The boats on the river were amazing. From tiny dugout canoes to little freighters to passenger carriers, they were impressive. You will see many of them in the following pages. The people along the river are survivors. They raise their crops, they fish with fruit and a piece of lead, they keep chickens and fight off the anacondas who want to eat their chickens and their children. Those children taught us how to swim with the piranha fish. You make sure you are not bleeding.Then you don’t worry about them, but you worry about the little catfish. Those little dudes swim up your urinary tract and extend their pectorial fins to feed on your excrements. The surgery is painful. Keep your tight undergarments on as you swim in that river. I listened to those young people and came out all right.