Iquitos-Puerto Narino, Columbia

Iquitos-Puerto Narino, Columbia

day 1 (Nanay river) –

Try to go upstream on the Naynay river (left off the Itaya river where it meets the Amazon river.) Had fight on the rio Itaya leaving raft. Nina gets mad because I am patronizing because we can’t paddle straight. At the Nanay port cut ores down to size. Men are amazed that I can use saw.

Upstream is hard going. Nearly get sucked underneath huge boat. Have to push ourselves out from underneath. Cannot get past jutting huge ship. Current is coarsing. Nina gets out of boat. Nina pulls on rope so boat rounds the corner and I row full strength against current to get us past. Nina feels like shes giving birth hauling on the rope with hips thrust out.

Make it about 10 m upstream. Cross river. A lot of traffic, many tourist boats. Old grumpy man fishing on the bank. Nearly get run over. Look for place to sleep. Told there is an abandoned house. Is not a house but a grotty rotting roof. Dejectedly clear the grass with machete preparing to camp. Get invited to sleep in sawmill. Sleep in sawmill amongst piles of wood. Security guard nice. Makes a big fuss over hanging the mosquito net, hammers nails to a stick he ties to a table. Next day the machete is gone. Think the old man in boots did it.

Finally on the river

day 2 –

Scrap the Nanay plan. Decide to head to Columbia right away. I sick body hurts. Convinced Iquitos is trying to kill me. Take pill. Nina tries to take a vitamin and accidentally takes malaria medication. Head out trying to get as far away as possible from Iquitos. Finally it is out of view. Sun is blazing. Hot. Hide under tree shade a while.

That afternoon pull up to raft. Ask house (last house of a community) if we can camp. Woman asks if we are thieves. I say no. She says its fine to stay. There is a drunk man rocking under a tree with his head hung down. Set up tent. Woman slaps Nina’s bare ass when she is bathing. Cook dinner on fire by tent. Old drunk man who was swaying under tree likes Nina and follows her around. Nina hides behind tree. I tell him she’s at the toilet and has diarrhea so it might take a while but old man forays forward with flashlight and finds her and tells her he is single que bien.

Have to purify river water with droplets of chlorine. A ship from Iquitos brings portable water to this community. 

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