Demarcation Diaries
1 September 2001
Good Evening, All!
This has been quite a busy day for a slow boat. My team and I,
consisting of Merel from Holland, Kon Tau from Hong Kong and myself,
took the aluminium river boat out this morning to practice working
with the GPS, our hand held Global Positioning System that we
will use to help us pinpoint our positions as we hike through
the forest.
We expect these units to be especially helpful after a week or
so into the project, when we will be travelling back and forth
between our campsites and the Commandante Savio.
It was a great way to start the morning, the three of us alone,
about two miles ahead of the Savio, Merel driving, Kon Tau and
myself trying to figure out the intricacies of this little unit
that can tell us exactly where we are on the planet within 10
meters or so. We found a muddy spot to land (the river is quite
low here, almost the lowest point of the year), we constructed
a little figure made of sticks to spot later from the Savio, then
we motored back to the mother ship.
By the time we figured out how the whole system worked, we were
past our point, but at least the exercise was helpful!
We spent the rest of the day doing a preparation drill to see
how exactly we are going to carry solar panels, radios, batteries,
computers, satellite phones, pots, pans, hammocks, beans, rice,
pasta, snacks, water, extra clothes, safety pack, and other things
as we move our camps along.
We had all the material spread across the deck of the ship, all
of us throwing in our ideas, and marvelling at how much we have
here. I am still dressed in all my hiking gear, I don't feel like
taking it all off, yet. I've got the hiking-in-the-jungle fever.
Hopefully, that's the only fever I get.
Last night, as we just laid down to sleep, Ribamar surprised
us by bringing on board a small Jacare, the local alligators.
In the evenings, they are easy to spot, bright orange eyes reflecting
in our spotlight, hundreds of them lining the shore. They are
beautiful creatures up close, strong, with intense eyes. We all
got a chance to get a close look at this little one, about four
feet long including the tail. We let him go soon after to return
to the shore with his friends.
This morning, we woke to find ourselves beached right at a sharp
turn in the river. It turns out it was a great location for fishing,
because there were at least ten dolphins, the pink botos, and
the small grey ones, having a feast for breakfast right next to
the Savio. We all awoke slowly, watched them eat, and took some
pictures. We went into the local town to pick up a local river
guide, boarded the boat again and were on our way.
This is a quick update. We are supposed to arrive in Caruari
sometime tomorrow, dropping off more fuel barrels, and getting
a quick chance to walk on dry land again.
Tchau,
Bryan
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