Demarcation Diaries
5 September 2001
As we are getting closer to our target I can feel myself getting
anxious. Being constantly in motion is getting to us. The rainforest
is passing by at a constant pace, day after day. It makes you
realise how huge this area is and yet it is always out of reach.
I feel an urge to touch, feel and smell it.
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So far the trip is quite relaxed. We have short bursts of
hard work, like unloading 200 litre fuel drums which has to
be done manually, but most of the time we're living a comfortable
life. We had an improvised beach party last night for instance,
it was our Captain's birthday and we sang 'Happy birthday'
in six languages. |
This is due to change though. Personally I think the tough phase
will come in October. By then people will be strung out from several
weeks in the jungle and if the rains hit us for an extended period,
the motivation might start to crumble. Being wet and muddy for
days on end tends to have a detrimental effect on people's moral.
But all that is still far away, we're not even off the boat yet.
Meanwhile little incidents happen frequently, like seeing a crocodile
getting needlessly and mindlessly shot by a local the other day.
Or hitting a floating log and breaking a propeller yesterday.
We stopped the boat and the crew changed the propeller, an impressive
effort especially as the current is fairly strong here.
Meanwhile the rest of us got a swim and played around in the
water. I asked Flavio, the captain, if I could help out with the
propeller changing. He laughed and told me to get into the water,
'You can be the bait for the jacare (alligators), to draw them
away from us'. Why, yes I can do that, with such a low fat content
I'm fully qualified to be someone's lunch. It is a nice feeling
that there is always something important for you to do around
here.
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There is some speculation going on that we are actually
moving in circles. Ian for example, claims to have seen the
exact same herd of cows on the exact same riverbank several
times. The river is a serpentine, it is constantly turning
with barely any straight stretches so we don't really know
where we are going. |
This makes new conspiracy theories arise daily and we can't get
rid of the sneaking suspicion that it is turning more to the right
than to the left. Ever so often we have to slow down and send
out the aluminium boat to scout ahead and sound the depth. We've
run aground a few times though it is just a matter of backing
up and finding another way through.
Yesterday Captain Flavio also told us that the jacare only hunt
at the surface, so if one comes to close you should dive. Personally
I am not entirely convinced that an alligator would refuse a juicy
piece of European just because it is submerged, but should that
situation arise I guess it is worth a shot. I've seen how fast
they can move so out swimming them isn't really an option.
They surface like submarines, seemingly out of nowhere and with
a stillness that seems alien and unreal. Absolutely fascinating
creatures though, in spite of their feeding habits. I just put
my faith in that if I love them enough they will love me back,
but not too much. Anyway, it is time for me to stop. It felt good
writing the update today so I can't resist the temptation of 'doing
a Jerry Springer', I always wanted to do that.
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So what have we learned today? Perhaps that crocodiles
are best appreciated from a distance and that a broken propeller
is always better than a broken heart. Until next time, take
care of yourselves, and each other.
Steve
Sweden
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Steve is also known as Polecat on the Greenpeace Cyberactivist
community at http://act.greenpeace.org.
He is now making his way to the remote reaches of the Amazon because
he responded to a call for volunteers which was posted at the
site.
You can help Greenpeace win campaigns by joining
the Cyberactivist community, taking the actions posted there,
and watching for your own opportunities to volunteer.
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