Demarcation Diaries
18 September 2001
Location: On Board the Commandante Savio
Time: 12:00 p.m., Manaus Time
Weather: Very sunny, warm, slightly breezy off the river Jurua
Hello Readers,
 I have been to the forest one day since I last wrote. In that trip, I
discovered the calm beauty of the forest ahead of the demarcation team.
Once the crew decides a direction, they set a course for the next 400
meters (about 1/3 of a mile), and stick to that course. If I follow my
compass carefully, I can go ahead of the cutting team far enough to get
away from the noise of the machetes cutting, the voices, and the sporadic
chainsaw buzzing. This is where I found myself last Monday, alone,
listening. There are hundreds of seperate noises coming from the trees
that have no relation to humans. The foliage is think enough that there is
always...ALWAYS... a branch falling, a twig cracking, a leaf seperating
itself from a stuck limb and falling to the forest floor. There is never
dead silence. This day, I felt like I even surprised the insects, there
were none around me. It only takes a moment, though, until they catch up
to me, and a giant ants nest shows itself in a tree or on the ground. But,
initially, when I stop, I am alone, I have hidden.
I decided to climb a tree and wait for the workers, to see how
accurate my compass-following skills were. I found the perfect tree, it was
thick with an old vine wrapped around its trunk. These vines are stout, solid, and they extend far up into
many trees, sharing the branches of them all. It is hard to tell where it
starts or ends. I checked for any ants, saw none, and climbed.
I perched myself on the first set of branches I reached, and realized that
now I had a completely new perspective, away from some creatures, but
within reach of the tree-dwelling kind. Just a bit earlier, I had asked
one of the Deni where all the snakes were. He looked up, and said they
live in the trees. I had forgotten this until I got to my perch and
started to consider what was up there with me. Always ready to move
quickly, I settled in and waited...and listened.
I thought as I looked south, that this was the Deni
land that we were helping to save, that this tree was one of
theirs, and it was possible that it would never be climbed again. I saw other fallen trees that had
cleared natural paths in and around swamps. Some trees had tried to fall,
but had been stopped by the vines of others, mid-fall. Sometimes, as I
look through the scene, it is like a freeze-frame, something is happening
before I get there, it stops when I arrive, then continues when I leave. I
feel like, if I am quiet enough, the action will start again and I will
get to see the secret workings of the forest. What comes are my
companions, laughing at me in the tree. I will try again of course, the next trip in. I am
determined to see something move, something slither, crouch, jump,
climb... something besides me.
Our groups, as we begin to stay in the forest, will rely on a
helicopter to restock us, and help us in the case of an emergency. We
are a bit behind schedule because our planned helicopter is caught in
paperwork in Manaus. This is why I am still on the boat. Today, we helped
the other group, the Xerua East Team (Team B), load their materials and head for
their first campsite. As I write this, they are setting up their first
campsite that will probably last for 4 or 5 days, after which, they will
continue onward. Our first campsite is a 3 hour small boat ride from here.
We will be going tomorrow. Our team is called the Xerua West Team (Team A), we are
working on the northwest area of the Deni-land, slowly making our way on a
trail that heads southwest. The other team is going southeast. We have enough
supplies to last us five days of 3 meals per day, water and a water filter
as well as chlorine tablets to treat the water, pots for cooking,
hammocks, personal clothes, our radio, computer, solar panels, and sat.
phone in case of emergency. No team has ever been so stocked! Merel,
Janine, KonTau, and myself are the volunteers who will be bidding to do
the cooking each day. Right now, it is only guesses as to how it will all
come together.
I finished my first book here. We have plenty of time to read and
contemplate. I walked a bit yesterday to the end of our beach, found a
small pool where the dolphins play, and sat and watched for a bit. The
beach wraps and makes the inside of a half-moon at the bend of the river.
Seeing the bend more closely makes me want to know what is around that
bend. I just looked and imagined. I think this is one thing the Amazon
brings out in me... my imagination. The vastness, the age, the ruggedness
all present themselves as mysteries to be solved. I choose only to admire
from afar now. To let the insects, vines, birds, crocodiles, catfish,
piranas, man-eating plants (haven't seen them yet) battle things out. I
have never walked through such menacing, yet beautiful land before.
Nothing "gives". No branch breaks just because you try
to break it, no plant crushes easily, the softest looking leaf on a fern
has the sharpest thorns. It is a survival game here. I know I do not
belong, sitting on my beach, imagining that I could survive here... I only
smile in appreciation as my foot prints walk across cat prints that were
left in the night. And this cat is not my sister's cat Max. This is Max's
bigger big brother. We know we are being watched in the night, we can
shine flashlights in the dark and see the eyes. That is all we ever
see... eyes and footprints in the morning. We are in the midst of a system.
Next update, I will tell you about the acid-spraying insects. We all
have the blisters to prove they exist. As I sign off, I want to say
that we all still speak of the events of September 11, we talk
everyday about it. We are nervous like everyone else, we all can feel the
jolt that the world has taken. We all hope that our little inclusion in
this project will be a tiny force in doing some good to counteract the bad
that has happened. And, we will talk about it again, in the forest,
surrounded by all that I just described. Maybe mother nature has some
input.
Until Tomorrow, from the heart of the jungle,
Bryan
(Team A)
Find out about the different
volunteers on the demarcation project.
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