29 August 2001

I am standing outside the minuscule bridge, a good two hours into my watch. The engine murmurs and the two crewmen chat quietly in Portuguese. Every minute or so the huge deck-mounted searchlight goes on, sweeping the muddy waters before us looking for a floating log that might damage or even sink us.

The helmsman finish each sweep with a pass over the nearby shore and suddenly the beam stops. The deckhand taps my shoulder and points. "Jacares, jacares!" At first I can't see it but I remember the word for the Amazonian alligator. Almost completely submersed, the reptile's eyes are bright orange dots in the strong light.

I am on the Commandante Sávio, a typical Amazonian vessel for our ride up the river. We are a day and a half into our ten day journey to Deni land. Since we left Manaus on Monday we've been traveling around the clock, but soon the river will become to shallow and narrow for safe passage in the dark.

Yesterday we kept ourselves busy getting organised, most of the supplies are now in storage and we got the communication equipment, solar panels and computers up and running. Ahead of us lies the jungle and bit by bit we're getting ready for it.

I am feeling very content where I sit, perched on the railing. Some kind of glowing, firefly-like insect circles the boat, turning its light on and off. In the dark it looks like the warning beacon on a miniature aircraft.

Bats are making high-speed passes over the bridge, a shoal of silvery fish jumps near the shore in a perfectly synchronised dance. To my left, there is a flash of silent lightning among the distant clouds but above me is a clear starry sky. Every few seconds there's a shooting star, courtesy of a swarm of meteorites. The sights, sounds and smell of the Amazon night are too complex and full to be captured in a few catchy phrases.

Steve
Aka Greenpeace cyberactivist Polecat
Sweden

TAKE ACTION: Add your voice in support for indigenous land rights by writing to the President of Brazil supporting the demarcation of all indigenous territory.

Read the statement from the Deni to the Brazilian government

Read more about the Deni and their struggle to protect their lands from logging. Send a Deni ecard to a friend.

Download the pdf version of the Deni letter in Portuguese.