The Real Adventure Begins…
Early Thursday morning a hodgepodge group of about 200 gringos and Peruanos gathered in a plaza in Iquitos armed with oars, chairs, snacks, foam, rope, and other building supplies. Collectively we were quite a sight to see. We all piled in buses and traveled to Nauta where we had a celebration for the commencement of the 13th annual “Great Amazon River Raft Race” complete with jungle dances, a toast with jungle liquor, and a bienvenidos from the tourism director of the area. After a chaotic scramble to buy last-minute supplies (my favorite purchase being an enormous reed sombrero) we piled in boats and were transported across the river to the bank where we could be constructing our rafts. The sun was incredibly strong and the humidity made the air thick, but the views were gorgeous.
Lord of the Flies- Raft Building Chaos
We assembled on the bank of the river and in an extremely haphazard way we were released to begin the construction of our rafts. Given little warning or direction, we scrambled to select our 8 balsa logs- choosing only the ones we could lift (later we were informed the largest logs are the most buoyant). Materials for construction were extremely scarce, and no rope was to be found until it was already dark. Luckily we were able to rely on some locals for help, because without their guidance we surely would have sunk within minutes of entering the water. The entire day was a heat induced delirium surrounded by a chaotic haze of machetes hacking, chainsaws buzzing, and short tempers flying. The collective mood was not improved when our promised lunch and water didn’t arrive until 5pm. Despite the Lord of the Flies-esque environment, we managed to have fun building and decorating our raft, chopping down trees with machetes, and hanging out with the dozens of other Peace Corps volunteer participants. As darkness settled in we completed our raft by the light of headlamps and a campfire. An evening downpour soaked our already make-shift tent and sleeping conditions, so we slept uncomfortably close as water dripped over us.
Hacking down support poles with my machete
Gladys is finally constructed, by the light of headlamps, after an incredibly long day
We awoke Friday morning and “Gladys” (our affectionate name for our raft) was ready to take on the Amazon River. She may not have been the most quality constructed raft, but with the pink roof, convenient bag holders, and shiny flower decorations I think she was the prettiest. With lots of help, we moved the raft to the river and so began the voyage. We got off to a rough start and in the first 10 minutes I think we were all wondering what we got ourselves into. I imagined the Amazon River to be a narrow, fast-moving current; instead, it was an enormous wide body of water that seemed to move naturally in every direction but forward. However, after a bit of strategic rearranging and in-sync paddling, we found our rhythm and were able to enjoy the rest of the morning. It was pretty exhausting, but a midday torrential downpour actually served to lift our spirits. No other rafts were in sight as the rain started pouring down, but we embraced the cooling shower with laughter and continued on our way. The heavy rain turned the current into a crazy maze of whirlpools, so we spent the following several minutes paddling like maniacs only to turn in circles and zigzags. The rain was quickly replaced with sunshine and we finished our first day of paddling after 6+ solid hours, happy with our progress. We spent the night in a tiny village along the riverbank, arranged in refugee-camp style accommodations crowded in make-shift tents and a school.
Embracing the Downpour and Upcoming Whirlpools
The following day the organizers informed us that the course was significantly longer than the previous day and it should take about 8 hours to complete (which meant much longer for us). If this were true, there’s no way we would finish before dark, but the race directors assured us that if we weren’t near the finish by 4:30 they would tow us in. We drug Gladys back into the water and began the day in high spirits; singing, joking, playing games. We were in a pretty good rhythm towards the beginning of the day, paddling hard and enjoying the wildlife and dolphins swimming alongside us. However, as the day went on we managed to find every obstacle, floating tree, and whirlpool to guide us off track. Around 3:00, after almost 7 hours of paddling, we were exhausted, hadn’t eaten lunch, and were trying to figure out where we were along the course. The support boat passed and told us we had 2 hours to go, so we mustered up our energy and continued on our way.
At around 5:00 we were in the middle of what seemed like an enormous lake with no signs of the finish in site. We assumed the support boat would soon be towing us in, but continued paddling. At 5:30 we saw dark storm clouds, thunder, and lightning in the near distance. Time passed and there was still no sign of the mysterious rescue tow-boat that was supposed to arrive at 4:30. We started to get a little nervous and picked up our pace as the sky grew darker and waves began to form in the river. The banks of the river were lined with steep, muddy cliffs so stopping seemed like an unlikely decision. However, as the sky grew darker and it started to rain and lightning over the river we decided abandoning ship was our only option. We paddled furiously to shore and by God’s grace there was a tiny little village on the bank. We jumped out of the raft just in time and the townspeople literally pulled us up the muddy cliff banks. They led us to the tiny school as lightning bolts hit the river we had just escaped from.
The people of San Jorge, a village of only 10 families, were the kindest, most hospitable people I’ve met. As we crowded in the school a group of small children immediately huddled around us, their deep brown eyes staring up at us in curiosity. After our racing hearts and nerves calmed down we learned the names and ages of the children and laughed together as the flashes of lightning illuminated their faces. I can only imagine what these little kids thought of us: giant, super-white gringos who washed up off the bank of the Amazon River and into their tiny little village. After awhile we saw a light in the distance and ran to the bank of the river, waving frantically to get attention. Finally, 3 hours after they indicated, the rescue boat arrived. At this point the search and rescue coastguard boat was in full emergency mode, making us all even more panicky. We ran to the riverbank and the coastguard was screaming into a megaphone “ONE AT A TIME, DESCEND THE CLIFF, QUICKLY!” as an enormous flashlight and emergency lights lit the riverbank. At this point the cliff was basically a mudslide, so we put on our lifejackets and slid down the bank. As we boarded the coastguard boat we were greeted by a crowded mess of other race participants who had also been picked up by the rescue crew. We piled on the crew bunk beds and began the rocky ride back to safety.
Finally Back to Safety, Thanks to the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Boat
Needless to say, Gladys was abandoned off the coast of San Jorge, but I’d like to think the little kids are now parading around with glittery leis around their neck and a pretty epic story to share. Since we were raft-less (along with 7 other teams) we were barred to the support boat for the last day of the rafting race. However, with hammocks and free cerveza, life could be worse. We also got to cheer on all the other rafting teams, including the incredible Peruvian teams who flew past us before we could even catch a good glimpse of them. All in all, the “Great Amazon River Raft Race” was quite an adventure. I’ll leave you with the ridiculous but entertaining rap/chant/pep-up song Team Gladys created while rafting down the Amazon. The chant began on day 2 and we repeated it every time we passed another team (or better said, they passed us) or needed some entertainment. As you can see we added extra stanzas to reflect the conclusion of our river rafting escapade.
We the girls with the pink roof
We gonna float, we don’t need to proof/
I ain’t gonna lie,
We might not fly/
But at least our boat,
Is still afloat/
Circlin’ in whirlpools is what we like to do
But that’s just cause we’re more fun than you/
Erin is the captain o’ mine
She likes to keep us in line/
Kim likes to rock the life vest
Maybe cause we ain’t the best/
Kelsi is team cheerleader
Singin’ and rhymin’ is why we need her/
Beth forgot her gloves, sista’
Now she’s got a nasty blista’/
Paddle hard, we did try
Til lightning filled the sky/
We thought the rescue boat was near
But we had reason to fear/
Abandon ship in San Jorge
Otherwise we’d be swept away/
Against the shore the waves were crashing
Coastguard’s lights were flashing/
Down the muddy cliff we did slide
The rescue boat took us for a ride/
It’s not that we weren’t tough enough
But the water just got too rough/
World’s biggest river we’ll never forget
It was an adventure we won’t regret/
Gladys was lookin’ for action
Amazon River provided satisfaction
Wow, those are spectacular views! Staying there for a couple of days is definitely worth it. I guess people came there not just for the rafting tournament, but also to take in the beauty of the environment.
ReplyDeleteDavid Deland