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That morning
we woke early to the sound of the market next to us.
We began to sell our supplies including the machete,
water container, plastic tarp and other items. The local
children took what was left, including the oars and
cooking pot. The raft was left at the dock next to the
market. The people at the market said it would be their
"recuerdo" of the crazy gringo and Chilean that floated
down the river.
The
last I saw of the raft
We later
learned that it takes less than 12 hours for a riverboat
to make the journey that took us 5 days. We spent the
rest of the day exploring the town and making arrangements
to catch the next riverboat to Iquitos. We eventually
found a boat and loaded our gear. It would take us two
days to get to Iquitos on the riverboat. I was told
that it would have taken us 20 days to do it on a raft.
Of course the fishermen were wrong about the time that
it took us to get to Contamana. George, the man from
Pucallpa who helped us build the raft, said it would
take about 8 days to raft from Pucallpa to Iquitos.
It was quite clear to me that no one rafts the river
so nobody knew for sure how long it takes to raft distances.
I don’t think
I would ever float down the Ucayali in a raft again.
I would prefer a canoe that I could easily navigate
and a nice mosquito net. I immensely enjoyed the adventure.
It was definitely an opportunity of a lifetime.
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