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The good
sleep renewed my energy and I was more optimistic about
finishing the journey. We said our good-byes and Thank
Yous to the villagers and pushed off. The first hour
or so on the water was perfect. There was no wind, the
water was smooth and the current strong. Than the winds
picked up again. We reached another bend in the river
and the winds forced us against the shore. We paddled
hard and made distance from the shore. A few minutes
down river we were forced once again to the shore. Again
we broke away and reached a very wide river bend where
a smaller river converged into the main river. The open
space gave the winds more fetch and quickly forced us
to the shore and into a stock of reeds. We were stuck
among the reeds for quite a while. The winds and swirling
current kept us pinned to the shore. A few boats passed,
Pali whistled to get their attention, but no one stopped
to help. Finally nature gave us a break. The winds paused
and we paddled through the reeds and to the center of
the river. The rest of the day was a continual struggle
against the whirlpools and winds. I was tired, my hands
were sore and my back hurt from being hunched over the
oar all day.
That evening
we saw another village along the shore. It was hard
to reach the village since the current was strong and
it was on the opposite side of the river. We reached
the village and met only a few people at the shore.
We followed a path to a cluster of shelters. I than
realized that it was an indigenous community. They had
the distinct indigenous face of the area, even though
they wore Western clothing. One woman, however, preferred
to go bare breasted. She quickly put on a shirt when
she saw the strangers. The indigenous villagers were
not as outgoing as the people we met the previous evening.
They did not speak to us much and gave us only glancing
looks. I felt like we were intruding on their daily
routines, which we were.
That night
we borrowed a mosquito net from one of the villagers
and slept in the raft. The evening was a special occasion.
Pail and I had known each other for two years. We celebrated
with a shot of rum. In the middle of the night I made
the mistake of opening the mosquito net to go to the
bathroom. The mosquitoes flew inside the net and once
again the little critters had a tasty meal.
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