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In Amazonas - 1998
In Amazonas - 1998
Jacek Pałkiewicz2006-06-18 22:36:03
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of green trees, under a strong sun that caused our heads to pound. We were also hungry, since we had had a handful of nuts and rasins for lunch and nothing else in the meantime. Our feet squelched in a puddle of water we had shipped when we set off and which had stubbornly resisted our attempts at bailing.
From time to time, the guttural squawk of a parrot pierced the sky. Seen from the boat the forest seemed a fascinating world populated by hidden birds which filled the air with their cries, whistles and song. The forest was also a flower lovers dream. Bunches of many-hued blossoms cascaded to the water's edge; the majestic trunks of the trees were covered by climbing plants with large leaves which exploded in great thickets of orchids of every imaginable form and colour.
The boat we were travelling in was large and solid. Our seats very hard and uncomfortable, especially after long hours under a hot sun, but we pressed on all the same. An Indian was perched on the prow indicating with constant gestures of his thin, brown hand the course the helmsman should steer. The main danger came from jutting rocks, which were often visible only at the last moment in the muddy, detritus-filled waters of the river.
The water bottle was handed round.
"This is vile! How much Amuchina did you put in it?" "About ten drops". "Are you off your rocker? You only need a single drop for every couple of pints!" "Ah, I thought it seemed odd". Everybody burst out laughing at this misadventure.
On top of some sacks, a little boy, six to eight years of age, dozed indifferent to the landscape and us. He was wearing nothing except for blue socks and a necklace of blue and white pearls often donned by many members of the Maquiritare tribes. His helmet of shiny black hair fell on the thin arm he was using as a pillow and his front teeth, as always with children of that age, seemed unnaturally large in his infant's face. Every now and again his
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