DAY 14. MY FIRST TROPHY

I painted some easy-to-see words on the tent of the boat. Perhaps now people would not mistake me for a North American and call me ‘a gringo’. I wrote ‘Soy de Rusia.’ Some people would say that because of the current disastrous state of my country’s international relations it would be safer to avoid mentioning where I am from, but these things are important to me. This way I can represent the peace-loving, curious and progressive people of the Russian society who are now completely deprived of their voice.

The rainy days came at a cost. My feet are sore again. Huge blisters appeared on both – the water is eating away at my skin again, inch by inch. Avoiding contact with water is out of the question under these conditions.

My attempt at night-time fishing has shown me that I urgently need a bell to keep me from missing the next fish when it swallows the hook. Back in Pucallpa, I already tried to find a small bell at the market, but I had no success. The only solution is to design one myself.

I hooked some small weights on a titanium swivel and attached it to the handle of my metal mug. Then I threw the weights inside. If the rod is suspended and the mug is yanked to the side, there will be a metallic clang from the weights beating against the side of the mug. It is not a bell ringing, but it will be enough to alert me. I need to put my main competitive advantage to good use: I live in the boat and sleep next to my fishing traps, and the locals do not do that. That means that I can lose far fewer fish than the local fishermen.

I constructed a flexible reed rod for bait fishing. Not five minutes later I caught a catfish in one of the coastal bushes. The berry works like magic! As I realised, in such murky water it is important to strike the bait against the surface as loudly as possible when casting. Then the fish nearby will come to the sound. On one of my light tackle throws, my bait attracted something so big that I was unable to pull it out.

I caught two small catfish, and it started raining. Again. Sure.

I led the boat out into the main current of the river and hid under the tent. It was time for the next stage of my preparations: I took huge 4-5 cm hooks and sharpened two of them to build a trap for the night. Perhaps I will have a shot at catching my own Moby Dick tonight.

I feel heartburn today. I think I have been eating too much farinha and sugar, so I decided to eat the last one of the tins given to me by Segundo (there were three in total when I started in Pucallpa). I donated the stove he gave me to Jonas and his family, as I decided that they needed it more than I do. I do not have much space for it, nor can I find dry firewood in the wet jungle. For now, I cook everything on a gas burner. It conserves energy.

So, I celebrated the halfway milestone to Iquitos with my canned soup. I left about 540 kilometres behind me! Not so long ago, such distances seemed insane to me.

On the river, I saw a double barge loaded with huge tree trunks. This is how the virgin forests of the Amazon are disappearing… Trunk by trunk at a time.

Once again, I find that kind of tree from which small fruit is falling. Nearby you can see the whiskers of catfish eating it. Here they are clearly smaller than the ones I saw earlier, and they take their food more gently, more discreetly. But you cannot fool me, you cannot hide from me! I can see them very well, and one of them will be mine. Oh, this rain is so annoying! When will it stop?

Landing was not easy. The bank is very swamplike here, so I had to cut down some reeds and make a path, almost drowning in the process. Also, I caught my hand in a bush and scratched one of my fingers with thorns deeply. Things are made more difficult by my sore feet as well. Some water got into my boots and causes terrible pain. And what did I achieve by this landing?

I tied the boat securely, cut down a couple of reed branches and set a trap like the locals do: I stuck two sticks 5-7 metres apart, stretched a nylon string between them, hung two hooks on swivels (20 cm each) directly into the water, and attached the bait – some catfish – to them (with great difficulty).

I returned to the boat exhausted. First and foremost, I needed to disinfect and treat my wounds. I applied some medical glue on my finger and a couple of scratches which were bothering me today, rubbed some motor oil on both my feet and put on my socks so that the oil would stay on the skin for some time. Thus, I had only one of my hands working, so I could hold my phone and film what was going on. It was already getting dark. I thought: what will I do if I hear a fish caught into my trap in the middle of the night? I will have to put on my boots, go into the water knee-deep in mud, forgetting about my pains and aches. Anyway, it is bedtime for now.

***

In the dead of the night, I heard the fish trap signal. I caught some fish! Was I thinking at that moment how painful it would be to get in the water now? No, I was not. I jumped into my boots right over my ‘medicinal’ socks and ran through the mud to look at the catch. At the second attempt, I managed to reach the stick with the hook and saw a huge fish that was still in the water. I carefully put my hands under the tail and grabbed it – now it will not escape! Adrenaline was boiling in my veins. All the aches and pains have subsided. I drag my wildly resisting trophy into the boat. What a success!

This must be one of the biggest fish I have ever seen in my life. I was holding a catfish weighing 3-4 kilos (or possibly more than that). That is a worthy reward for all my effort! All my misadventures were worth it to catch this beauty. I wanted to sleep, so I tied the fish to the boat, having loaded it into my bag beforehand, so that no one would beat me to it. Oh, I am so going to devour it. I will deal with the fish tomorrow, but for now I will apply oil on my feet once again and then go to bed.

I did it! I am so happy.

April 28, ~53 (537) km covered.