DAY 23. RACKETEERS

I slept well. I drove the boat back to the main riverbed and made myself a shibe (this word means farinha with sugar and banana). As I was having breakfast, I heard someone calling me. I looked round and there was a man in a small chiseled canoe. He swept past me so quickly, deftly wielding a paddle, that I barely had time to answer: ‘Good morning’. He made my boat look like a real heavyweight vessel.

I am still far from recovery, but I decided that it was important to finish improving my daily life on the boat. I cut down some thick sticks to make a grid for the bottom of the canoe to protect my supplies from moisture. I peeled the bark off each of the sticks. This way they would be better preserved and dry more easily. The machete, like the paddle, feels very heavy today. I still do not have enough strength and I get tired too quickly.

I went into a quiet channel and passed a small settlement. It is better to follow a slow channel straight through than take a 3–5-hour detour along the main Amazon riverbed. I have almost finished my work on the grid for the bottom of the canoe. It already looks good.

Not half an hour later, I had left the settlement behind me. Suddenly I saw a 7-metre tented canoe with a motor coming right at me from behind. Apparently, the locals were curious about who I was and decided to meet me and ask me some questions. That is what I was thinking at the time. It turned out to be more complicated and unpleasant.

The canoe came very close to me, and the man in it gestured for me to slow down. He was accompanied by three younger men, and the crew did not look benevolent. I had to obey.

As our boats aligned, they started interrogating me who I was and why I was here. I explained to them that I was a traveller, that I had always wanted to get acquainted with Amazonia and its inhabitants. That is when instead of curiosity, some strange event started to unfold. The man said that I had to pay a fee if I wanted to pass through the channel. I did not understand. Pay? For what? They tried to explain to me that the channel is private and belongs to the local community. To pass through it, one has to register in the village and pay a fee – about $10. I explained that I had never heard of anything like that, and that I had never encountered anything like that during my three weeks on the river. I told him about my journey and the fact that I had next to no money left.

The man listened to my words without any compassion, as if I were lying to him. Then he grabbed the rope from my canoe. I tried to stop him and said that he could not touch my property. The atmosphere was heating up. He ordered his men to start towing me to the bank for us to have a talk without having to fight the current. Yeah. Out of the stream. That is when I felt scared.

We stopped at the edge of the channel and resumed the argument. I tried to ask him again how any channel could be private and why any registration was necessary. Then they tried to tell me that it was to prevent outsiders and tourists from drug trafficking and kidnapping children – for the safety of the community. What? What children? What nonsense is that?

The price of admission suddenly dropped to $5. It was explained to me that if I did not pay, I would be towed back and I would have to take a five-hour detour on the main river. I agreed. Tow me back if you want to!

The man hesitated and repeated his arguments again nervously, but he no longer looked dangerous. I explained again that I had next no money and showed him my supplies, including dried fish. The boat slowly began to tow me upstream. Then we stopped again.

The price of the passage had dropped to $3, but I was already convinced that it was not some official fee, but an ordinary racketeering attempt. The three younger guys were already clearly taking my side and tried to calm down their boss. A new wave of negotiations started, but now I took the initiative.

I explained that I did not plan to fish or hunt on their territory, that I did not carry any drugs, and I certainly did not plan to steal their children. Where will I find space for them? Have you seen the size of my canoe? Again, I explained that I have those $3, but I must spend it on food. I cannot pay my way through all the channels, as I come across quite a few every day.

The guys had clearly figured it out by now, but the man continued to escalate the situation. I was tired of watching this extortion attempt. I am usually calm as a boa constrictor and I am overall an extremely reserved man, but here I was, explaining in rapid emotional Spanish that what was happening here was outright disrespectful. I explained that there is racism towards black people and there is racism towards gringos. Since I am white, I must have a wallet, and anyone can shake it to see if a few coins fall out? These three weeks on the river were very hard. Every day tested my strength. Now I am sick. I have a fever. The people I have met up to this point have endeavored to help me, to make my journey easier. This is the first time in 800 kilometres – the first time when someone just wants to take my last possessions from me.

The man listened to me very carefully, and I continued. No, I did not show aggression, I was not rude, because it is dangerous. However, I showed all of my accumulated indignation. Towards the end of my speech, he apologized. He apologized!

He copied my passport data out of my hands, wrote down my phone number (just for the show) and let me go. I set off down the river with a whole new spectrum of emotions still churning inside. All right.

I need to clarify an important point here. If I had felt a real threat to my life for even a moment, I would not have insisted and I would have given up what little I had left. But when it comes to extortion, I see no compromise possible. Every bribe or compromise just makes the problem worse.

Even though these guys had made me feel awful, I calmed down. I kept working on the boat, I refined the fenders – now they go up and down, spreading the tent, which is now easier to install.

I did my laundry and finished the bed. Now it is completely flat. Do you comprehend what a joy it is? I can lie on a flat bed, even if it is terribly hard. The sun is shining, my clothes are drying. Despite the difficulties in that channel, I felt better. I felt noticeably better. Maybe it was the release of hormones, I do not know. Also, I was almost out of fresh water, so I decided to check out the village of Genaro Herrera and see what was in store for me.

I landed, the locals directed me deep into the settlement, where I met Burley and her husband. When they found out I needed water, they simply took my 5-litre bottle and filled it at their house. Judging by how clear the water turned out to be, it was not filtered, it had been purchased. It is completely pure. What amazing people they are! Now I have enough supply to last me for several days.

I left Genaro-Herrera. The sun is about to set, and what am I doing? I am looking for black berries. I have been told that the berry grows everywhere, but I have slowed down and searched the bushes so many times – and I can still find no berries at all. And there is no looking for worms here, the bank is literally locked in dense vegetation.

I found a small cove for the night. Today I can relax and sleep without having to wait for incoming waves from some passing ship. I was even able to go on land and enjoy the sunset through the gap in the branches I had cut out. These moments are truly magical.

It was already dark, and I was eating my favourite farinha with my headlamp on my forehead when suddenly something big landed on my head. BIG. Not a moth, not a mosquito, but something large! I shook it off with fright, but I still do not know what it was. It was something too small for a bat that might have been interested in the light. I considered putting on my hat. Yeah, Amazon is so Amazon! Everything here is incredible.

I took a walk through the jungle before bedtime. The jungle looks very different at night. There is life literally everywhere, under every bush. There are snakes, fish, and frogs. One frog was particularly good at posing for the camera. It looked friendly, but I did not touch it, of course. I think I will go about without my princess.

7 May, ~51 (877) km covered.