DAY 3. THE FIRST FISH

By morning the rain had stopped, and the boat, to my surprise, had hardly any water in it. I had been so worried about it to no end. Mosquitoes are a different level of threat. They are everywhere, so I quickly set off from the bank. There is nothing to do in the bushes until sunrise.

I tidy up the things on the boat, scoop out the water, and make farinha with bananas and sugar for breakfast. It is quite tasty, but it is low in fats and I will not have enough if it is going to be my permanent diet. I decide to spend more time fishing. I took a metal rack with some braided fishing line overboard, lowered a couple of lines with a banana piece and the mole cricket on the hooks.

It may seem that river rafting is nothing complicated – just find the current and go with it. In practice, it is much more complicated. The river is very unpredictable and deep, now and then it forms small whirlpools that toss you back and forth. All the time it is necessary to keep an eye on the course, so that you do not sidetrack into any backwater or a channel without a current. Near the bank the depth is 3 to 5 metres, and in the mainstream, it can reach up to 30 metres. Unsurprisingly, it is quite an undertaking to catch any fish on the current.

The two-handed oar was inconveniently under my elbow all the time, so I made grooves for it in the bulwarks. Now it is easy to take it out and put it away, and the rope that is securely tied to the shaft guarantees its safety. The last thing I would want to do is to lose my only means of steering.

Fishing on the current did not yield any result, so I decided that during the next landing I should find a flexible three-metre reed for the rod and try to fish right under the overhanging riverbank. I managed the task without much difficulty. The second landing was much easier than the first. I am getting skilled at it!

When the wind picks up, the river transforms. It becomes scary as it also reaches 500-700 metres in width. And this is just the Ucayali! I cannot imagine what will happen when it joins the Marañon to form the main body of the Amazon. Today I saw a huge tree (at least 10 metres high) fall into the water and go downstream along with bushes and other plants that were clinging to it. The river constantly devours the banks, changing its course. In some ways it resembles the Siberian river called Chulym, only this river is ten times bigger and flows much faster.

Around noon, the weather soured, and heavy rainclouds thickened ahead. I decided not to take any risks and steered to the bank. I set up the tent, took out my equipment and suddenly saw that something was pulling my fishing rod from the reeds into the water! I rushed to it with all possible speed and fished out a small catfish the size of a palm. My first fish! It looks like I have got a good chance at not starving to death here. That is promising. I thank the rain for making me steer to the bank.

Even in the bucket of water, the catfish talks – it sounds more like a growl. I have never seen anything like that before. By the way: it clearly preferred the mole cricket to a banana piece, so I set up the rod and go into the bushes again to search for some insects. Unfortunately, it is fruitless. No larvae, no caterpillars, no worms. I dug all along the bank, but no one lives here. I seem to be the only inhabitant.

The catfish cheered me up, so I decided against spending the night here, and chose to go to the other bank – right under the rain. I could see some tall old trees there, hopefully there are some stumps and I will find the desired bait for fishing. It took 25 minutes to get everything packed up. It is not bad, but I could have shown better time.

A cargo ship passed by. I talked with the crew a bit, mostly using gestures. First the captain asked me where I was going, and I pointed straight ahead. Then he tried to convince me that I would drown if I did not return. Ha! We will see about that. That is true that the waves and the wind bother me a bit, but after I once spent five hours in a small inflatable boat in Brazil fighting sea waves on my way to an island, I find it hard to be surprised by rough waves.

As I reached the bank, I was distracted by a strange sound that resembled slurping. I took a closer look and discovered that it was some huge catfish grabbing something from the surface of the water! Then I realised that it was a tree with small fruits like figs. They fall into the water and the fish eat them. Oh, wow! It looks like this is where I will be spending the night tonight, hanging my hammock on dry land. I just need a couple more fish to make me completely happy.

All my attempts to catch a big catfish were unsuccessful. When I decided to use one of the fruits as bait with a braided line, which is designed for 40 kg, they literally broke my fishing rod and tore the fishing line with one jerk. I tried to get the cord and use a metal leash, but there were no more bites.

A couple of hours later, I managed to catch another palm-sized catfish. Something is better than nothing, but it is worse than it could have been. I just could not forget about those huge fish whose fins I saw. Eh!

Until late night I tried to catch fish in a variety of ways: I used this strange fruit as bait, and attached a banana, and pieces of catfish. All was in vain. When the mosquitoes were out, I packed the gear up and proceeded to cut the fish. It is good that I have a gas burner, I can cook my dinner quickly. Otherwise, the mosquitoes would eat me alive faster than I could eat my soup.

So much effort went into catching these two fish, but it was totally worth it. The broth came out excellent. I felt strength filling me.

After dinner, I tried to climb into the hammock without letting any mosquitoes in, but it seems that this is simply impossible. There are so many of them, they are all very keen on getting inside. And that’s the last thing I want.

17 April, ~32 (84) km covered.