DAY 35. A WARNING

Good morning to me! The night was uneventful. In the morning, I paddled out into the current and found a giant floating log to pull me forward as my wooden horse. What a pity – it has no knots, no twigs, nothing to grab onto. I had to do some engineering trickery. I hammered a big nail into the log. On we go!

I decided to cover as much distance as possible each day to leave Peru on time. All this mayhem with my passport had delayed me, and now I risked overstaying my visa, which for some reason they gave me for 60 days, not 90 as is normally granted to Russian citizens. Perhaps they did not like my big rucksack.

There are big lakes downstream by the river. I might be able to find a crocodile in them! There must be fewer people and more fish there, although the latter fact remains to be seen.

With the new bucket, doing my laundry has become a lot easier. It is a small thing, but it is nice to have it.

I was lying in the hull and reading a book. Everything was calm. Suddenly some strange waves came up and the boat started rocking back and forth. A month ago, I would have been scared, but now I just kept on reading. It is just a normal day on the river, nothing special.

Oh, all right, the game is on! I had to stop reading as a wave came over the board and got to me – the wind had picked up so much. The situation, as it has happened exactly this way before, is unpleasant. If I set course to the nearest bank, the wave will hit the side of the boat directly and there is a risk of capsizing, while the other bank is very far away. This is what happened to me about twenty days ago. Can I pull it off it again? Absolutely.

For more than an hour I paddled to the bank, and when I thought to land and wait the wind out, it died down. It is a joke, isn’t it? It is all planned to keep me on my toes, I guess. Well, it is all for the best, though.

My hunger returned with a vengeance today. I feel it acutely. By my city standards, when I used to eat two or three meals a day, now I am on a strict diet of farinha and bananas. I need to find some fish. I think I will take anchor early today.

I was floating along the river, not disturbing anyone, and I saw a local man turn towards me in his boat with a motor. He was alone, so I decided not to worry too much. We got acquainted. Albert came to me only to warn me that there were a lot of robbers and pirates ahead, so it was better to spend nights in villages. He also told me that there was no point in fishing near islands and new banks that had been taken over by the river not so long ago. It is better to stick to the old and well-formed banks.

Indeed, spending the night in settlements is safe. Here, just like in Asia, the guest is protected by tradition. But who will protect you when the whole neighbourhood finds out about me, and then I continue my way down the river? Not to mention the fact that I always need to rest after a long day, and socialising with people takes a lot of energy. No, that is not an option.

The dusk is setting in. I found what seemed a perfect spot for fishing. It was still water with a variety of depth levels, surrounded by green thickets and fallen logs, and there were splashes of small fish in the water. I canoed round this stretch of water and tried every kind of bait – fish pieces, bread, and bugs. No luck. No luck at all. It looks like I will be eating empty instant soup tonight, much to my dismay. I am inconsolable.

Yes! I was about to drink empty broth with a handful of rice when suddenly my persistence paid off. I caught a catfish, albeit a small one. The evening is getting better. The water is boiling, soon it will turn into a rich nourishing soup, and little frogs are croaking all around me. Or are these birds? It is hard to distinguish between them at times. I hung the catfish head on a hook and threw the fishing line near the boat, hoping that I will catch something else.

I ate a hearty meal to the music of various jungle creatures and went to bed. What a lovely evening.

19 May, ~65 (1203) km covered.