DAY 37. THE MEDICINE

The morning started as usual: pain, rain, and ant invasion. They have occupied the whole boat; they are in all my stuff. Thank goodness the food supply is sealed and there is not much of it left anyway. My only task for today is to find a major settlement and stock up on food. I need to boost my immune system with a proper diet. Maybe I will ask the locals how they fight otitis and see what they can advise. I have a long journey ahead, as there are not many villages here.

Today I had a very vivid, curious dream, which is unusual for me. I dreamed that I was somewhere in the middle of winter-bound Kamchatka, very far from home (I live in Siberia), and my friends invited me to go camping – to summer warm Krasnoyarsk, my hometown! I happily agreed and flew to Krasnoyarsk, where we went on a nice summer hike. The scene changes, and I am already travelling back to Kamchatka. It appears that now, being in the Amazon jungle and travelling down the river, I am metaphorically in Kamchatka, in a place far, far away. That is a curious trick of mind. And it seems that I do not socialize enough.

As soon as I wrote down the note about the long journey ahead, some settlement appeared on the bank. Unfortunately, it is Sunday, so I do not know if I will find anything I need here.

The village was called Nuevo Pevas, and I saw many people on the pier. One of the women even offered to drive me to the emergency room where I could be treated for otitis. Other residents volunteered to look after the canoe.

After all these rains the path to the settlement is a muddy mess of clay, so everyone wears high rubber boots – including me, although I tried to get out in crocs unsuccessfully; I almost fell over into the mud.

Christina, that helpful woman, took me to the doctor. The suggested treatment was a strange one – I was advised to take painkillers. Toothaches, they say, are treated the same way, and in extreme cases they take a boat to the major town in the district. Then I explained that I needed something to rinse my ear, and they gave me an ampoule of antibiotic (gentamicin), which was to be mixed with hydrogen peroxide. I asked how much I owed them for the medicine and the women just smiled.

I replenished my peroxide supply at the local shop and returned to the pier, where I once again bought my favourite juane, as well as farinha, bananas and some bread. Unfortunately, it was a bit stale as there is no bakery in the settlement and bread is delivered from another town.

As I was about to leave, a large 10-metre-long tented canoe with the sign ‘Panaderia’ (which is Spanish for ‘bakery’) docked at the pier. Oh wow! That is where they buy bread. I already bought plenty of it, so I had to deprive myself of the freshly baked treat.

As I started to paddle away from the bank, a voice suddenly called me out of the window of this boat. The saleswoman asked me with interest where I was from and where I was travelling and gave me some sweet rolls. It is unbelievable! On the other side of the pier a farmer with several children had just docked. He apparently brought yuca (‘manioc’ is another name) to sell. It is a local root like potatoes. He listened to our conversation and treated me to some roots as well. There people are so caring.

Now I have enough food even if I do not catch any fish at all. I can move towards the lakes where I will search for crocodiles! I also had to buy a big bunch of bananas as there were no small bunches sold.

I say goodbye to the settlement. The houses stand on a hillside, with their verandahs hanging right above the Amazon – it is an interesting design. They draw water from the river by lowering a bucket on a rope which is 5 to 6 metres long. What if the hillside collapses like they sometimes do here?

I kept myself busy cleaning up the boat. It took me about two hours. I sorted out the food, cleaned the boat from the clay that I had brough on my boots, then there was my traditional fight against ants on the schedule. And of course, I savoured my cherished sweet gluten – the sweet rolls.

A man in a boat came up and we talked. He warned me that it was better not to go out on the river at night, as it could be dangerous. It is better to stay in villages. How many times I have heard that!

Well, he is right in his own way, but I do not want to stay in villages. I want to live on the doorstep of the jungle, in the nature. Besides, I think bandits are just ordinary people who live in the same villages. It is safer for me to be inconspicuous because they can catch up with me when I leave the settlement. No, I would rather be alone with nature.

I celebrated my newly acquired medicine by eating some ‘juane’. It is a great dish. I have always liked pilaf, but this one is special: it is jungle pilaf. And it is still hot!

I wonder how far I can travel today. I want to set a record since I must heal and keep from paddling. I will not be fishing, I will just recover and eat, because food is the best medicine, especially in my situation. Oh, yeah. Of course, it is necessary to look for a fast current. There are 200 kilometres to the lakes.

I disinfected the boat with aldrin, a chemical that was recommended to me by people in Iquitos. They say it prevents ant infestation. Judging by sulphur and other nasty chemicals which were sold at the same shop, it must be something effective. I hope it does not do harm to me as well as to the ants.

I am quietly considering my stockpile of bananas. I do not know what I am going to do with the abundance. Luckily, the price here is much lower than it was in Iquitos, and farinha is cheaper here, too. In Iquitos it would have cost 9 to 10 soles, but in this village, it was only 5. And the bananas cost me 13 soles instead of 35. So, it was a good decision to wait and do my shopping here. 13 soles are only $2.5. That is for a huge bunch of bananas – it weighs nearly 10 kg. I will have enough bananas for a long time.

The day is over, the sun is setting. I am even glad I happened to be in the middle of the river so late – I still cannot find a place to camp for the night. The wind has died down, only the gentle yellowish-pink rays of the sun are slowly hiding behind the horizon.

I camped near one of the islands not far from a settlement, so I keep from using my flashlight to avoid unnecessary attention. It is time to sleep.

21 May, ~64 (1340) km covered.