23-25/5/2014
Bahia Negra to Concepción
MV Aquidaban
Well if I thought the Aquidaban was crowded last trip by comparison she was empty.
It was late getting into BN.
During the afternoon, I wandered with much difficulty back to Edies place on the other side of town.
The mud was as normal, always looking for a free ride.
Turning the walk into something enjoyable with my crocs on I tried to see if I could get there without getting water or mud inside the shoes.
I actually made it, that they have no side holes is great for this and mossies.
Coming back in the dark was another story.
It turns out the plane could take a week to get away, they runway has to be dry enough for the rescue plane to land.
This can take four days with sun and wind.
The Aquidaban was now a lifeline for me. It felt alot better .
It would have been sacrilege to have seen the plane fly over on the way down stream.
I went back to Sauls and said goodbye and wandered off in the dark to board.
Teresea told me she had a phone call to say there have been heavy rains in Bolivia, the waters are expected to get here in the next couple of weeks.
Bahia Negra could be totally inundated with metres of water.
The last time this happened was in 1993, then many animals drowned and it took a few months to subside.
She said many people will leave town till it dries out.
There was still lots going on down on the riverbank.
I boarded, and got a seat on the side with the women .
I went upstairs to say hi to the guys in the galley.
I think they were kind of pleased and surprised I had chosen to be with them again.
I bought a flask of hot water and enjoyed mate.
On the last trip they charged me 10 G for a beer I knew they were only 5. So I had bought a second sometime later and said can I have one at Paraguayo prices.
They gave it to me for 5G.
We finally got away at 2130.
I had to come to terms with this long 40+hrs onboard.
At least we were moving faster going down stream.
I spent some time chatting with a guy and actually ended up with a full bench seat, this was unreal, I inflated my airbed and actually had a good nights sleep.
The next day at Porto Olimpo, dozens of people got onboard. That night people were literally sleeping standing up. Some guys chose to drink till late.
I huddled up where ever I could.
A spot was found along a wide piece of corridor here I put some newspaper down and slept for awhile.
With the port stops, the engine was always revving and stopping it made it hard to sleep.
Then the sight of shoes 3 inches from my nose was difficult. This was remedied by pulling my beany over my face.
I got up, if you can call it that about 0300 and sat around till breakfast was served and had a huge feed of pasta and beef with coffee and mate.
I found a spot on the floor upstairs and died there for an hour.
The temperature before daylight was almost wintery with the apparent wind we were creating.
Going downstairs, I met a family who had hired hammocks they said I could use one.
This was so fantastic I had a couple great hours sleep.
I had met a great guy who was the supervisor of Indigenous education here. He told a story similar to many I have heard.
One of hardship, little opportunity, not much hope and poor management by successive governments. I felt for him in his work.
He told me of the large Meninite population to the west of here. They keep to themselves and have vast tracts of land. Recently oil has been discovered on their properties.
Many estancias up here are foreign owned ,largely by Brasileros, though waiting for the plane were 3 horribly out of condition Korean men who owned an estancia near Porto Olimpo. They gave me the impression they were not interested in farming but more just making money.
Another family spoken to were up here working on an estancia, they were great people we had beers together and laughed alot. They had the kids pet dog onboard.
“Gauchorito”, another cool Spanish diminutive for a small Gaucho or cattleman.
They had a little cubby for him under shelter on the foredeck.
It rained the whole trip. It was unbelievably cold.
On the last morning in the galley the guys said I could eat some fried meat anther guy had bought up to be cooked.
It tasted like chicked and looked like it but had a tougher texture in the mouth.
Later on the fore deck near Concepción. A guy came up and chatted with me. He lived in Cuidad del Este and was up here checking on a Spanish owned estancia. He was from Spain but lived here. Really nice guy.
We got talking about crocs and he mentioned he took some meat upstairs for the chefs to cook.
We laughed I had been eating it.
Again, I was the only foreigner onboard.
Everyone onboard is so tolerant of the conditions there was never a problem, except the one on the trip north.
Out on the foredeck on Sunday afternoon the kids were playing, in the now dry but cold conditions.
They pointed out the distant telephone towers of Concepción. We were nearly there how good was this.
Finally at 1430 we pulled into the Concepción.
The trip had taken 43 hours. The second trip though more crowded was more relaxing. There were a lot of interesting people onboard, some of whom I met.
It was so good to walk the 200m to the Estrella del Norte.
It was good to see Fernando and Carolina and tell them of the last week or so.
It was also good to have a shower and climb into a warm bed.
Something is still up with my body, I still have these crazy itching bouts.
I tend to get gentle headaches occasionally, so am in no hurry to leave Concepción.
The rains have really not stopped yet which is late.
The first day in town was spent typing and getting things up to date.
The day was overcast and unbelievably cold, it only got to 15°. Even Carolina said it was unusually cold.
I don’t need to much more of this, I have not got much winter gear with me. My sleeping bag is not good for much more than a low of 12°.
Bahia Negra to Concepción
MV Aquidaban
Well if I thought the Aquidaban was crowded last trip by comparison she was empty.
It was late getting into BN.
During the afternoon, I wandered with much difficulty back to Edies place on the other side of town.
The mud was as normal, always looking for a free ride.
Turning the walk into something enjoyable with my crocs on I tried to see if I could get there without getting water or mud inside the shoes.
I actually made it, that they have no side holes is great for this and mossies.
Coming back in the dark was another story.
It turns out the plane could take a week to get away, they runway has to be dry enough for the rescue plane to land.
This can take four days with sun and wind.
The Aquidaban was now a lifeline for me. It felt alot better .
It would have been sacrilege to have seen the plane fly over on the way down stream.
I went back to Sauls and said goodbye and wandered off in the dark to board.
Teresea told me she had a phone call to say there have been heavy rains in Bolivia, the waters are expected to get here in the next couple of weeks.
Bahia Negra could be totally inundated with metres of water.
The last time this happened was in 1993, then many animals drowned and it took a few months to subside.
She said many people will leave town till it dries out.
There was still lots going on down on the riverbank.
I boarded, and got a seat on the side with the women .
I went upstairs to say hi to the guys in the galley.
I think they were kind of pleased and surprised I had chosen to be with them again.
I bought a flask of hot water and enjoyed mate.
On the last trip they charged me 10 G for a beer I knew they were only 5. So I had bought a second sometime later and said can I have one at Paraguayo prices.
They gave it to me for 5G.
We finally got away at 2130.
I had to come to terms with this long 40+hrs onboard.
At least we were moving faster going down stream.
I spent some time chatting with a guy and actually ended up with a full bench seat, this was unreal, I inflated my airbed and actually had a good nights sleep.
The next day at Porto Olimpo, dozens of people got onboard. That night people were literally sleeping standing up. Some guys chose to drink till late.
I huddled up where ever I could.
A spot was found along a wide piece of corridor here I put some newspaper down and slept for awhile.
With the port stops, the engine was always revving and stopping it made it hard to sleep.
Then the sight of shoes 3 inches from my nose was difficult. This was remedied by pulling my beany over my face.
I got up, if you can call it that about 0300 and sat around till breakfast was served and had a huge feed of pasta and beef with coffee and mate.
I found a spot on the floor upstairs and died there for an hour.
The temperature before daylight was almost wintery with the apparent wind we were creating.
Going downstairs, I met a family who had hired hammocks they said I could use one.
This was so fantastic I had a couple great hours sleep.
I had met a great guy who was the supervisor of Indigenous education here. He told a story similar to many I have heard.
One of hardship, little opportunity, not much hope and poor management by successive governments. I felt for him in his work.
He told me of the large Meninite population to the west of here. They keep to themselves and have vast tracts of land. Recently oil has been discovered on their properties.
Many estancias up here are foreign owned ,largely by Brasileros, though waiting for the plane were 3 horribly out of condition Korean men who owned an estancia near Porto Olimpo. They gave me the impression they were not interested in farming but more just making money.
Another family spoken to were up here working on an estancia, they were great people we had beers together and laughed alot. They had the kids pet dog onboard.
“Gauchorito”, another cool Spanish diminutive for a small Gaucho or cattleman.
They had a little cubby for him under shelter on the foredeck.
It rained the whole trip. It was unbelievably cold.
On the last morning in the galley the guys said I could eat some fried meat anther guy had bought up to be cooked.
It tasted like chicked and looked like it but had a tougher texture in the mouth.
Later on the fore deck near Concepción. A guy came up and chatted with me. He lived in Cuidad del Este and was up here checking on a Spanish owned estancia. He was from Spain but lived here. Really nice guy.
We got talking about crocs and he mentioned he took some meat upstairs for the chefs to cook.
We laughed I had been eating it.
Again, I was the only foreigner onboard.
Everyone onboard is so tolerant of the conditions there was never a problem, except the one on the trip north.
Out on the foredeck on Sunday afternoon the kids were playing, in the now dry but cold conditions.
They pointed out the distant telephone towers of Concepción. We were nearly there how good was this.
Finally at 1430 we pulled into the Concepción.
The trip had taken 43 hours. The second trip though more crowded was more relaxing. There were a lot of interesting people onboard, some of whom I met.
It was so good to walk the 200m to the Estrella del Norte.
It was good to see Fernando and Carolina and tell them of the last week or so.
It was also good to have a shower and climb into a warm bed.
Something is still up with my body, I still have these crazy itching bouts.
I tend to get gentle headaches occasionally, so am in no hurry to leave Concepción.
The rains have really not stopped yet which is late.
The first day in town was spent typing and getting things up to date.
The day was overcast and unbelievably cold, it only got to 15°. Even Carolina said it was unusually cold.
I don’t need to much more of this, I have not got much winter gear with me. My sleeping bag is not good for much more than a low of 12°.