An Amazonian Expedition a Navigation of the Arinos, Juruena and Tapajós Rivers by Canoe
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An Amazonian Expedition A navigation of the Arinos, Juruena and Tapajós rivers by canoe By Gabriele Warwick, Economics graduate at the University of Warwick Report prepared for the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund Trustees in partial fulfilment of the conditions of receipt of an LRMF Award. Date of submission: 26th November, 2015. Email: [email protected]. Website: amazonexpedition.wordpress.com Contents Project Summary.....................................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................................5 PART 1.....................................................................................................................................................7 Chapter 1: Introduction ..........................................................................................................................7 Chapter 2: A quick note on two historical expeditions...........................................................................8 Chapter 3: Planning the expedition ........................................................................................................9 Chapter 4: Manaus, the orientation period and our travels to Juara (2nd Jul – 12th Aug) ...................11 PART 2...................................................................................................................................................18 Chapter 5: The Arinos (13th Aug – 23rd Aug) .........................................................................................18 Chapter 6: The Upper Juruena (24th Aug – 1st Sep)...............................................................................24 Chapter 7: The Lower Juruena – The “rapids section” (2nd Sep – 15th Sep)..........................................27 Chapter 8: The Tapajós (16th Sep – 5th Oct) ..........................................................................................31 PART 3...................................................................................................................................................43 Chapter 9: Personal Reflections and Conclusions.................................................................................43 GLOSSARY..............................................................................................................................................46 APPENDICES ..........................................................................................................................................47 Appendix 1: The rapids of the river Arinos, Juruena and Tapajós ....................................................47 Appendix 2: Fishing techniques in the Amazon................................................................................55 Appendix 3: Notes on expedition planning and our kit ....................................................................56 Appendix 4: Kit list ............................................................................................................................60 Appendix 5: Medical kit ....................................................................................................................61 Appendix 6: Accounting Statement ..................................................................................................62 Appendix 7: Formal expedition objectives .......................................................................................64 Appendix 8: A comedic excerpt from Savage’s writings...................................................................64 References ............................................................................................................................................66 2 Table of Figures Figure 1: Map of route............................................................................................................................6 Figure 2: Training in the Lake District ...................................................................................................10 Figure 3: Our host family’s house during the orientation period.........................................................12 Figure 4: Catching small fish for bait.....................................................................................................14 Figure 5: Adam pressing mandioca to make goma...............................................................................14 Figure 6: Exploring a creek with our host family ..................................................................................15 Figure 7: Road to Sinop.........................................................................................................................16 Figure 8: Our first view of the Arinos....................................................................................................18 Figure 9: Lunch with Apiaká on Arinos..................................................................................................20 Figure 10: Farmer taking selfie with his cattle after our brief return to Juara .....................................22 Figure 11: The Arinos ............................................................................................................................23 Figure 12: Walking boat through shallow channel on the Juruena......................................................25 Figure 13: Salto Augusto Falls ...............................................................................................................28 Figure 14: Emergency beach bivvy after São Simão .............................................................................30 Figure 15:Portaging boat around São Simão ........................................................................................30 Figure 16: Messing around in the Tapajós after a day of paddling ......................................................32 Figure 17: Improvised rowing rig so Adam could paddle despite bad shoulder ..................................32 Figure 18: Gravelly beach after a draga................................................................................................33 Figure 19: A draga.................................................................................................................................33 Figure 20: The river ran out!.................................................................................................................34 Figure 21: Cooking fire..........................................................................................................................35 Figure 22: Typical hammock set up ......................................................................................................35 Figure 23: Deforestation after Jacaré on the Tapajós...........................................................................36 Figure 24: The vast Tapajós...................................................................................................................37 Figure 25: Me with rag on nose as sun protection ...............................................................................39 Figure 26: Bat bite.................................................................................................................................40 3 Project Summary This is an account of a canoe expedition in the Brazilian Amazon from Juara on the Rio Arinos downstream to Penedo on the Rio Tapajós. Along with sharing our stories, this report also describes the wildlife we encounter and endeavours to provide an understanding of the people who live on the banks of this river system. The appendix gives practical information about navigating the rapids, advice on how to organise a tropical river expedition and also provides kit lists. 4 Acknowledgements I am thankful to a huge number of people, without whom this expedition could not have happened. I’m indebted to the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund, my primary sponsor, and without which the expedition would not have gone ahead. A further thank you goes to the Opportunity Fund1, which provided the funds that paid for our communications equipment. I’d also like to thank the very generous Dan and Sally, who provided me with personal sponsorship. I am deeply grateful to John Harrison and Tanis and Martin Jordan who as well as providing useful advice, gave me the inspiration and courage to go ahead with the expedition. Thanks to Atila Monteiro who gave us specific and invaluable advice on the river system. Thank you to Craig who sacrificed his time to give us a crash course in canoeing and gave us a hefty discount on the Ally canoe. I give my deepest and most heartfelt thanks to Jaime and Graça who welcomed us into their family, taught us a huge amount about jungle survival and with whom we spent 2 weeks laughing. Thanks to Flávio for taking us out canoeing on the Rio Preto da Eva and sharing his knowledge and stories with us. Thank you to my cousin Cairé, who hosted us at short notice and took us out in Santarém. I cannot be more thankful to Vania Gadelha, who put us up, gave us medical advice, fed us for a month and who never complained about our kit which was often strewn over the house. It is impossible to imagine a kinder, more generous and tolerant host. Thanks to Maria Luiza for taking us out and making our stay in Manaus all the more fun. So many people on the river shared their stories with us and gave us food, lodging and advice, bringing