ADVENTURES > Amazon (Conclusion)Gliding down the Casiquiari now wholly in the 'green hell' (as the early explorers put it) the expedition encountered two tribes of Ianomani Indians, regarded as some one of the most primitive in existence today. Communicating by sign language while exchanging food, clothing and cultures was an emotional experience. Down the Rio Negro and into Brazil the expedition climbed Pico de Neblina, the highest in Brazil at 3014 metres. A jungle trek, with a guide that had never been to the top, through mud and mosquitoes proved a memorable diversion. Impossible control of the rain forest here had allowed large tracts of the jungle to be destroyed by illegal gold mining activity. Down the Rio Negro the sky and river melted and the crew counted butterflies. In Manaus along with the black water, they met the mighty muddy Amazon. The river of superlatives, then carried them down to the city of Belem at its mouth, and together with the 2.7 million tons of silt per day, they were discharged insignificantly into the sea. This 5000 kilometre waterway had taken seventy days to navigate, something the early explorers could only have dreamed of. By all means a piece of coast to be tackled going the other way - the north east coast of Brazil proved no easy task. Against the current, against the wind, experiencing huge tidal differences and the associated appearing and disappearing sandbanks, a lack of fresh water, unfriendly mangroves infested with larger and more voracious 'plaga' called Matucas, deserted beaches in lunar landscapes of dunes, big surf and a never ending string of breakages, the crew battled it out for fifty days in winds exceeding 25 knots, eventually reaching the corner of Brazil and the city of Natal. Around the corner the winds calmed and the coast headed southwest. Sailing truly down wind for the first time since Miami, the crew was euphoric with the boats reaching up to 20 knots as the villages and cities whizzed by. A record daily run was set at 107 miles in eight hours, providing the most exciting sailing of the trip. In southern Bahia near Porto Seguro, a cold front slowed progress for nine days, bringing cold weather, rain and no wind. This was where Pedro Cabral had accidentally discovered Brazil in 1500. With good weather the last corner Cabo Frio and its' strangely cold waters flew by. Rio de Janeiro was next and soon Ilhabela was in sight. With an armada of friends and well-wishers and after 289 adventure filled days and 13 000 km's of life aboard a Hobie Cat, the crew pulled up on the beach of Ilhabela. Mission completed! |
