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Published: June 26th 2017
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Geo: 11.019, -84.398
The engine of the open 8 seater canoe burbled gently in the darkness then suddenly cut out altogether ................nothing to guide our heightened senses in the enveloping black inky darkness of the jungle but the rhythmical cacophony of poisoness tree frogs.......some red, some green but all capable of delivering a torrid and painful "FROGGY DEATH".........
The guide who had been standing sentinal on the bow for over one hour suddenly signalled with his hand and jumped in the water to our left........the canoe rocked from side to side and all we could hear was splashing in the snake infested water........."MISSED IT"...... was the dissapointed comment from another crew member......."it was nearly 2m long"......."THANK GOODNESS"............ I thought to myself as the prospect of a 6 foot freshwater croc (Caymen) being caught by hand and landing on our small craft was not my idea of fun......let's head for base a finish off the dwindling rum supplies..........!
The last three days have been spent avoiding killer bullet ants......and other nasties including the Ferdinand snake that can kill within the hour! The only local remedy is to drink two kilos of crushed jungle berries.......a slightly tricky exercise me thinks if stuck in some swampy mire
with no convenient Kenwood blender to hand...........let alone 2kg of hand picked berries for some rare plant!!!
We are staying in El Castillo a small isolated jungle river staging post that was set up by the Spanish Conquestodors in the 1600's. Accessible only by river they even built a fort here which was stormed by Horatio Nelson.........there is a street named after him today. Men died from Europe in the hundreds from Malaria and other tropical nasties......mainly dystantry, trying to make their fortunes......a quote from one of the Spanish soldiers of that time was that there was "no doctor apart from a Shoe Maker who could not even let blood!". Even now the population of 2,000 only have a visit from a doctor twice a month.
In the mid 1800's VanderBilt opened up the River San Juan as a viable route from New York to San Fransisco via Nicruagrua. Up to 10,000 people per annum paid handsomely to travel by boat through Nicruagrua to and fro from these Cites using paddle steamers in this section of the journey. There are partly sunken relics to be seen even today........the rusting riveted iron funnels and mangled paddles half submerged in the rain forest.
Our little
above the Hotel del Rio is a tiny colonial wooden affair comprising some 4 rooms overhanging the raging "Devils Steps" Rapids........it's charming and run by a lovely Spanish Lady "Marga" who serves fantastic local food cooked by the surrounding locals......she cannot do enough to please her clientele.
Our guide for the last three days "Orlando" is a local man in the his late 50's who grew up as a farm labourer but decided to better himself by learning English and getting into the tourist "ECO INDUSTRY" by taking flat footed white legged Europeans on jungle walks and canoe expeditions. A proud and cultured man who has to support his daughter and two grand children single handedly. He proudly showed us his hand built house......a rather swampy wooden affair with no furniture..........not waterproof........ and to be frank really really "koshed"........and the whole family dependant on his meagre income..........
The journey continues...........
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