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Published: November 2nd 2006
Alright, so my buddy Hugo, one of my teammates from the amazon race wrote a pretty good article for the SAE magazine about our trip...I've been slacking big time on writing about it on here so I'm going to post his article about the race, and in the future if i have any updates I will add them. I have a lot more stuff written down on my own that I'm sure lots of you will hear about. But without further ado, here's our race article, photos to follow...
GETTING THERE Quito, Ecuador to Nauta, Peru
On an early morning last September, my friends and I walked into the South American Explorers Club in Quito Ecuador. We saw a poster for the 7th annual, world's longest race down Peru's Amazon River on primitive balsa-log rafts, and got excited. For a $50 entrance fee we would get a raft, paddles, boat support from the Peruvian coastguard, and accommodations on the two-story riverboat, the Miron II. Not to mention, the opportunity to float down the world's largest river for three days. We decided to go.
The trip would not have been possible without the help of the South American Explorers Club. Angie, the Quito club manager, paged through a Lonely Planet guidebook and in minutes, showed us our would-be route. We sat back in awe of how easily this was happening, and over a cup of tea, dreamed of a 48-hour bus ride to Yurimaguas Peru, and a 3-day river cruise just to get to the starting point. Walking away from the logistics party we already had a plan and an estimate of how much it would cost to get to Peru and back. Only $200 dollars? Let's do it!
Derek Condor Bowls and myself Hugh Denno came to south America with our community college from lake tahoe California, we also work together as river guides. We meet Brian Iverson at the south American exploresrs club in quito ecuador. After a kayaking trip togeather in Ecuador the deal was sealed and we were certain that our flow was taking us to Peru.
All we had to do was put our volunteer projects on hold. Derek returned to Hosteria San Jorge to finish up the organic garden we started. Brian and I stopped off at Kury Pachamama, a woman-led organization of 32 indigenous Kechwa families that we are helping to get the ball rolling on an ecotourism and cultural preservation project. In two days, our Ecuadorian artisans designed and made us the most beautiful pirate jerseys for the race, hand-embroidered with the Kury Pachamama and South American Explorers logos. These gorgeous garments would soon get real dirty in the Amazon rainforest.
We left Quito on September 13, feeling invincible, and ready for adventure. We were only missing two things, a fourth teammate and a team name. On the bus that night we came up with our name -- Tenemos Ganas, or "we have the desire -- to win, or lose, or for anything else that might happen". By midnight, we had made it to Huaquillas, the border crossing from Ecuador into Peru. After a motorcar ride, I reached into my pocket to find nothing -- my wallet must have slipped out on the bus. Ohhh no! For the first, but not the last time, team support and teamwork became crucial.
We woke up the next morning slapping mosquitoes on a second bus in Tumbes. Getting our first taste of Peruvian food, Derek almost became a vegetarian when he saw the chicken foot in his soup. I became aware that Peru is an easy place to become a vegetarian, but a hard place to stay one.
Five hours later we arrived in Chiclayo and were swarmed by our first group of screaming locals. They were shouting prices, pushing, punching, and kneeing each other in the groin. Each one literally fighting to sell us tickets. We were completely overwhelmed and within seconds they had us all separated and surrounded. Feeling vulnerable, we regrouped and looked for a way out. We could not believe what was going on. We finally bargained our price and spent the next 15 hours with our knees in our chests, crammed in the back of the bus, fighting over who could stay in the window seat.
We arrived in Tarapoto in the next morning ready for round two. This time we did more shouting and goofing around then they did, we showed that we were not intimidated by their tactics and earned their respect. Go team. We were all really glad to be traveling with friends who can have fun in these types of situations.
That day while listening to some reggae tunes we entered the palins of the amazon for the first time. What a sight, it is like the horizon of the ocean but green. Our 50 hours of travel ended with the discovery that our boat had already left.
We spent two days touring Yuirmaguas swimming in the river, slurping fresh juice, and beating the locals in soccer. Derek lost his passport and wallet off the back of a motocar the story ended with us pouring a few pitchers to the honest locals who found it.
Finally the boat left around 10:00am, September 17. We settled in our hammocks and got ready for a three-day trip. We had with us 20 liters of water, more fruit than we could carry, and muchas ganas to get to the race. The whole boat ride was 40 soles ($13) and with it came food. The boat had at least 100 people, several cows, who knows how many chickens, and a handful of gringos.
Not until it rained did we understand why all the locals wanted to be crammed in the hot, noisy, lower level. The sunrises and sunsets were definitely the highlight of the scenery and were enhanced by the pink river dolphins playing in the water around the boat . We meet a local girl named Norma and told her abot the race.
September 19th we arrived in Peru's river city of Iquitos and that afternoon met Englishman, Mike Collis, a.k.a Mad Mick, the race organizer and creator. He gave us the rundown: "You have no chance to beat the locals, they have been paddling since before they could walk, They know these rivers better than you know your neighborhoods back home."
After an exciting day speaking with our extra thick Californian accents the day ended when we returned to our hostel and met Erick woolfer, who would become our fourth teammate. He had been surfing around south America with his brother and got washed up in Iquitos with no plans. His main reason for joining was to be able to visit the pueblos that he passed on his journey into Iquitos.
The next day I headed up river on miron II the boat we would be sleeping on for the next three nights. It is the perfect amazon cruiser . It even had a Amazonian toilet, a closet with a hole into the river. I meet many of the competitors that are now good friends, the captain and Mary Kay our Dutch cook. The best friends I have made in south america are the guys from Iquitos Times, a team sponsered by Mick. They took me out on search for watermelon in the rainforest at night and it proved to be a very fruitful mission.
THE RACE
We arrived at our starting point in the small village of Nauta at 10:30am on the 20th.We went into the town with time to kill until the other racers arrived. The people, the food , the palm thatched houses I don’t know what it was, but for the first time I really felt like I was in Peru. After lunch, we meet all of the other teams. There were six foreign teams, with participants from Russia, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Australia, Canada, England, and the U.S. It is really amazing how these teams heard about this under-promoted event and formed their random teams.
The best team story may be that of the South American Explorers Club team #2, led by Dale Baskin from Seattle, Washington. Dale, another SAE member, had originally formed his team in Quito, but his three teammates never made it past the city limits. When Dale arrived in Iquitos, he had to find three new rafters.
Dale met John Montana in The Gringo bar in Iquitos. We introduced him to Norma, our friend who was on the boat from Yurimaguas. The fourth spot was filled by a local woman, who turned out to be a paddling machine and the team's current-navigator. The haphazard assembly of team members was matched by an equally loco race organization.
After meeting the racers we met our rafts for the first time. They were constructed from eight balsa wood logs, about five-meters in length and tied together with a very strong jungle vine. The locals say that balsa trees grow like weeds. Many of them make a living by harvesting the trees, making a raft, then floating into Iquitos with some fruit from the jungle, they sell it all including the raft, buy a bus ticket home and do it all over again. At first, we were proud of our primitive rafts. We would soon learn the gringo rafts were constructed a little too traditionally. The locals who made them seemed to have forgotten that they had been building these rafts for generations. That night many of us sat in the dark making what we thought were improvements to our vessels.
We then had a team had a meeting to get everyone together before the race started. We all had arrived with different ideas about how the race was going to go. We all voiced our concerns about the lack of sleeping space and the food issues. Many were shocked to find out that food was not going to be provided. Some of the Peruvian women's teams said they had not brought money, thinking food was included. On top of that, many of the Peruvians had nowhere to sleep because the Iquitos municipality had not provided the promised beds. Many of the locals went to friend's houses or stayed in the churches in each town along the way. As Collis says, the race is "Not for the weak at heart." The event only cost the gringos $50 dollars to enter, each. Locals paid just 30 soles ($10), what could we expect?
The Peruvians were surprised to learn that Mick had divided the prizes into three categories: cash prizes for the fastest rafts and the fastest women's rafts; and non-money prizes for the foreign teams. Locals had also hoped the rewards would be higher, and seemed ready to lynch Mick.
The Peruvians were clearly in the race for the money which totaled 6,000 soles ($1,850) in all. Collis said, "If you don't spread the prizes up over the three days, the Peruvians will drop out of the race if they think they don’t have a chance at the final prize." We gringos were competing for a first place prize of a two-night stay at the Rain Forest Lodge near Iquitos, and for three blood-wood trophies. Really we just wanted the experience there was no real competitive vibes.
The event's main sponsor, Peter Schneider, owner of the Rain Forest Lodge, provided $1,000 for the event. 2,000 soles ($625) came from the municipality of Iquitos, and 1,600 soles ($500) was given by Bill Grimes, owner of the local cruise company, Dawn on the Amazon. To my surprise, the Iquitos' tourism chief said the city planned to offer greater support for next year's race.
Getting back onboard The Miron II, the boat hired to accommodate the foreign rafters, we watched hammock space go from gringo to Peruvian standards in minutes. The boat, which is made for 20, ended up housing 40 people in all. That first night in Nauta, some slept, while others prepared.
DAY 1
The race started with a frantic couple of hours while the 22 teams 6 foreign and 16 local did last minute preparations before the race. Around 8:30am we were off with the whole village of Nauta cheering us on. We had left with the idea that we would be paddling for about 4 hours assisted by a current of 9 km per hour. If we did not make it to camp by 3:30pm the coast guard would bring us into camp.
Our first 20 minutes of the race was a tiring realization that our rafts sucked. Unlike the Peruvians, our rafts were only shaped on one end and the logs were all different sizes and shapes; some fully submerged while others were lifted above the water. Every gringo teams pile of logs would pull to one side and we definitely had our share of spinning in circles. This is probably the funniest culture shock I have ever experienced because for once we were on the opposite end of the technological spectrum.We were on eight logs that were spaced so far apart that we regularly fell through. Our raft was at least twice as wide as our competitors. They were sitting nearly shoulder to shoulder on six straight finley carved and painted logs
This is where our team name came into play. We were Tenemos Ganas, which means we've got the desire. For winning, for losing, or for having a great time whatever happens. This is about the time when Captain Brian reminded us we are not here to win. So we put our paddles down and decided to go with a more enjoyable pace.
Even though this was said we never made it clear what were all thinking. This ended up being our biggest mistake because our over relaxed vibe was not shared with everyone on that raft. I am careful not to say team because in no way were we a team yet.
We spent the morning getting the gear settled and trying different techniques to keep the raft going down river. I have to admit that all our troubles can’t all be blamed on the raft. It is very important to take into consideration our lack of experience paddling a balsa raft with one decent paddle and three tooth picks. I don’t know what was worse the rafts or the paddles. Uncontrollably going downriver we argued while watching the clouds and the rainforest become progressively bigger and more exotic and made it to the start of the Peruvian Amazon.
As the day grew hotter we paddled less and less as we ate more and more watermelon.We spent a good amount of time jumping off the raft and swimming to the beaches. We had a real hard time getting along and learned when on the raft, we are stuck together and we have to work as team even if you don’t like who is on your team. After full eight hours we did figure out that strategically positioning our big and small paddles together made us go a lot more smoothly until we broke a paddle and were forced to watch birds with the binoculars
By 4:30pm we had given up hope that the coast guard was going to be a part of our getting to camp. Our mood was dramatically being effected by the growing storm and lack of understanding of how far we had to go. We rounded a bend and used those binaculars to see our boat. We experienced a new feeling, we are actually going to finish. We sat up, forgetting the we had already paddled 40 km and made our last push to shore. This is when we felt our first raindrops and as we pulled in the storm really started.
Erick was really concerned about the other boaters and went right to the coast guard. It wasn’t until someone gave them gas money that they raced off into the storm to look for the rafters. Visibility was only about 30 meters and it did not seem likely that anyone would be found until the storm was over. About 40 minutes later the coastguard returned with our smiling gringos. They made it very clear that the lightning and three-foot waves had already passed and they were drifting on the remains of their raft by the time the coast guard got to them. In no way did they consider this a rescue. Captain of the Coast Guard boat, Jorge Oinet, said he didn't initially realize a raft had gone missing because nobody had coordinated with him or informed of the number of participants.
This definitely changed everyones perspective about what we were doing and the necessity for seriousness. It also made very clear that the lack of organization and communication had gone a little too far. Then again what else did we expect in South America.
At the same time their boat was destroyed our team was nearly destroyed by the events of the day. Our team was going through ups and downs and some were considering not participating the next day. We had a very necessary talk that ended with a good vibe. Then out to share a bottle or two of aguardiente (suger cane alcohol that has earned its name of fire water) with our friends to discuss the day. The day ended with us cuddling up in our tight sleeping quarters.
DAY 2
On the second day we woke to our next lesson that Rafting gear in Peru can walk away overnight while on dry land. We found this out when we woke to find our best paddles and all of our life vests gone. Hmmm who is hiding the neon orange life preservers? I did not understand this because I come from an adventure community where permanently borrowing someone’s gear during a trip is strictly taboo.
We had no problem finding gear because about one third of the Peruvians gave up that day. They were not going to win so they paddled upstream or got on a bus back to their pueblos. If they were not going to win they needed to go home and continue working. The best local teams began training as early as two months ago and had been working on their raft for just as long. The other teams really didn’t have a chance
The massive exodus left a plethora of good paddles and beautifully constructed rafts. So we gringos did what we had to do. We bought the gear from the fleeing locals. They needed money for the bus anyway. That day, all of the remaining gringo teams bought new paddles and rafts from the locals. These proved necessary for the upcoming 60 kms we were attemped that day. Many people said they would not have continued if they had to get back on the so-called "rafts" of the day before.
We left the shore of Porvenir at 7:30am. Our new plan to get down the river was basic; less watermelon and more paddling. And paddle we did, nearly nonstop for 5 hours. By that time three of the foreign teams were disqualified from the race. The first, whose raft was destroyed by the storm. Two other teams were disqualified when they took a tow from the luxury riverboat, Dawn on the Amazon III. We had "The Over the Hill Gang", that took a multiple beer tow after one log became waterlogged and began to sink. Believe it or not Tenemos first place for the day.
Our friends from Iquitos Time once again proved to be our savior. The whole day they were lifting our spirits with water fights and asking us to sing bad boys. They shared their local secrets and food that proved to be necessary to keep our energy up. They also kept us paddling when we were tired and those veterinarians snuck up behind us. We had to stay in first place because we were so proud of how our attitudes and performance had changed from the day before.
We shared a snack with the veterinarian girls and observed that they were floating faster than we were, another reminder of how gear plays an important factor. After lunch we arrived at a short cut. A much narrower route which created a faster and easier current to follow. It also made the sight seeing better because we could get real close to the shore. We all agree that this was one of the most enjoyable times on the river. It was really a great vibe among us racers who just wanted to have fun. There were tarantulas floating onto the raft and a storm growing in the distance, everything was great.
All good things come to an end. We came back out into the Amazon proper, and the nice flow of the short cut turned into the longest bend ever. The river was about 2 km wide here and it felt like we were on a lake because there was no visible current. Coincidently when there was no current there was no motivation and we fell behind.
We were in third place and losing sight of those in front of us when something inside of us sparked and we started to paddled aggressively. We had no idea how much paddling we had left, but we dug our paddles into that murkey brown water with all we had left. With help from the Peruvian coastguard who instructed those sneaky veterinarians out of the current we regained first place.
Another afternoon storm came from a jet black cloud that made a bridge over the river. We had small waves, lightning and of course more Pink river dolphins. The storm created an unforgetable atmosphere that enhanced our feeling of accomplishment. This was a really fun day because we were able to transform from four bickering individuals to one team that didn’t talk unless it was necessary.
That night happened to be the 150th anniversary of Tamishiaycu. There was dancing food and talk among the racers about the possibilities this race has The opportunity to be a part of this was enough of an experience that we regularly said that this was best 50 dollars ever spent. Seeing that separation aspect of the race I slept with the locals in the church.
DAY 3
With our new found confidence we started the next day with mucho ganas to finish. We were up and ready and filming before 630am. Even though weren’t going to win, we were over an hour behind the first place team, we woke up and acted like it. We thought it would be cool to be the first gringo team to pull in to the finish. Everyone there would think we won so what is the diffeence?
We set off down river with our friends for the last time. We started about 45 minutes before any of the other teams. They showed us the way to another shortcut and helped us to read the current. The secret is in the lilies. Then like the lilies they floated away much faster than we could keep up with.
Fortunately our early departure set us up for the great learning experience of getting passed by the best local paddlers. This was the first time in the whole race that we had even seen any locals paddling. The current was flowing and was relatively easy to follow. We definitely needed the extra help from the current and it wasn’t long before we had the desire to rest. Brian who could not sit still or barely sit up anymore, was definitely not demonstrating that aggressive paddling position we learned in kayaking class. We discussed that we were happy just finishing the race.
That day the river was full of locals that had come out to watch us go by. We continued to struggle with reading the current and ourselves. For some reason we would always take our breaks in the lakes and paddle through the current. This mellow pace allowed the other gringo teams to catch up. By this time we were ready to be done.
We were arguing about which side of the river we were to finish on, a minor bit of information no one told us. With our last bottle of Peruvian wonder food we crossed the river. We made it to what looked like the finish, pulled in and got passed. We had a bit more to go.
THE FINISH
Ok I don’t think it is the best idea to finish a 150km race with an up river paddle, but it was the symbol for all of us that we were determined to finish and finish we did. We were instantly greeted with cheers from the croud and a beautiful iquitena girl who had a couple of beers waiting for us. The so-called "Invincibles", from the local river town of Padre Cocha, finished the race in 13 hours and 17 minutes, winning best time on two of the three days and overall best time. The team divided prizes worth 2,250 soles ($700) between four rowers. Finishing in second place, just six minutes behind Los Invincibles, was "Los Increibles", also from Padre Cocha.
Not to any shock we gringos finished in about twice the time it took the locals. Dale Baskins SAE team finished in first place. His story represents everything the South American Explorers are all abut. Going on adventures with the idea you are going to experience things you never imagined or expected. Don’t worry Dale your secret is safe with me.
We finished in third place even though we had that great second day. Technically speaking, three teams were disqualified so we achieved our goal of last place. All that watermelon from the first day really hurt our time.
Shortly after we all gathered in the Iquitos Yacht Club, the trophies and prizes were handed out and we went our different ways. Surprisingly the municipality provided transportation for the local teams to Nauta, to start the race, but left them muddy and wet to get home on their own. We gathered enough to send them home and I have no doubt that most went home started working and haven’t stopped since.
AFTER
The next day was slow because as we all agree that was one of the most physically and mentally challenging things we have ever done. Erick quickly floated off to Colombia, which left Derek Brian and I once again. Everyone else on Dale's team lives in the jungle and saw no point on going to a jungle lodge so Tenemos Ganas minus one got to enjoy the life style of first place rafters at the Rainforest Lodge. As we spoke of the lessons learned from losing we ate the winners dinners. I have to give credit to Derek for actually getting the okay for all of us to go to the lodge togeather, thanks buddy. This experience really allowed us to appreciate our friends and fellow paddlers in a ways that would never be possible without the ups and downs.
Our trip to the Amazon rainforest lodge began with a speed boat ride to las boas serpentarium. Where Derek lined up another volunteer program working with animals. We were able to have the Best hammock time ever! We played with monkeys and hung out with anteaters on the couch!
Our lodge time most importantly provided more time with friends. Seeing the monkeys tied up took away some of the fun from Waterslides in the Amazon but not all of it. We journeled and debated whether or not to free the monkeys or the caged dolphin.
On our last day Dale and I toured a sugar cane refinery which meant aguar diente and lots of it. Then we left and stoped in Padre Coche, the town where the best racers come from. It was a real eye opener when we saw what they do when tourists are herded into their village. I cant believe these kings of the river are forced to put on a show of traditional song and dance everytime a speed boat pulls up.
I don’t think any of us would come back to this same experience, many of us disagree how things went. But without being there and participating there is no way we would have been exposed to these experiences. Now many of us feel connected to this and wan’t to be a part of the race in the future.
The idea and feeling was shared among all that were in contact with the race, even Emillie Dahua, a fruit seller in Nauta, said the race had captured her village's attention. “It is the first time I am observing something like this. It seems to me that all the city of Nauta is watching. This promotes something of culture and the environment. It is something very very good," she said.
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Tot: 0.086s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 7; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0464s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
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jim
non-member comment
WOW - thanks
Thanks for the detailed report. I was aware of the race from the ex-pats living in Lima but didnt know how it turned out. Any chance for some pics? thanks - TE AMO PERU!