Saint Laurent lies only at 14 miles of the mouth, and the influence of the ocean is strong : tides, currents, and also the acoupa, the fish our indian friend Marius fish, like the salt water. We will use the tide to beach our boat, using the legs, and make a repair on the hull. In fact, when lowering the boat in Salvador a link of the planking, below the water line, was damaged. Of course we tried to close the gaps when this appear at sea, but with no great results. So, in the time of one tide a new link was installed, with stainless steel bolts, the end of pumping. All this only with our own means, sailors job…
With the dugout we will sail up the river until Apatou, go trough the Hermina rapids, visit the villages of the bushi nenge, descendant of the escaped slaves, where we will participate in making the couac and the casave, basic foods made from the manioc, discover the roucou, this so stubborn colorant. Then the indian villages, of the ethnia kali’na, descendant of the fearfull caribes. In T+merin, near the petrogliphs, Iris was waiting for us, a small ball of hair, poorly fed, full of vermin. She found at once her own place on Skoiern, born near the water she was already a sailor. We wanted a small dog, she is bigger day after day…
The river it’s also the dugouts, built everywhere in angelique and grignan woods, wonderfull, they can rech 20 meters. Up Saint Laurent it’s quasi the only way of transportation, used as well for the feast as for the smugglers with Suriname. With these dugouts and our boatman Richard we will enter the cricks, quiet at day time with the sloths and acrobat monkeys, populated at night with caïmans and anacondas.
Saint Laurent it’s also the market, the feasts, the birthdays, marches, a life we couldn’t think of in this corner of Amazonia.
When leaving for the ocean we will wander in the criks, the tributaries of the river where you sail in the trees, but with meters of water under the keel ! Except for the eyes ofthe caïmans seen one night we will not enconter ferocious animals, only the birds, ariel toucan, herons and egret go with us. At the turn of Malakami Crick (Coswine river), Ayawande, kali’na village, where somme families, guardians of traditions, Frederica and his son roger, Alphonsine and her sister. A comunitary carbet is being built, it will be used essentialy for the villagers, as the few tourist can only reach the village by the river. No internet here, only the mail, we will then write letters.
