[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-QcH-Xex1cVQ/Uyr5bLZ2WyI/AAAAAAAAaBs/cmcp-VSS_uY/s144-c-o/P2280010.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage18Brazil1CayenneToAmazonasDelta#5992876499482860322″ caption=”I was guarded micely in Sucuriju by three friendly but well armed military policemen” type=”image” alt=”P2280010.JPG” ]

Feeling like being in a sanatorium…
Pos: here
Loc: Sucuriju
Acc: room police station

I could barely walk last night as the underside of my toes was sore from too hard and too much and too long paddling. My skin was well washed in the bucket shower, still for quick recovery of all skin sores (which I actually had already much worse…) I’d need an air conditioned room. But this is too much to demand in this friendly village of the corner of civilisation! Electricity was working from 6 to 10 pm, and I had a ventilator to quick dry my skin at least. Then it had to do the not much breeze of the open window with a bug net. I had to tape a few holes in it.

But I slept all right, knowing I can catch up more the next days. My body was hurting on all and every corner this morning, and I really felt like a bit worn from the last days torture without real break. I just had three more or less relaxing half day afternoons to recover. Now it was time to recover better and to wait out the dangerous tidal wave Pororoco on March 1st on new moon. Just google some pictures… Totally crazy people do eventually surf this trashing wave! Never ever do I want to be there with my loaded kayak…

My first job this morning was to do my laundry, at the wind free rear of the house, with some tiny nasty bugs eating my legs. I had to take water out of the rain tank into a big wide metal bowl, at least modern washing powder did help a lot on the cold hand wash. Still it felt like a job out of former ages standing on the wooden planks, pouring the gray water just below, soaking and rinsing and still the soup stayed somehow brown. I had to separate my only “slightly” dirty laundry from the tops and pants I was using while paddling, as these were almost mud soaked and took a lot of rinsing to barely get clear. At least everything was drying quickly in the fresh warm wind.

Next job was to write the first batch of seven missing updates, and I was sitting out there in front of the house to get reception with my sat phone to send for quite some while, while a bunch of local young women with their kids joined me to watch what I was doing. Very young mothers though! Maybe 13 or 14 years only…? Cute babys, I will take more time the next days to interact with the locals. They are so curious and really want to catch up with modern times! As they do amazingly have a few TV’s here (how do they generate money to pay for those luxuries?) though obviously electricity only for 4 hrs at night, the indigenous people, especially the young women know and like to dress modern and how to do hairs and nails. They do quite a lot to look attractive in their shorts and tight shirts!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-50QrGDj96h0/Uyr3h3Z9rZI/AAAAAAAAaBM/s-dfgM8ygqA/s144-c-o/P2270064.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage18Brazil1CayenneToAmazonasDelta#5992874415350459794″ caption=”One of my military polimen cooking dinner in our house” type=”image” alt=”P2270064.JPG” ]

I did a few minor repairs on the boat and gear, there is always something to maintain or to change or upgrade. But basically I was recovering from the stress of the last two weeks! I wrote more updates, edited pictures and tracks. usual jobs, and I am thankful to have a good private room in the police station! Tonight I am even not feeling like running the ventilator, temperatures with some rain today are moderate, my skin is getting better already, or somehow used to the climate.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Ffk6FO1zv9E/Uyr6MkA-K2I/AAAAAAAAaB8/AyYsTtrqovc/s144-c-o/P2280067.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage18Brazil1CayenneToAmazonasDelta#5992877347902991202″ caption=”The nature conservation institute” type=”image” alt=”P2280067.JPG” ]

I will have a walk into the village tomorrow, taking some pics and “talking” to the locals. Communication is not too bad with my broken Spanish, Portuguese people understand most of it.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4A4ehiIo3QA/Uyr6EsIhTNI/AAAAAAAAaB0/ed32eF2bf2k/s144-c-o/P2280066.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage18Brazil1CayenneToAmazonasDelta#5992877212643183826″ caption=”The two guys from the nature conservation institute also living in the house” type=”image” alt=”P2280066.JPG” ]

I was watching a bunch of people on the huge flat sandy spit at the river mouth entrance, running around, what were they doing there? Fishing? No, they were playing football on the best natural sand pitch exposed on low tide… 🙂 Lucky locals! They have a bunch of small motor boats, but also a lot of simple canoes to get around. No road access here! All engine sounds are coming from some kind of boat. Interesting style of outboard engines though! I think it is because of the shallow water that the propeller is sticking out on a long stick far behind the boat instead of simply down at the rear end. In this way you may be able to operate in more shallow or muddy water, I guess!