It felt great to climb back in our canoes yesterday and continue our journey through the flooded forest. However, before we could start paddling we had to carry our canoes and all of our supplies over a swath of dry ground between Manco Capac and the flooded forest that drains into the Yanayacu River. The quarter-mile-long trail took us through the middle of the Manco Capac school yard, and dozens of curious school children watched from their classrooms as we dragged our canoes through the muddy field in front of their school.

After two hours and five trips over the portage we were ready to start paddling again! A maze of dense forest made for some difficult canoeing and we were soon thankful that we had hired Ramon. He is a wiry, 67-year-old fisherman from Manco Capac who showed us the way to Lake El Dorado. During the low water season, people can walk from Manco Capac to the Yanayacu River in about two hours. When the water levels rise and the rivers spill into the forest, locals follow the same trail in their canoes.

During six hours of paddling through the forest yesterday, we did not see any dry ground. In many places, the water in the forest was over five feet deep, and Jesse learned firsthand how deep the water can be when he dropped his machete in the water!

The forest was so thick that we often had to use machetes to hack a path through the vines and tree branches. As Jesse was cutting a branch, his machete slipped out of his hand and quickly sank into the murky water. Jesse jumped in after it, but the water was over his head. He tried feeling for the machete with his feet, but there were too many sticks cluttering the bottom. Reluctantly, he dove down head first and began feeling around the bottom with his hands. On his second dive he found the machete and burst to the surface wearing a giant grin!

After several more hours of hacking, pushing, pulling, and prying our way though the forest, we reached the Yanayacu River and a ranger station built on stilts. The ground around the house was covered in 3 feet of water, and fish swam around my feet as I stood on the steps to unload the canoes. When the canoes were unloaded we floated them under the house and tied them to posts so they would not float away.

This morning we continued on to Lake El Dorado where we will spend a few days looking for animals. There are dozens of pink dolphins that live in the lake, and we often see them swimming under our canoes through the clear water. We have also seen a 9-foot-long caiman, squirrel monkeys, macaws, wattled jacanas, horned screamers, a sloth, plicostomas, and several species of cichlids which are often kept in aquariums in the United States.

A bunch of squirrel monkeys are playing in the trees about 20 feet away so I am going to go take some photos!

Keep Exploring,

Dave

Thanks to all who attended our last chat! Our next chat session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 27, from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Please attend if you can!

High temperature 89
Humidity 87%
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