Testing Times – Part 2
14 Dec 1:18 pm by Nathan Welch Category: The Expedition
OK time to grab another beer or top up that coffee. Let’s finish what we started….
Phil Update: Phil has experienced the return of headaches & joint pain in the knees. The Big Fella has spent most of the week visiting hospital testing labs. The result of all those blood tests & urine samples… NADA. The tests have provided no conclusive evidence of anything - no Malaria, no Dengue, no Yellow Fever, nothing. We are all a little shocked by this outcome & as you can imagine Phil is in disbelief, finding it hard to accept that he has been so ill & there is apparently no cause. One of our greatest concerns now is that we get back on river & Phil experiences another outbreak of whatever he has in his system. If it was to happen again, not only would it be a huge burden on Phil’s system but medical facilities from here to our next major checkpoint (Tabitinga) are just not of the same standard as that here in Iquitos.
So as you are reading this, Phil will be on his way to Lima (arriving 14 Dec 9.30am Peruvian time). From there he will meet up with our good friend & logistics guru Petronio (Destination Peru). The plan is for Petronio to escort Phil to our Expedition Medical Adviser, Dr Ceaser Sanchez where new, independent tests will be done to probe further into this mystery & hopefully provide some definitive answers. Please get your thoughts & prayers out there – it would be a misjustice for Big Phil to leave us & have to return to South Africa to sort all of this out!
In all of our recent happenings we have not officially welcomed Miss Holly Tett, our 4th team member. Welcome Holly. Holly has now officially joined us & already her feminine touch has made a difference. As mentioned in the previous post she organised for Phil to camp it up in an air-conditioned hotel room. Something one of us blokes just wouldn´t have considered & it has made all the difference to Phils existence especially when he was in the depths of illness. Holly joins us having worked as a British diplomat for the last 5 yrs, serving in quite a few remote African locations, having been involved in previous expeditions & adventure travel. So she is well equipped for Expedition Amazonas & offers a new dynamic to this awesome journey. Welcome & thank-you Holly.
Back to our testing river times between Pucallpa & Iquitos.
The river slowly but surely grew close to 3km in places. One of the real challenges is reading the water & picking the deepest, fastest channel. This is important as our Ark raft, whilst a Ferrari on the whitewater is now like a shopping trolley on the flat. Not being designed for the flat stuff & loaded up with 3 chaps & all the gear means it’s not particularly responsive & with 3km to negotiate from one bank to the other means you really want to have the raft in the right place at the right time. Read the water & plan ahead – it’s the key. When you’re in the main current life is sweet, when you take a channel or Canal that slows to almost 0 flow then your shift on the sticks becomes tough going & frustrating. At night, using the water & making wise choices becomes even more challenging. The river is only going to get wider from here & branch out to even more numerous channels – some of which can meander for days before petering out to a dead end. So in short we can’t afford to get it wrong. The mapping that we acquired from the Geographico Institute has not really been up to scratch & has let us down on a few occasions now. Obviously there was the ‘Bolegnesi Incident’ but there was also a more recent occasion where the map indicated we had to take a channel out of the main flow off to the left, the right simply took us into a huge dead end lagoon. This particular section approached us late at night with Phil on the oars & myself with GPS & map in hand. As we neared the area, Phil spotted a narrow channel off to the left but the flow was just too much & dragged him past it. We headed over to the LHS bank to address the situation. Despite our best efforts there was no way were going to work back upstream against that beast of a current. But there was something that didn’t quite sit right with me: there was no way that small channel to the LHS would accommodate a large ship or ‘launcha’ which has now become a mainstay of our existence on the water nor did the main flow indicate what the map communicated to us re this lagoon. We were in a spot of bother, if we continued downstream & further into this lagoon, we potentially could totally isolate ourselves & if we couldn’t make it back upstream….
We tied off to the bank & camped it up for the night in the raft (mossie nets in toe). We would attack the situation in the light of morning. I was on the oars the next morning. Marko & myself investigated the terrain, the possibility of walking back to where we had come from was going to be an enormous mission if not impossible. We had heard no motor boats from a village that the map indicated was just up that LHS channel. What to do? I made the call to continue downstream. After reassessing the flow, a combination of common sense & considering the ‘how’ factor with this those big ships – it just didn’t sit right with me that those big boys take that narrow LHS channel. So downstream we continued on eggshells for about 2 hours – would this be a dead end. Eventually it became clear that we had made the correct choice, we were back in business on the mighty river. Another incorrect map had seen us second guessing our instincts & it became increasingly clear that our maps whilst offering a general overview could not be relied upon for accurate field work. This is disappointing considering the amount of time & money we invested with the National Institute of Geography in Peru to ensure we avoided these very situations. Nevertheless, its happened & we now have to make a plan to deal with it - we are currently involved in negotiations with the Navy here in Iquitos to get a hold of their Hydrographic Mapping which from all our research to date seems the best option.
We continue to be tested by some truly amazing Amazon storms & with the December rains imminent we are preparing for even more intensity over the next few months. Whilst experiencing some pretty hairy moments during these wild storms we have to date been able to negotiate them without any major dramas. They do however continue to invoke a healthy respect & fear factor from our end. The banks are constantly being chewed away by the river & erosion - hearing huge chunks of the Amazon rainforest collapse into the river is a part of our every day existence. There are some big boy trees that we have witnessed come crashing into the river & this remains one of our greatest concerns on the water. We have to be extremely cautious when traversing close to river banks & even more so when a storm hits, as its accompanying headwind usually wants to push us into one of those banks!
We have also experienced a few equipment problems. In particular we had 2 oarlocks fail within a 3 day period. They snapped clean in half - the first one failed during a relatively safe stretch of river. The second was not so accommodating. It snapped in the middle of a huge storm. The headwind then cannoned us towards the RH bank. Phil was on the sticks & did a brilliant job to somehow get us to the relative safety of a reed island with just one operating oar. He tied us off on a huge fallen tree that lay dormant in the reeds. Phil then did the tag team with myself & Marko. We then proceeded to make a plan with the oars in the middle of this raging storm. What to do - we had no more spare oarlocks & now nothing to locate our oars. We improvised with a couple of ideas until finally we decided to remove the oar mounts altogether & tether the oars directly onto the oar frame. But for this to work we had to make a few changes to the frame itself to allow enough clearance for us to make a full stroke with the oars. So here we are in the middle of this storm, rain bucketing down, lightening striking all around us & the wind thrashing about - and we’re cutting up a piece aluminium tubing on this enormous fallen tree with a hacksaw. Another one of those quirky moments that makes you smile…. Anyway we ended up raising the side rails on the frame where the oars mount, to a height where we could get that full stroke. We then cable tied a piece of conveyer belt rubber to each rail to act as a moving bearing & onto that we tethered the oars. The end result was perhaps not as nice looking or as smooth as our original oarlocks, but it would get us to Iquitos. We don’t know if he felt bad for breaking our backup oarlock or not, but this was the last time Big Phil was on the sticks, as it was just after this that his illness kicked in. We actually suspect he was concerned he was just to strong for the oars & as such organised this illness to ensure he couldn’t do anymore damage. Bloody South Africans, they break everything….
So things were pretty full on, with Phil down for the count, Mark & myself doing the 6hr shift thing around the clock, broken oarlocks, an improvised oar set up, surely there was nothing else that could go pear shaped……wrong answer.
One morning after packing up the kitchen, Marko heard the alarming sound of air escaping from our raft floor….it was a hole …Noooo! Ok, I need to give you a quick run down so you understand what happened here. Firstly, how our kitchen works: the kitchen is state of the art (designed by Welch Enterprises): to access the kitchen we simply fold up 2 beds, from there a kitchen table folds up from the floor whilst being hinged on the frame mainstay which is running across the centre plane width of the boat. When we have finished in the kitchen it’s a matter of folding the table back down & dropping the beds back to their original position. Secondly, the river is now constantly full of debris & sediment & our raft being a self bailing type means that water is constantly flowing through holes in the outer reaches of the floor & then over the baffle chambers of the floor. Over time the floor becomes caked with a thick layer of mud & debris. On this particular day, as fate would have it, the bed Marko was trying to put back into position caught a tiny stick on the floor & pushed it hard against bottom - piercing the PVC. Time for another plan on the run! There was no way we had time to stop with Phil’s condition & as we have no solar power, there would be no heat gun for Nath today. We had Phil on my bed, tucked away at the front of the raft & then we proceeded to “patch on the run”. We kept the boat in the main current, closely monitoring our position. We then quickly cleaned the floor which involved removing thick, stinking chunks of mud & debris. We dried the floor off around the problem area with acetone, pinpointed the exact location of the hole & then used our glue to patch her up. Bear in mind that the glue requires a heat gun to properly activate its bonding properties & requires 24hrs optimum bonding time. 2 important elements that we just did not have. We gave the patch about 2hrs bonding time during which we desperately tried to keep the raft in the “softer water” so as not to flood the floor & wet the patch. In the end the patch had a tiny leak, but vastly improved on the gushing hole that preceded it. It would get us to Iquitos!
The water leading into Iquitos was some of our more challenging on the flat so far. The river at times was around 3km wide but it also now branches into different channels with greater regularity. We knew by studying our maps that we had to choose the deeper, faster channels through these areas otherwise it would slow us considerably - something we were trying to avoid with Phil’s condition ever worsening. We made some good choices but we also found ourselves in slow moving water at times & it was in these situations that we had to raise the intensity & row row row your bottom off! Then there was the actual entry into Iquitos. The river branches off into 3 major channels with Iquitos on far river left. The main current wants to push you off to the right. The river is close to 2.5km wide at this point & it curves around to the left or West. Now, for those who haven’t had too much to do with rivers - when a river takes a turn or bend, the water tends to flow much faster on the outside of that turn.
I was on the sticks for the shift leading into Iquitos. It was close to 12.00 midnight & nearing 6hrs that I had been paddling. The current was pumping around this corner plus I had a headwind pushing me towards the right (or eastern bank). I could see the lights of Iquitos & I knew the importance of getting over to river left. This is more of a personal moment that I would like to share & it is for me just another small but defining moment… I remember looking over to that left bank, it was so far away, the water was really moving & I could feel that wind blowing against my bare skin - I started to question whether I was going to make it - then I just decided, I’m going to the left bank no matter what. And that’s what I did, it took me about an hour of rowing flat out on this monster river but I got there. I was absolutely knackered but we had made it. We meandered in the slow water & eventually limped into the main port of Iquitos. Marko took over on the slow water in the port area. It was about 1.30am in the morning at this stage. We found a primitive hut like pontoon opposite the main entrance bank to Iquitos - we decided to camp it up for a few hours & attack the city for hospitals early in the light of morning. So Marko paddled up to this hut & then as one last little surprise… we hear the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being loaded in the clear, crisp night air. Sure enough, a chap greeted us with shotgun in hand. Again we used our exceptional Spanish speaking communication skills to explain what we wanted to do - somehow we got the message across & he agreed to let us use his hut as a mooring post for a few hours. Eventually we closed our eyes & drifted off into sleep, to the sound of our host reloading & playing with his shotgun. What a 10 days it had been…
As well as dealing with Phil’s situation, we have been missioning in Iquitos to make repairs & improvements to the raft. We´ve given our little baby a big clean, repaired the floor, refined the kitchen area, made some improvements to the canopy extensions, siliconed up a few leaking areas in the canopy mounts & even strengthened up the overall canopy frame (in anticipation of longer, more violent storms). We have also ordered through new oarlocks from the US. Everything going to plan they should reach us in the next few days. We pray we do not experience the same problems as we did with the solar panels but again it is a waiting game. We can only deal with present time & what is before us right now - so we will deal with it if & when we have to.
We have tried to upload a lot more photos this time around to give you a real feel for what we’ve been up to. So please feel free to let us know what YOU would like to see more of. It´s important for us to know what you guys, as our supporters want to see. Also stay tuned for our latest video clip – it’s about a day away.
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Way to go Whizman!
Comment by Matt — December 14, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
Way to go Whizmanovic!
Comment by Manfried Kalch — December 14, 2007 @ 9:18 pm
Nath, the attitude that got you to river left is not a new one, it’s exactly why you are where you are today! With that same attitude have no doubt that there will be four of you setting off from Iquitos on another adventure of discovery
Amazon Admiration!!
Comment by Jess — December 15, 2007 @ 8:24 am
hello hombres
All the best for the next section of the journey The canopy looks awesome maybe some corks tied to the brim of your hat will help with the insects. haha
Comment by willow — December 15, 2007 @ 2:46 pm
Hi Boys and Holly,well Nat I took your advise and grabbed a beer whilst I read your latest post.
I didnt realise how long the post was and one beer led to one too many .
So the headache I’m experiencing can be attribuated to you along with any spelling mistakes.
I did’nt think it was possible to catch the imagination the same as the post on the 11th of November but this sure runs a close second.
Well done boys another exciting chapter to the adventure.
Trust Phil’s test come back positive and he can rejoin the the team ASAP.
Team your priority on the next leg should be keep away from people with guns, try flying a white flag from the mask of the raft.
Well team it time to fly it getting hard to consentrate after a few stubbies.
Stay safe ,stay positive.
Phil, trust everything works out for you.
Cheers Bill
Comment by Bill Welch — December 15, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
Hi guys…
Wishing you only the best moving forward…..
@Phil: Can you send pics of what you currently suffering of. Can get the network to help you out there bro…..
Adie You Buddy!!!!!
Comment by Adnaan — December 15, 2007 @ 10:50 pm
Ola!
Phil - thinking and praying this all gets sorted quickly….
Nath, Mark and Holly - here’s to good sleeps, lots of laughs and just that quiet determination!
Big hugs,
love
lexy x
Comment by Lexy — December 18, 2007 @ 7:10 am
Nathan,
firstly it would have been nice to have you at our wedding but i understand you had bigger fish to fry and for that i forgive you this time. Secondly the reason Billy can’t spell is because of the election and the alcohol is still trying to find its way out odf the maze that consumed it and thirdly this one is for toni-maree, how far does your bloody son have to go away before you stop pestering him about his living quarters, let go toni let go, that is unldess of course you enjoy it nathan. sorry i haven’t messaged sooner but expect more in the near future. Steve!
Comment by Steven Howell — December 18, 2007 @ 2:29 pm
gps mounts…
Garmin is one of the most trusted names in the gps industry, and owning a Garmin gps unit is a great step in the right direction with some of the best navigation technology around….
Trackback by gps mounts — February 15, 2008 @ 11:20 pm