Sailing to Brasil - Venezuela - Manaus - Amazon ferry - Amazon jungle - Suesca - Cali - Medellin - Colombian coast - Venezuela/Colombia border
2008 April - Working aboard Iorana
The plan. To work as crew during 1 month aboard an 11 meter yacht named Iorana to take it from Ushuaia in the the south of Argentina to Guaratuba in southern Brazil. The crew are me, Martin, and Marcel the captain.
On the 11th of April we leave Ushuaia and it's snowing. Our first day is to sail only 60 miles to Puerto Williams in Chile. The plan there is to visit some friends and then head on north, but there's a snow storm so we are stuck there for three days untill they open the port again. We leave Puerto Williams in the afternoon with the plan to arrive at the Maire Strait at 9am the following day to pass at low tide to avoid oposing wind and current. That night the captain explains that we will sail through the night with 2 hours on and 4 hours rest rotating the guard. It's the first time that Martin and I have sailed at night and also the wind direction and speed changes a fair bit so we have plenty of work to do. The captain is there helping until he suddenly says, 'bugger this, I hate sailing, I'm going to bed, It's all yours, ciao!'. We manage to keep progress, but as we get closer the Maire Strait and near to Cape Horn, there's a lot of swell. That, with sailing at night, trying to keep direction on a small compass, and trying to pick out the land from the sea plays havoc with your belly and soon enough I'm feeding the fish my lunch. When I come to do a night shift Martin, the other crew is puking over the side, the sails are banging from one side to next, and the boat is well off course. I help but we are two crew sick as dogs.
The next day we pass the e Maire Strait on time. When the captain realises that his two crew are out of order he starts throwing abuse at us. 'You call yourself sailors? You two are useless to me with your sea sickness. I'm gonna eat some bacon and eggs. You want some?'. That made us dive straight for the side of the boat for more fish feeding. It took me another 24 hours until I could keep some food down and a few more days for Martin, but then we were back in shape.
One night I am on guard chilling looking at the stars when I am suddenly thrown from my seat to the floor. A violent squal has just sent the boat crazy at full speed. I try to pull the boat out but it's too strong, and luckly the others awake and rush out to bring down the front sail. Then we have just a little bit of wind with some rain. What was that all about? This sailing lark throws a few surprises in!
A few days later after passing the Falklands Islands we had wind from the north which meant we had to tack against. The wind became gradually stronger thoughout the day so the boat leans more and more. During the evening while Marcel and I were in bed sleeping the boat was still tacking hard. I awoke and felt that the mast was vibrating quite a bit and that we were front hitting waves, jumping and landing with thud on the other side. It was like a rollercoaster ride inside with us being through around in our beds. I thought that we were going pretty hard but Marcel like any hardened sailor has loads of stories about he and his boat had survived storms so thought, 'OK, but I hope the bloody mast stays up!'. Meanwhile Martin is on guard, wide eyed, bricking it that a sail or mast is going to break. After his shift is over he awakes Marcel to change guard. The captain realises straight away that we are going to hard and calls the alarm for us to drop sails and hide in our beds until the morning to ride out the storm.
After those initial few days of excitement sailing is easier with good wind and few emergencies. We arrive at Mar Del Plata in 12 days from Puerto Williams. There we find imigration paperwork is a mission. The old argentine paper chase begins. We go to port passport control who fill out some imigration details about us and the boat. They make 8 copies of one form. They give us 4. We must take one to the health center to check that we have no diseases or something, one to customs, another to the yacht club, and one for us, just for fun. So first to the health center. They then give us another paper to pay a charge at the central bank. OK, to the bank, and we come back with a reciept. With this receipt we obtain a paper to present when we leave the port again. Now we go to the customs where they take our form and swap it for 3 more (the next day) to be presented on leaving. Finally we give the yacht club a copy and the next day they give us a form to return to imigration. We lose two days just swaping stupid forms for other forms that say the same shit.
After a couple of days and an awesome barbecue with friends from the yacht club we leave Mar Del Plata for Florianopolis in Brazil. Sailing is perfect with good wind for a few days. Then around the latitude of Porto Alegre we hit some strong winds which rip the main sail and force us backwards overnight. The next day there's rain and still strong winds but we manage to make up what we lost overnight by putting up an emergency storm main sail. That night the wind is so strong that in which ever direction we try to go we are being blown to shore. So we leave just a front storm sail up and hide in our beds to ride out the storm hoping we don't drift too close to shore. It's horrific outside, visibility of about 20m, enourmous waves of about 6m, the sea is just white with the spray of the wind against the waves. Aparently this was force 10 gales (100km/h). Hiding in our beds we can hear all hell breaking loose outside. Everynow and then a wave comes crashing down ontop of the boat and you lie there thinking 'I hope this thing holds out'. When a wave hits the side of the boat it sends a shattering boom through the boat and a stuff starts to fly around. At around 3am one of these waves knocked into the side of the boat so hard that we capsized, but then luckly came up right again. In those few seconds I flew out of my bed and hit the other side of the boat, head first! When I came too, it was like a bomb had gone off. Cupboards had broken, wooden triming was hanging off, a table was in two, food and cans were everywhere, and sea water was coming in. bugger! We managed to patch up my head a bit and then bucket out the water which in the end wasn't so serious becuase it was just getting in through an outside storage cupboard which had come open in the storm. After putting some order to the inside of the boat we looked outside to more damage. The wind generator, solar panels, a rope reel, and 2 speed booms were gone. The storm sail was flapping around becuase its rope had snapped and most of the side railing of the boat was damaged. All this and with my head injury we called mayday for help to see if soemone could get me to doctor sharpish. When nobody answered it's wasn't a good feeling, but after say half an hour somebody did come on to ask our position and then relayed with a request for help. The nearest help was 11 hours away. bugger! So full credit to the crazy captain... he went out to brave the storm and to try to get us to the nearest port, but it was still 120 miles away (about 24 hours). When we got to that port (Laguna) and it was closed becuase of the high seas so we continued another 5 hours or so to Imbituba. We found firemen and port authorities waiting for us. As soon as we anchored there were loads of them in the boat, maybe six. Instead of wisking me straight off to hospital it was paperwork time. The authorities wanted to know names, details of the boat and what had happened to us in the storm. Once the whole paperchase was ready I was sent to hospital to have my head stichted back together again.
Two days later recovering in hospital some more fun begins. I receive a phone call from Martin the other crew member to say that Marcel the captain has gone crazy. He's kicked Martin off of the boat for being a lazy bastard, but Martin want's paying for his time. He has got the port authorities on his side and they have ordered Marcel to pay up, he has said bugger off you stupid black brasilians which hasn't gone done too well so now he's aparently not being allowed off his boat onto land until the cops come to drag him off to prison. Later that day one of the port authorities comes and drags me out of the hospital ranting and raving in portugues that I have to testify against Marcel. We arrive at the port and it's just like some hollywood movie. There's a small derelict house which I'm sent to where I find Marcel, Martin, two federal police and a few onlooking port workers. The two federal police are right jokers. One is a big fat mafioso type and the other is a petit woman of about 4 or 5ft tall. She sits me down and tells me not to talk to anyone. It all seems like everyone is a bit wound up. Anyway I ask Marcel what's going on and he starts to explain that Martin wants cash for his time onboard. Then the policewoman buts in sticking her chest out like she is hard or something and say 'no talking!' She then asks me if I speak portuguese and as I don't she says spanish will do. She rattles off some questions in portuguese anyway which is translated by Martin. She asks what my role on the boat is and how much I am paid and what I think Marcel should pay Martin. It's like an employee dispute here! Anyway I say that I have my agreement with the captain and that Martin and Marcel have their agreement which is nothing to do with me. So the policewoman says 'he's not cooperating! bah!' and then suddenly the fat mafioso cop says 'ah, you've been to Colombia, and many countries in South America. You must be a drug dealer if you are not working. Explain what you were doing there!'. I say 'holidays, it's quite a nice country actually, nice beaches, people etc....'. They realise that they have nothing on me so then they make Marcel pay $500 to Martin so that he can return to Argentina, and then Martin disapears back to Argentina I suppose. Then the cops say 'OK you are free to go!' in a sort of tough hollywood cop style. These cops have seen too many movies I think!
The next day we obtain permission to leave the port the next day, but when we return to the boat the feds are waiting for us.... They have armed cops on all sides of the port, 2 more on the boat and a diver searching under the boat for drugs. I think, bugger, our days are numbered, they are going to plant something on us. Luckily the boat is locked so we go over to let more hollywood style cops with dark glasses and tough man image to search inside the boat. They are there with guns and handcuffs at the ready, so we are bricking it, but luckily they don't plant anything and they only complain a bit about the 20 cases of wine that we are importing from Argentina.
That night we are relaxing and preparing to leave in the morning when one of the stupid port authorities comes to our boat demanding that we pay a bill of $2000 for port movements, phone calls, and time spent doing their stupid paperwork. Marcel tells him to bugger off, which obviously pisses off the port guy who start shouting and screaming that he will return with the feds again. We decide that the best thing is to leg it from this crazy , so at 6am first light we put up sail and get out of there, and we don't see any more of these nutters.
Four days later sailing up the brasilian coast we arrive at our final destination Guaratuba for some much needed maintenance. The boat is planned to stay here for 4 months to have nearly everything replaced. I'm gonna work here for a month and then I'm back in Ushuaia for the ski season.
We were short on time as we only had 2 weeks to climb some more rock, a final chill on the beach and about 2000km to cover. Venezuela was a shock again because itīs so out of control compared to Brasil or Colombia. They probably drink the most bear per head in the world. They are all off it. They are really hard to understand when you are sober, so you end up joining them in buying a crate of 36 beers to get onto their level. But this is every single day. I dunno if they work or if the beer is free on the social! Maybe the president keeps the locals happy with cheap bear and cheap petrol! So the final few stops in Venezuela were Miraflores which has some extreme 250m highrock climbs. We didnīt get that high due to lack of equipment. Also this was carnival weekend so lots of families came to the area for a day out. They bring crates of beer, rum and get plastered amd shout abuse to us poor climbers. Venezuela is out of control! The final stop was a nice beach called playa colorado near to Puerto la Cruz for a spot of sun, diving, sand, and of course crates of beers and bottles of rum to pass the day with the locals. Now Iīm back in Argentina, but the travels continue. The plan is to do some mountain climbing and rock climbing down the andes from Mendoza back home to ushuaia in time for the ski season.
Manuas didn´t really have much more than the jungle trip we had already done so we headed north back to Venezuela.
January 08 - Tabatinga to Manaus boat trip
The next stop was a 4 day boat trip down the amazon from Leticia to Manaus in Brasil. Sounds boring but the time flew by. There´s only a few cabins on the boat and they are expensive so the way to travel is by hamack. In a deck with space for say 200 hamacks they sqeaze in about 500 all criss-crossed along the deck and also another few hundred or so down below in the cargo deck and engine room. Sounds like hell, it looks like hell, but it has to be the best way to travel. You basically start your day in your hamack, get up for some breakfast, swing in the hamack a bit more, chat with your close neigbours, then some lunch, then a bit of sun above deck, drink a beer, chat a bit, watch the amazon scenery, eat dinner, maybee some rum, then play cards or dominos and maybe try to dance to some brasilian samba. It´s like that, for four days, but it feels like 4 hours, it´s like one big floating backpackers hostel with mainly brasilians but other from all over southamerica and the world. If only airline flights were so much fun and confortable.
January 08 - Letica amazon jungle trip
Next stop the amazon, Leticia in Colombia. Here we did some kayaking through some rivers and lakes and saw pink river dolphins, snakes, and a general feel for the amazon. But the next day a 6 day trek into the jungle was leaving from the hostel. We agreed that it had to be done. Our packs included hamacks and plastic sheets for sleeping, welly boots for walking the trek (it was still wet season), and food included a tin of spam, tuna, rice, soya soop, and granola, we were to hunt the rest (or our guides at least). On the first day we realised that it wasn´t going to be easy as the jungle was waterlogged. The wellies were good up untill we were wading up to our knees. That night we stayed in a Maluca which is like an indian hut with a straw roof. There lived a shaman (witchdoctor) dressing in orange surf shorts! We asked him how hecures people and he said by using natural plants from the forest that cause a halucagenic cleaning process of the body. He didn´t have any to try, but him and his mates were tucking into some homemade powdered coca leaves mixed with ash which was either blown up ones nose with a straw or placed in the mouth under the tongue which made these blokes hard to understand. They were getting right off it but they would share with us so bed for us! The next little adventure was trying to kill a chicken in a ranch. I always thought that you had to twist the chickens neck untill it snuffed it. I managed to get about 3 revolutiuons but it was still alive... screaming like hell! The ranch owner then showed me the trick of a 180 degrees twist and then snap the neck. That works better. Then we basically had 3 more days of 10 hours trekking through near virgin jungle and getting eaten alive by the bloody mosquitos. Since our food supply was short our guides would fish and hunt for us becuase we were usless. One meal was crocodile which one guide spotted and shot in the head. On the last day (day 6) we were buggered but mo problem because we were going to be picked up by a bloke with some kayaks. He didn´t turn up. oops. so this meant another 6 hours trek to nearest town before dark came with no food, buckets of rain pooring down, and some river wading up to our necks. This was pretty much the breaking point for the girls on the trip, but we made it to the town just before darkness. Near the town was a national park hotel, so we checked in and told them to send the bill to the kayak guy. This places was a shock. After 6 days eating sitting on the jungle floor, with mosquitos biting, and all sorts of insect life finding it´s way into our bowl of rice we were faced with a posh resuarant with posh waiters, tranquil music, knives and forks, wine, and all the trimmings!! It was difficult to adjust to our new surroundings but it was back to the real world again.
January 08 - Suesca Rock Climbing
Next, the mission was to rock climb in Suesca. Some say it´s the best in South America, and with good reason. This place is awsome. If you don´t climb, then maybe it won´t sound so impresive but for us it was wicked. One wall 3 - 4km long and about 150m high with over a hundred routes to choose from. We met a local who showed us some good routes during about a week. Some of climbs involved 4 or 5 pitches so at several points were climbing at 100m, bricking it a little. On our last day however it all went a bit pear shaped. We were a group of several climbers each with their gear, so we left some gear (actually about US$2000 worth from our guide) in our tent while we went climbing. Oops! When we came back some gits had nicked our gear. We reported it to the police who could obviously do nothing, but after a few days of spreading the news to other climbers we heard that some gear was being sold in a flea market in Bogota. We headed down there and sure enough it was our stuff. Bogota is full of police and armed guards so you would think that it wouldn´t be a problem to find a copper. The problem is, is that most are trainees on the beat patroling the streets and they don´t yet have the powers to arrest. After about 20mins searching we finally found a real policeman. He confiscated the gear and nicked the seller. Wicked! But then the dodgy copper says: "here in colombia the justice system is very slow and you won´t get your stuff for at least 4 months. the seller is not the theif so why don´t you make a contribution to me and the seller and we can jump the whole paperwork thing". We said no becuase we had the original police report which showed proof that the gear was ours. After about 2 hours of subtle explanations of how it was possible to "quickly resolve this problem" with some "contributions" they finally backed down and agreed that we could have our equipment back if we agreed not to press charges against the seller. In the end we all got about 80% of our gear back!!!
We basically spent xmas with some colombian friends in Pereira. It was good to see some familiar faces for the xmas activities. Then for New Years we headed to Cali for their salsa festival. I actually made some progress after quite a few days trying to even catch the rythm of the music. Now I´m a near professional, or at least I´m not flattening the ladies feet any more.
Then onto Medellin which is a nice city and some rock climbing nearby in El Peñol. At present we are in Manizales in the center of the coffee growing region. Nice place. I came to Colombia 4 years ago, and the country has really moved on. It´s more expensive, but much more developed than before. Police line the motorways about every km so they have reduced the risk of guerrilla activity. The people are very friendly, maybe becuase not much tourism arrives, and there´s loads of stuff to do.
Along the caribean coast we stayed at Cabo de la Vela, nice indian village on the coast but no running water or electricity. Then onto Santa Marta and national park tayrona. 4 years ago this was a real hippy beach hang out. No more. Prices have quadrupled and mainstream tourism has taken over. On entering the park you are now not allowed alcohol or anything else and the police control it. I didn´t know that and had a bottle of rum in the bag. The policeman said "Hmmm what sould we do with this then?". I said "it´s a only a small bottle can´t we pay some sort of tax, the bottle cost $10 so let´s say $2 tax". He said no, and that he wanted $10. Then I managed to get him down to $2 but I think his boss came because he just disapeared when I was getting the cash out. These Colombian police are well easy to bribe! haha! From there we went to Cartagena which is a well restored colonial town.
Venezuela / Colombia border crossing
I hate south american border crossings. The Colombian border on the caribean coast has a bad reputation and for good reason. To make the crossing, we had to cram into a jeep with about 15 others and a few more on the roof for good measure. At the border there was a few exchanges of cash from the other passengers to the border police and we were in Colombia...erm ilegally! The driver said, "ah, you don´t need a stamp in your passport. Nobody will check!" They didn´t want to stop at the border for us becuase they were importing some "dodgy goods"! In the middle of the countryside, about 5km from the border we told the driver to go back so that we could stamp our passports. He abviously refused to go back! So we jumped out into the middle of nowhere. There were more border police in the road so we asked how could we get back to the border. He said that we could walk but we would probably be atacked by indians! He flaged down a bus and ordered the driver to take us back to the border and we managed to get passports stamped with no drama and enter into Colombia. Once over that nightmare, Colombia is beautiful country.
Venezuela elections
During the last month we´ve travelled across the northwest of Venezuela staying in some pretty sad small towns but finding some good rock climbing. Also we were there when Señor Chavez lost the vote by 1% to change the government to a socialist type Cuba. The people went crazy! There were fireworks and partying in the streets all night long and then for the next couple of days. Alcohol was prohibited during the elections but then because of the partying bars and off licences were sold out for days after!!! Basically the country came to a halt.
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