Freeman Explore

  • Buy our Book!
  • A Year in the Wilderness
    • Bear Witness (Short Film)
    • Read the Book!
  • About
    • Videos
    • Media Resources
    • Media Archives
  • Education
  • Speaking
    • Speaking Resume
    • Testimonials
  • Expeditions

A red letter day

June 25, 2014 By Amy Freeman

April 15, 1914: “a red letter day” noted Theodore Roosevelt in his diary with jubilation. After being devastated by the death of 3 team members and wracked by illness, insects and intense hunger during their first 45 days on the River of Doubt, the team was immensely relieved to make their ‘first contact’ with the outside world by coming upon the primitive home of a Brazilian rubber tapper.

 

Today was our “red letter day” in that we experienced a “first contact” of a sort as well. (Although truth be told, most every day has been a ‘red-letter day’ for us. Compared to Roosevelt’s epic trek, ours has been a veritable cakewalk!) We’ve long been anxious about connecting with the Cinta Larga who control access to this region. A week ago, after much apprehension, we finally received tacit approval for entry into the reserve by phone message for from a tribal chief, but we had yet to meet any Cinta Larga.

 

Last evening, we arrived by canoe at a stout but aging wooden bridge with a beach nearby that beckoned us to camp. In a distant clearing on the far shore were the huts of a Cinta Larga village. After setting up our hammocks, our curiosity got the best of us so we slipped across the bridge to get a view of the settlement.

 

What a scene! The villagers were all gathered outside around a television watching the World Cup soccer games. Just then Brazil cinched a win over Cameroons and we listened as the Cinta Larga shouted with glee and shot off fireworks. Moments later excited Cinta Larga kids arrived at our beach to play soccer in the sand. Making the most of our ‘pigeon Portuguese’, we struck up a conservation with the woman who accompanied them. When she indicated she was a teacher, we asked if we could visit her school the next day. Yes, she said, but only if the village chief granted permission.

 

Kids playing soccer by our campsite

Kids playing soccer by our campsite

Later that evening, after we’d settled into our jungle hammocks for the night, a man stopped by in the dark. Very friendly, he expressed interest in our journey. We were amazed to learn he’d been the Cinta Larga team member of a 1989 Roosevelt Memorial Association expedition that had rafted down the river.  Oita-mina is his name. He too said we could visit the village if we received the chief’s permission. Much to our delight, he said he’d return in the morning to escort us to the chief’s home.

 

Early today Oita-mina arrived with another Cinta Larga man, but they had disappointing news – the chief was away so we could not enter the village. They visited with us for a while (we even took them canoeing!), said goodbye and we prepared to pack up and paddle. But both of us then had a quick hunch that maybe we should hang tight awhile and see what might happen.

 

Sure enough, more villagers came by. First a group of hunters heading out into the jungle with bows and arrows. Then a group of Cinta Larga women and girls arrived who visited with us. One woman, the village nurse, was very accommodating of our limited Portuguese vocabulary so we told her as well that we had hoped to visit her village. No problem, she said. Although the chief was away, she said we could get permission from the assistant chief.

The community nurses help us find other Cinta Larga communities on our maps.

The community nurses help us find other Cinta Larga communities on our maps.

 

The women escorted us to the village where the vice-chief, a woman named Marcellina, very gratiously welcomed us. We enjoyed a great village tour: the tiny store, school and health clinic that serves the 300 villagers and we had a wonderful lunch with the nurse and her husband, a village teacher. Then we visited the home of Oita-mina, the Cinta Larga elder who’d stopped by our camp the night before. He dressed in the feathered Cinta Larga headdress and arm bands he wears for tribal dances and he gave each of us a wonderful gift: 5′-long arrows from his hunting quiver handmade with hardened bamboo points, taquara wood shaft and eagle feathers.

 

We were stunned by his kindness. We were also delighted to learn from him that the Cinta Larga are gathering for a huge tribal festival in 4 days at another village downstream from here. So now we’re on the water paddling again hoping to attend the festival. But that depends on permission from another tribal chief. Our ‘first contact’ with the Cinta Larga has been fantastic and we’re hopeful for other great connections ahead during our last week of this expedition.

Filed Under: Rio Roosevelt Centennial Expedition Tagged With: Cinta Larga, first contact, red letter day, Roosevelt, soccer, village, World Cup

An odd twist of fate

May 29, 2014 By Dave Freeman

Mired in mud on the way to the Rio Roosevelt

We awoke in the remote Brazilian town of Pimento Bueno this morning to an odd twist of fate. We anticipated that our entry point to the fabled Rio Roosevelt would be determined at a meeting in a tribal Cinta Larga village a few dozen miles away. But instead it was determined by tragic events in the nation’s capitol, Brazilia, a few thousands miles away.

Yesterday, hundreds of Amazonian Indians had gathered there to protest the government’s lavish spending on Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament, rather than on health & education services for native peoples. Ugly confrontations erupted — involving teargas, guns and even bows & arrows. Sadly, casualties resulted.

Overnight the tension rippled to our village. Among the protestors were Cinta Larga chiefs, including our key contacts. This morning federal police here in Pimento Bueno advised us not to enter their lands, even if they granted us a meeting. And so “Plan B” was put into play.

We continued down the highway towards a Rio Roosevelt entry point beyond the Cinta Larga reserve. A country road took us deep into rural Brazil. We passed expansive ranchlands cut from the jungle, sleepy farm towns, horse carts & friendly folks keen to point us in the right direction. But hours into our odyssey the road steadily deteriorated as long stretches of steamy jungle became more frequent and we finally got all 3 vehicles mired in a deep muddy quagmire.

Fortunately, a lorry piled high with farm workers on their way back to the “fazenda” happened along. In the dark, they helped extract us from our dilemma and alerted us to a nearby farmstead where an alternate river access might be available.

That quagmire brought another odd twist of fate because tonight we hit the jackpot at the “Rio Branco Fazenda.” Farm hands at this 30,000-acre ranch greeted us — 8 mud-caked surprise guests — with a warm welcome, a hot meal, warm showers, and a bunkhouse. They also alerted us that easy access is available through their farm fields to the Rio Branco, a jungle river that will take us to the Roosevelt. So with a little luck sometime tomorrow we will reach water’s edge.

Filed Under: Rio Roosevelt Centennial Expedition Tagged With: Cinta Larga, permission, Rio Roosevelt, World Cup

Seeing the Rio Roosevelt for the first time

May 28, 2014 By Dave Freeman

imageWe are still waiting to meet with the Cinta Larga and get permission to paddle through their reserve. We have been communicating with them for several months, but have had trouble setting up a formal meeting with the chiefs to gain permission. We are hopeful that tomorrow will bring positive news and our waiting game will end.

Today we rented a small airplane for an hour and flew over the Rio Roosevelt. It was spectacular, wild, and as beautiful and challenging as I imagined.  We got some good video footage. Here is a 1 minute video clip that Paul took with his iphone. I look forward to sharing more polished videos when we get off the river.

I also just wrote a blog post for the Wilderness Classroom, which includes some photos from our flight. Tomorrow is a big day, I hope we get permission to pass through the Cinta Larga’s land.

Paddles Up!

Dave

Filed Under: Rio Roosevelt Centennial Expedition Tagged With: Cinta Larga, plane, Rio Roosevelt, view from above

Order our Book!

Recent Posts

April 29,...

April 29th, 2018

Wow! What a day! We started the day with a presentation at Westminster Church in Minneapolis, and th[...]

April 28,...

April 28th, 2018

Join us Monday April 30th for a live streaming Q and A through Kickstarter Live! We look forward to [...]

April 27,...

April 27th, 2018

Happy Friday! We have just ONE WEEK to go on our #PedaltoDC @Kickstarter. Join us in speaking loudly[...]

April 26,...

April 26th, 2018

As we pedaled down the last few miles of the Munger Trail today and then worked our way south on old[...]

April 26,...

April 26th, 2018

We are making a quick stop at the Post Office in Hinkley to sign and mail a book that someone reques[...]

Archives

  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • April 2015
  • December 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014

Contact Us

Do you have questions or comments? Perhaps you would like to join us on a wilderness adventure, or have us speak at your business, school, or event.

Contact us!

Connect with the us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
image

Copyright 2014 Freemans Explore · Log in

 

Loading Comments...