The Rio Roosevelt continues to offer plenty of surprises and the distance we travel each day seems to be tied as much to the people we meet through chance encounters. Yesterday we paddled 46 KM and camped 100 meters up a small river at a beautiful campsite in the jungle. Paul and I paddled up the little river for several miles. The river and surrounding forest was full of life.

We heard a large group of White Lipped Peckeries in the forest and krept into the jungle to look for them. Soon over 100 of these wild pigs with tusks began streaming past us. Occasionally one would look in our direction but if they were aware of our presence they remained undisturbed. Monkeys ran through the tree tops over our tents and in the middle of the night the loud crack of a large caiman’s tail slapping the water woke us with a start.

This morning Paul and I left our camp early and slowly floated down the river. We uploaded photos and text to the Wilderness Classroom. (Satellite reception is better in the middle of the river than under the dense canopy of the rainforest.) A dense fog blanketed the river, but soon the sun’s powerful rays won out and the heat of the day set in.

After a few hours of paddling we spotted our first farm in several days. We pulled over to ask about the large rapids ahead. We decided to cook a large fish that Jack caught this morning and we are resting on a large shaded porch a the edge of the river. It is a beautiful place and I suspect that we will spend the rest of the day here. On the river you have to go with the flow.