FishNet Explore 97 - Aug 3 & 4

[William Vannerson <William_Vannerson@ama-assn.org>]

Daily Journal - August 3, 1997

 Today was a very leisurely day.  It began with church bells
ringing at about 8:00 AM.  It was interesting that about a
block away from the church was a street vendor playing
popular music.  We had breakfast and afterwards decided
that we were not going to be able to make any connection
with anyone for collecting today.  We did go down to the edge
of the Juaru River to see if we could collect any fish from the
shallows, but we had no luck.

 That evening Heiko and Paola treated me to fish soup made
with the local catfish along with green beans and other items
- - my first actual Brazilian meal since I got here.

 We made our plans for a very productive day tomorrow - our
last day collecting.

 ==John==
 Reporting from Eirunepe

Daily Diary - August 4, 1997

 This day began very early with Heiko and I going to the local
market where we saw a number of species of fish including
Oscars, Arowanas, and several types of catfishes.  We took
photographs which will be available at a later date.

 At 7:30 AM we met with the person who would take us in his
boat downriver.

We took an approximate 3 hour boat trip in a fairly fast boat
to a portion of the river where we would then make a
cross-country trek to a particular area Heiko wanted to visit.

 Once we reached as far as the large boat would take us, we
carried dugouts across an area of land approximately 200
yards to a different area. We went by dugout for
approximately 30-45 minutes from there along the tributary. 
Along the way we noted areas where the tributary was fed by
streams emerging from the ground.

 Heiko noted that this water was good to drink, so I got out of
the dugout and went over to try some.  It was, indeed, very
tasty.  However, I then noted a thrashing in the water about
10 feet away where the foliage was very dense. Heiko said
not to worry that it was only a small alligator and that it would
not be interested in me, but I was sure that was as close as I
wanted to get to an alligator and I immediately got back into
the dugout.

 We traveled up the tributary and pulled the dugouts up and
then hiked for about an hour to an Indian village.  The village
actually had a small airstrip that had been built by the
missionaries and had then been turned over to the Brazilian
government.  We went by the mission and were told that we
could collect in the stream area.

 We went down to the stream which was black water with a
pH of about 4.8 and immediately caught a number of fishes,
many of which were probably new species, including an
incredible Corydoras catfish.

 Shortly thereafter, a couple of Indians showed up and we
noticed that we were beginning to draw attention.  Soon, the
Indian chief, whose name was Pedro, came over and he was
quick to let us know he was not pleased to find us here.
However, Paola took out some gummy bears and presented
them to the children who were gathered around to watch.
Before long the entire village was helping us collect and
watching the proceedings.

 It was interesting for me to see that every adult male had
some sort of tatooing or body etching and that even the
youngest children were carrying bows and arrows.

 We collected there for quite a while and found an unusual
species of Farowella as well as others. Heiko was especially
delighted to find other examples of his new "intermediate"
tetra. During our collecting efforts I drank quite a bit of the
black water as it was very good.

 About the time we finished, there was a rainstorm and the
entire trek back to the boat was under heavy, driving rain. 
Once in the boat again, it took us four hours to return to
Eirunepe as the owner of the boat navigated a good bit of the
way by flashlight down this fairly large river.

 We made it to Eirunepe shortly after 11:15, disappointed that
we had missed the conference, but elated at our finds and our
day of adventure.  I personally, felt that I had met a challenge
in that I had completed the trip even with the injury to my foot.

 Tomorrow morning I begin the trip home starting with my first
plane ride at 7:30 AM.  I will not arrive in Huntsville, Alabama,
until about 9:00 AM on Wednesday.  Once home, I will
process more of the photographs for release, and will be able
to share more about my experiences in the Amazon.

 ==John==
 Reporting from the Amazon