Riding on the Rain Forest River

The best way to cover large distances while traveling in the Amazon rain forest is by river. There are few roads that traverse the forest, so the river is a major transportation source for anyone who wants to enter its depths.

On this trip, the boats my group and I traveled in were long and low to the water, and they were powered by outboard motors. While on the river, our group was accompanied by tour guides, the boat drivers, and other guides who rode in the front. Any time we came upon something in the water, such as a rock or large piece of wood, the guides used long sticks to push us away from it. Since June is part of the dry season, there were plenty of items in the water that had to be addressed.

This was one of the boats we used to travel the river.

We had rules to follow when we traveled in the boats. For instance, we had to wear lifejackets while in the boats, no exceptions. We also had to sit so that our weight was evenly distributed, and we weren’t supposed to stand or walk while the boats were in motion. We didn’t want to capsize the boats by disturbing the balance of weight. We also were instructed to remove our knee-high rubber boots. The boots would fill with water and drag us to the bottom if we fell in the river. I was careful to follow all these rules because I did not want to end up at the bottom of the river.

We had several trips on the river, but the long boat journeys were the ones that I enjoyed the most. Our longest span on the river was a five hour journey to the Tambopata Research Center (TRC). Five hours on the boat meant we had a lot of time to take in the scenery, catch up on journal writing, and relax. It also meant that we had to eat lunch on the boat. Our lunch was simple: chicken and rice. The most unique part of the lunch was that it was wrapped in large banana leaves. We ate the food as we rode along in the boat, and when we were finished, we just tossed the leaves and any leftovers into the water. Everything was biodegradable, so there weren’t any worries about pollution. I loved the novelty of eating my lunch from a leaf. They were like nature’s own zipper-top bags!

Another thing I enjoyed was the speed of the boat because we had a cool breeze blowing on us. The rain forest was so hot and humid, we never had any relief. The breeze on the boats made it a cool and pleasant experience, one that we all desperately needed. We got to see some animals from the boats, too. I saw my first capybara while on the boat, an animal I’d never seen. We also saw turtles, caiman, and birds during our boat journeys. We kept our eyes open for interesting animals as we traveled.

Because we were on the river for long amounts of time, there were restroom issues. It’s not like we could just pull over at the nearest gas station or fast food restaurant. Fortunately, the longest journeys included stops at river checkpoints for stretching our legs and using the restroom. Peruvian restrooms are basic, and toilet paper is NOT included. Hand washing opportunities are not always available, either. We learned to come prepared with our own supplies, and that just became another one of the many cultural experiences we faced.  

It rained on us for the first time while we were on the boat to TRC. The boat had some roll-down plastic for the sides, so as the rain got more intense, we had to help roll it down. This was a challenge because we had to keep the weight balanced in the boat. It’s a miracle that we didn’t flip the boat as we struggled to get the sides into place. About ten minutes after we finally got the sides down, it stopped raining and the sun returned. So then we had to roll the sides back up again without tipping the boat.

While on the river, I realized what a lifeline it is for many animals and people in the rain forest. There are people who make their livings either on the river or beside it. We saw gold miners who risk their lives to retrieve that precious mineral from the river’s bottom. We saw farms along the river’s edge, and numerous families who call the riverbank their homes. The quality of the river directly affects the quality of the people and animals who depend on it for their livelihood. This hadn’t occurred to me until I saw it in action. If the river suffers, the people and animals suffer. There is a symbiotic relationship there, one that I witnessed during the entire trip. The Amazon rain forest cannot exist without its rivers.