Stories from the Amazon - Camping at the Green River

As if our lives in the Amazon didn't have enough adventure already, my dad decided that we should start a family tradition of having a family adventure every year. The very first one that was the start to this traditon was the Green River trip. My dad had been to the Green river on other occasions and he thought is was so beautiful he wanted to bring us all there for a camping trip. So we planned it all, packed hammocks, mosquito nets, tarps, food and water and a few clothes, fishing poles and my great dane Mandy, and headed out one day to spend a long weekend there. To get there you had to go down the Madeira river, then about 2 more rivers till you made it to the spot. My dad's outboard motor was having some issues and it kept stopping. We were travelling downriver to get to the river we wanted to go to and we stopped several times on sandbanks to be able for him to fix the motor. Finally we made it to the Green river and my dad found a suitable spot on the side of the river for us to make camp at. If you've ever seen jungle you'll know it is very dense and has lots of thorn trees. But this spot wasn't quite as dense and a few whacks of the machetes and we had some cleared out trees to set up hammock in and a place to start our campfire. Each of us was supposed to set up their own hammock and of course being jungle raised, we all knew how to set up a hammock where it woudln't fall down in the middle of the night or the first time you sat in it. We did have some difficulty getting the tarp stretched tight over the mosquito net. You never tent camp in the amazon or you'll be carried away by ants or wake up with a snake in bed next to you. Always just with hammocks and the net. After that was all set up, my dad worked at getting the fire started which is easier said that done when you're in a place with 100% humidity and the air always feels like you could drink it. Lots of help is needed for getting fires started in a tropical climate, but eventually we had one going and my mom was about to start warming some fried chicken she had brought. Just then, however, it started pouring down rain. The only dry place to go was our hammocks so everyone made a dash for their hammock. We chatted and told stories and waiting on the rain. Eventually it stopped for long enough for us to go back to the fire, which had now died from the rain. We tried but couldn't get it going anymore so we just ate cold chicken and whatever else my mom had packed for our dinner and then the rain started again so we all went back to the hammocks. Sometime in the middle of the night my tarp had enough of the rain and started to sag and leak right into my sleeping bag. Everyone thinks the jungle is always hot but actually at night, the trees and humidity make it quite cool and add a damp sleeping bag to the equation and I didn't get much sleep. The next morning we were very excited to go swim and spend the day in the river. However, my parents had both eaten something that didn't sit well with them and had to make frequent dashes to the jungle. They didn't want to get out on the river too much and have an "incident" But we did get to swim and fish and enjoy the day very much. The water is extremely clear there and you can see down much farther than your feet. The water also has a greenish tinge, which is what gave it its name. It's one of the most beautiful rivers I've been in through my travels. Too soon our time there was over and we packed up and started the trip back. The motor was still having problems and we made it down the two rivers till we got to the Madeira river and my dad gave up trying to get the engine to go and flagged down a larger barge type boat that was heading up river. They let us tie our boat on and let us sit in their boat and be towed back to town. Those barge type boats go very slow and I think it was long past midnight by the time we finally reached Porto Velho again. We still talk about that crazy trip. I think it wouldn't have been quite as memorable if the motor had been working or if they hadn't been sick to their stomachs.

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