Rio Negro, The Amazon

The trip was really amazing.

We rode on our boat for 7 days cruising up the Rio Negro. I guess you could say the main purpose of our trip was for fishing for Peacock Bass.

The water was extremely low, so the fish weren't biting as well as expected, but everyone caught fish....Peacock Bass, Piranhas, Dogfish. I caught 11 Peacock Bass! They were in the 2-4 lb. range, but it was very exciting for me to catch anything at all! This was the first time I had ever done lure fishing and just sitting on an open river for hours. The biggest caught was 15 lbs. Most were in the 7-10 lb range.

and even a Caiman (the Amazon version of an alligator)!

We also combined in some eco-touring on the canoe for those that didn't fish. Once again, since the water was so low we couldn't go as deep into the jungle-y parts as we would have liked, but we did get to do some amazing cruising around.

I think there were two things that made the biggest impression on me:

1. the actual size, or width, of the Rio Negro.

2. The Meeting of the Waters

1. The Rio Negro, just one tributary that makes up the whole Amazon jungle is really wide, and not just at certain parts. For most of the trip we were on water that was over 10 miles wide.

Now imagine that the water was also at a very low point. This past year it had risen to a height of over 29 cm., which is the highest it has risen in over 100 years. Now, just a few months after this, it had receded to almost nothing in certain parts! we had to be really careful not to run into too shallow water where our boat would get stuck.

You could actually see on the trees a line going across all of the from where the water had risen to this year. That was really cool!

On the flip side of that, since the water was so low, you could also see the very bottom roots of the trees. They were like fingers sticking into the ground, all entwined and bent, twisted.

It was a beautiful show of the frailty of Nature, yet these trees are massive, strong monsters!

The pictures of huge dead trees that had fallen in front, or intertwined with the fresh, green trees was also a great contrast.

If we had come when the water was highest, Gilberto said how we would have only seen the tops of the trees; no roots, no shore lines or sandy banks. So interesting! I would love to come back when the water is like that!

My next post will have the Meeting of the Waters...

I will let you soak in these for now ;)