Amazon River Adventure

August 1976

Letica, Colombia: A small Amazon River town which is on a small figure of land owner by Colombia between Peru and Brazil.

Letica, Colombia: The town had a high sense of adventure, as I would have imagined an American Western town in the mid 18 hundreds.

Time out for a jugo de naranja. I traveled with my friend Lonnie Bryant. (Left)

Something a little stronger at one of the local bars, Lonnie is serving.

We stayed at this small motel and if you had peanuts you had friends.

Our motel even had a swimming pool which felt real good after a few minutes in the sun.

Next morning we're heading up river with an Indian guide who will lead us around for the next few days. Notice the next few pictures are double exposed. When see and feel the Amazon you tend to get a little excited. Doing things like rewinding your film and being in such a hurry to get the next picture you just do put new film in you just close the camera and start shooting.

Off we go!!!

We fished and after many tries manage to bring in a piranha. I'm fishing with a spinning rod with jigs and plugs. The jigs would come back with most all the paint off and most of the tail gone.

Our guide on the other hand brings his canoe along side us and start throwing fish after fish into our boat he gone with a very accurate gig.

Notice this is a double shot, in the back ground is a large 300 foot long ship sitting high and dry in the jungle a couple hundred feet from the river. The other the Indians canoe filled with fish.

Dinner!

Heading home to the Indian guides home for the night, we're running a little hoping to made it before dark.

Home sweet home! There were 14 of us including Lonnie and myself sleeping in a 300 sq. ft. house on the edge of the river. Lonnie and I slept in hammocks with mosquito netting.

Breakfast with the family, great Colombian coffee with water right out of the river. No need for cream the river was all ready creamy colored. It was good right along with our boiled fish head. In the Amazon you have to start the day with a good breakfast,

This little cuttie got use to us bring around and started to show off her little parrot. She was great.

We're two days up river and have tied of our boat and head inland. We have a two hour walk to see we if can visit an Indian village.

We come across a pond with the giant water lilies. The (Victoria amazonica) is the largest water lily in the world, some 5 to 6 feet across.

The flowers they put out are hugh, the one in this picture is just starting to open.

Check out the edge of this one it's dying and the edge in turned up showing the bottom side, which have thorns to protect it.

We come across a small canoe which I just had to try. I'm paddling with a stick and was luck to keep it right side up.

We where there in the dry season. Notice the high water mark on the trees across the water. They told me when the water is high the jungle floods 30 mile inland on one side a twenty on the other. I'm impressed!

We come across some monkeys.

This is my one and only National Geography shot of a monkey flying from tree to tree.

The village is in sight. Will they let of enter? This is no tourist trap this is the real thing. Our guide work things out and we are welcome.

Only two or three men the rest woman and children. This older fellow seems to be the man in charge.

The young girl in the middle is trying to give her full chest shot but she just starting to have something.

It was a long walk in but well worth it.

We got a demo on the blow gun and he was scray accurate. This thing was at least eight feet long and look how straight he's holding it.

Finely we came across a snake. It's up about 30 feet in a Mamay tree, he's about as big around as a baseball and eight to nine feet long.

I don't know what he is, my best guess is he may be a Cribo. If, you have some ideas, let me know. The tree first limb is around twenty feet off the ground.

Early next morning we visited an island in the Amazon that a few buildings on it. I few researcher run some animals study from there. We were walk around when a boat came up with a couple of guys that have fished all night for giant catfish. I ask what they caught? He held up an electric eel about 3 feet long and maybe 10 pounds. I asked it he had seen any snake? Well, yes as a matter of fact.

He said just as daylight started to break, this anaconda head surfaced right next to their boat. He used a gig and stuck it on the side of the neck. Just a small puncher wound that with one prong that held the snake until they got it into the boat. They got it into the ice chest and kept it there until they got back to the island.