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First dip in the Amazon
7 Sep, 05 0401.8600S,07007.3000W,0M
At 3 pm we boarded the Queen and took a 30 minute ride to Peru. Took care of visa and ship paperwork - the local kids were a bit surprised when we joined them for our first muddy dip in the river. Late evening a storm arrived. The Queen is comfortable in good weather but offers limited shelter in rain. We hurdled on deck, soaked and a bit bewildered in the darkness. But then we all cozied up in Nathan`s quarters (Phil`s comm`s office) and out came the laptops to check today`s images.
10 pm, the hammocks were mounted. Tom and I were selected guinnea pigs. (Everyone else sleeps in births or tent on deck.) The hammocks were used in the Phillipines war and were quite alright, once we managed to get in. We learned to sleep in a folded position, at night we`d end up on the net - parts of our body an easy catch for the bugs. We zipped up, lit our headlamps, started our books (Alain Bombard story) and listened to the distant sounds of the jungle. Couldn`t help to give a thought to the young guys who had slept in the small canvas homes before us; Soaked and uncomfortable, listening to every crack in the jungle, dreaming of home - and perhaps losing their lives the very next day.
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