Guyana – Back to Amatuk Falls

It rained again at night and into the daylight. It’s no wonder the matches never worked to light the stove in the morning. We boiled a couple of gallons of water expecting a hike down. Washington stopped by to confirm he could not find any flights arriving with room for two passengers. A note to future travelers: book return flights in advance. Washington told us a story of one traveler whom they shuttled by boat 2 hours upstream to an Amerindian village where there were more regular shuttle flights. He also said, we really don’t get many shuttles here.

So, after that, we packed our bags and filtered our boiled water to remove the particulates. While chatting with Amilcar, Ranger Max stopped by. We recognized his name because mid trail from Kaiteur to Tukiet he had chainsawed his name into a giant log on the side of the trail. Max is a young Amerindian..his people are indigenous to the area. He was obviously bored having served nearly his entire 3 month tour at Kaiteur in isolation. He said it sounded great when he took the job but didn’t realize how remote and isolated they were. I asked him about his life and he told of his various jobs including mining for gold and diamonds. This was another let down for Max. The workers work in unstable holes that collapse into themselves from time to time and get 30% of the findings vs the boss getting 70%. Apparently not a way to get rich quick. Max was slight in stature, but his translated Amerindians name was Mountain/Jungle Man. The carving in the log certainly reflected that.

Not long after, around 11:30, we began our hike. It was extremely wet and humid at the top making for a slow treacherous descent. We made it
to the bottom in great time though with a few falls but no injuries.

Hot and dripping with sweat we decided to take a dip in the river and wash our sweaty clothes as we had ample time for them to dry. The river temperature was perfect. After washing the sweat off, we sat by the river with our feet dangling in the water. There were thousands of little fish swimming everywhere and didn’t scurry away as we moved in the water. At one point I sluffed off some dry sunburned skin and the little fish went wild, gobbling it up. So, I decided to rub some skin off around my feet that in the water next to the fish. This helped them identify the source and they began to nibble the dead skin on my feet. Wow, people pay a lot of money for this. After a bit Nathan decided it was time to relax.

We walked back to hammocks that we had previously set up along the river to wait for our ride. Amilcar was going to leave a little after us and should arrive soon. Jeff is supposed to arrive at 4.

Around 3:30 Amilcar arrived. He took advantage of the river too while we lay in our hammocks until a little before 4. Then we packed up in anticipation of Jeff’s arrival. Amilcar and I briefly discussed Jeff’s
trustworthiness. I said he seemed genuine. Is a father of three grown
sons and it is unlikely that he would abandon him. I also knew about
Socks. Any cat person is cat person is ok in my book.

A little after 4 Jeff arrived with 2 passengers: Mikey and Gerald. Mikey is a retired miner that looks to be in his late 40s or early 50s that now lives on the river in a mining rig. He is a close friend of Jeff’s and they often watch satellite TV together and drink beer on the rig. The rig is the pink houseboat we spied on the way in and is between Amatuk and Waratuk and is the last visible settlement before Tukiet. Gerald appears to live in Jeff’s camp too. He is a kind and concerned older gentleman at 69 years with relatives in the Bronx.

 I snapped a couple phots along the way. One photo was of a triple waterfall called “Old Mans Beard” as it resembles an old mans beard as the flow increases. Nathan is clearly relieved that we are back on the boat!

 

 Jeff was clearly surprised to see us, extra passengers on this small aluminum boat, but he was welcoming and accommodating. We all squeezed on the boat and lumbered to Waratuk. At Waratuk we all got off except
Jeff and Gerald, yes Gerald. They were going to maneuver the boat past the falls. Did I mention that the two oldest guys there were taking the boat over the falls? The 4 of us trotted down the path to wait at the landing below Waratuk.

 

In around 20 minutes we were once again on our way. About midway between Waratuk and Amatuk, we came across a boat with 8
people. Two people were paddling and the engine was raised out of the water. We pulled alongside, where Jeff handed them a machete and a gas line. Obviously, they had nothing to do with each other and it was clear
Jeff knew them and was prepared to help. After hooking the gas line up and fiddling with a cord. They started up and we’re on their way. So were we.

But, not without a quick stop at Mikey’s to drop him. It was a great opportunity as I wondered what it looked like close up.

Mikey immediately started the diesel generator as we walked around on the first deck marveling at the giant spiders that also lived here. As wet as it is here I shouldn’t have been surprised by the rust but I was. Floor panels were barely weight-bearing and the stairs had little more than the frame to navigate. Mikey cautioned us about where we should and should not step lest we fall through.

After a few minutes of Mikey displaying his big-screen satellite TV, we were on our way back to Jeff’s camp. By now it was almost dark and we had not eaten in a number of hours. Jeff and Gerald offered us some dinner, and we gratefully accepted. In about half an hour, Nathan, Amilcar, Gerald, another gentleman and I sat inside a small dimly lit hut on old automobile seats and enjoyed the fresh river caught butterfish with spicy tomato sauce. It was wonderfully paired with the unlimited bread they encouraged us to eat. I think I ate 1/2 of the loaf. We refrained from the lemongrass tea that was offered as we weren’t sure if the water had been boiled. They were very kind to us.

Amilcar had planned to get back to Mahdia tonight so he could catch a bus in the early morning on his way back to Brazil. However, the river was treacherous at night with driftwood and rocks hiding beneath the surface. No one would make the trip in the dark.