Although last night there was a full moon and lots of stars, this morning there are clouds and fog. The sun comes out, it burns away the fog slowly.
Around 8am, we start the floating. Compared to yesterday, there is more natural view on the riverside.
We see motor boats coming and going. Local people travel in the morning.
There are fewer large gold mines today. What we see are just a few smaller all-in-one mining stations. Made in China, such station sits in the river, does all jobs from digging to washing. A pile of stones is created in the middle of the river.
The workers are living in very simple tents, as seen in this picture.
When we get to a calm section of the river, I jump into the water for a swim. This is our only way of bathing, although the water is still murky.
The fishing line Ruben bought yesterday is actually very thick. As he explains, this is to make sure that the fish don't bite too hard and break the line. This gives me an impression that there are huge fish with sharp teeth in this river. However, his fishing hook is too small. He struggles a lot trying to push the thick line through the eye of hook. After trying for about one hour, he gives up and uses regular line for the hook. Hopefully we don't catch too big fish. :)
Ruben keeps paddling and navigating, so it is me to do the actual fishing work. The bait is some chicken fat, left over from last night's dinner. I'm not quite sure how the fish could see this delicious bait in murky water. Interestingly enough, just within one minute I throw the hook down, I get a bite! It's a cat fish, about 0.7 pound. Ruben keeps the fish in a mesh sack and leaves it in the water. This way the fish stays alive.
It takes longer for the next fish to bite, and much longer for the third. Probably there is a broadcasting system in this river: Don't bite any chicken fat! :) Eventually we get 4 fish for the day.
In the afternoon we arrive at a plantation. It's for plantain trees, but the first fruit tree we see is a papaya tree. On the ground there is a ripe one, obviously fallen down from the tree. It is broken on one end due to the impact. Ruben cuts the unbroken half and we share it. That's the sweetest papaya I've ever had! I never had a papaya naturally ripened on the tree!
With his machete, Ruben cuts a long bamboo stick. With that he jabs down 3 papayas from the tree. While I carry them to the raft, he cuts a huge bunch of plantains.
Back to the river, we float down some short distance and get to the beach again. This time Ruben collects some limes. They are for cooking the fish.
After sunset, we arrive at another beach. Unlike last night, this one is very peaceful. What we can hear is only the singing of birds.
The moon rises above the river, with it's reflection on the water.
There are quite some drift wood on the beach. While Ruben is preparing for dinner, I collect some wood and make a camp fire. The night gets a bit chilly. It's perfect to have dinner by the fire. Dinner is the fish, very tasty.
