“Our first full day in Puerto Inírida started with some collecting on the Caño Vitina, where we found some interesting fish…
Some treasures collected from the Caño Vitina
“Once fish are collected, the work begins. These fish were bagged on the stream, and then transported back to Puerto Inírida to a holding facility where they will be cared for while we were out on the river for the rest of the week.
“The fish are inspected and then re-oxygenated, but they’re going to stay in the bags and have their water and oxygen changed on a daily basis. They will not be tanked until they are sent to Bogotá.
Time to get on the water!
“Once the fish are taken care of, we gather up all our gear and head down to the port to load up the boats and get on the river. Actually, we pile up all of our gear and wait for the chance to get to the boats in order to maybe load them up and hopefully get on the river…at some point…today.
Hurry up and wait….
“Eventually a gap on the ramp opens up, and we can slip our boat in and start to load it with all our gear. No gas stations out on the river, so we have to carry all of our fuel with us.
Finally, an opportunity to load the boat!
“Once the heavy fuel is loaded, we have to play Tetris to get all of our gear and five people onto this boat. The last bit of cargo to load are the tourists, and then we are finally on our way, about 4 hours after we expected to be. Our goal today is to make it to a camping spot on the Rio Atabapo before it gets dark, but ahead of us, the skies are getting cloudy.
“And just like that, we’re in a storm. Thunder, lightning, wind, heavy rain, and the river becomes so choppy it’s too dangerous for the boats and we have to pull over to the side to wait it out. This is a dangerous situation. If we sit here too long, it’s going to turn dark, and navigating the rivers in the dark is not an easy or safe thing to do. We are stuck. Until the storm passes, we can’t go on to the Rio Atabapo, or back to Puerto Inírida. We are in a situation where we may be stuck along the side of the river all night long.”
With a violent storm shutting down all movements on the river, the team’s future is in limbo.
Do they make it to the campsite? Turn back to Puerto Inírida? Spend the night sleeping in the boat while drenched in rain? Take your guess, place your wagers, and then watch what happens!
Watch Other Episodes Here: Ep. 1 | Ep. 2 | Ep. 3 | Ep. 4 | Ep. 5 | Ep. 6 | Ep. 7 | Ep. 8 | Ep. 9 | Ep. 10 | Ep. 11 | Ep. 12 | Ep. 13 | Ep. 14 | Ep. 15 | Ep. 16 | Ep. 17 | Ep. 18 | Ep. 19 | more to come…
