Chorro Bocón: streams and natives, pilots and stars

The community of Big-mouthed Jet is the most populous in the shores of the river Inírida.  With near 800 inhabitants, he(she) is to half a way between(among) the birth and the river mouth.  A trip up to(even) there is of " more long-suffering(hard-wearing) " for those who do not know the life in the rivers.

Unlike The trip to Mavicure, this age of work. It(he,she) was going to representatives' meeting of all the communities of the river Inírida.  Argemiro, the anthropologist of Indigenous Matters, invited me in order that an introduction was doing of what they would be the programs of the net in the river.  In our trip the principal personality was Trespalacios, a specialist in laws, which was going to explain the indigenous legislation.  Also they were representing for apart the mayor, representatives of the departmental secretary of agriculture, of government and, certainly, of Indigenous Matters.

We Travel(travelled) in the launch of the DAI, because a trip in bongo would be too much delayed and there is no who can load it in the streams.  In Inírida they say to him(her) "flying" to the launches, because it(he) looks like that were not touching the water, of the rapid thing that they go.  With the scantiest baggage for two days, I chose not to take the camera, since space was needed to travel five in a launch for four, besides the oil barrels of going and return.

In less than one hour we were in the hills and Mavicure's stream.  There we lower(lowered) and allow ourselves that the launch should happen(pass) bordering on the shore dragged by the pilot.  The same one was not trusting in the engine because it(he,she) was failing; if it(he,she) was managing to go out in half of the stream, the river would swallow us with everything and launch. It was since ten o'clock(as ten o'clock) of the morning and the Sun was high, without clouds. We could see the immense hills. We touch(touched) the rocks beaches and feel(felt) them you warm as alone them.  In the bases of the three politicians could be read graffittis: " He(she,I) Votes(vote) for such, * tatatá ", " movement I do not know which(who), * such ", etc.  The politicians were respecting not even the same symbol of the Guainía.

We buy(bought) bread a colonist who has a big tent, to the shore of the river, full of his(its,her) things, an oven, a trunk to sit down and up to a television. He(she) charges the most expensive, since him(her) it(he,she,I) sells(bandage) the divers. We are(were) with that(that) people of the National Newscaster were interviewing the miners of the drags and they were recording captures of the hills. They had been in the people(village) doing questions and the whole river was crossed from Backwater up to Amanavé,n, in the river mouth of the Guaviare.  Later, almost to the 15 days of returning, the note went out, very very short.  One was speaking about the military men who were coming to patrol the river, with everything and his(its,her) lanchas artilladas*, and of the abandon of the base of the navy in the Atabapo and of Amanavén's inspection. You take so many people(much,many), so much crossed, for almost at all.  At least they showed the armamentism as a problem.  But if one sees the note he(she) imagines that Guainía is an almost a desert, that Inírida to hard sorrow(sentences) exists, and it is an exaggeration. We knew also that existed in the hills people of " the adventures of the teacher Yarumo " and that they yes were spending(passing) to themselves more time, they were asking more things, did not have so much zeal.

We Continue(continued) doing scale in the community of Deer, on which the councilmen of Inírida were commenting like the most prosperous and better administered(best administered). We speak(spoke) with the captain who was the same shepherd, and it(he) commented to us in very few words that the resources of the gold had been used in to construct new houses, to do improvement of some roofs and in cements slabs for the floor(flat).

When we continue(continued) upstream, all three hills were reflected on the dark surface of the river, since(as,like) in a mirror. I joust when it(he,she) was not bringing the camera, the nature was showing all his(its) beauty.  The Sun was giving them a reddish dark color and the base of green jungle was shining, with some little clouds, as if a fog was going out of between(among) the bushes. It(he,she) had not brought the camera because suddenly it was raining and today still(yet) I repent.

The way was continuing, every similar curve to other one: Jungle, jungle and river.  Some months later, in a conversation, the epidemiologist of the departmental secretary of health, was commenting to myself that the people of the Guainía had to can ponder very well.  " One sees: They are engaged almost always in launch or in bongo.  There you the first 30 minutes dedicate to trying to conversing, but the noise of the engine does not leave it.  Later you set to meet the landscape, but since(as) the landscape it is always the same one, you get bored and begins to thinking.  To thinking and to think.  These people have to think very much! " The thoughts of the epidemiologist seemed to be to me guessed right enough.

The monotony her(it) broke another hill that appeared in the way, hill Nose. They were saying to me that there there were tigers. They told me that a colonist had brought cows to raise them nearby to the hill and the animals them almost they all had eaten up.  In a book on the settling in the saw of the Pertaining to La Macarena one, Alfredo Molano gathers the above mentioned colonist who says " where it(he,she) has won, there are tigers ", and it(he,she) reveals testimonies in which the colonists say to him(her) " what goes, the tigers are not finishing! Tigers it is what exists! ".  Ojalá* does not spend(pass) the same thing to them that with the lands.

In Inírida it(he,she) is very common to find skins hung on the walls. I saw skins rare(strange), similar to that of leopard or of rabbit.  In a restaurant I asked for the hung one, convinced of that it(he,she) was of domestic rabbit.  The owner said to me that not, that was a rabbit hunted in the jungle. I have heard of rabbits in the meadows, but in the jungle? I have the feeling that it(he,she) happens(passes) like with the "tigers".

Up to where my knowledge reaches, in the jungle only it(he,she) gives himself(herself,itself) the Jaguar, the biggest feline that one finds in South America.  Sometimes they have black skins and panthers are called, but tigers properly only they are in the indies and in the Himalayas, and they are finishing.  But the colonists were insisting that not, that were tigers, which there was more than one species(kind).  " Hereabouts there is one that has the face as well as shaggy, and it(he) is black and since(as,like) nearly brown, and other one that does not have so much hair in the face and it(he,she) is of one only color " one said to me in Inírida. He made me puzzled, because, or me it(he,she) lied as a reprobate, or there is more than one big species(kind) of feline in the amazonia.

Many curves of the river later, we come(came) to Samuro's stream, the highest in the river Inírida.  One saw as a waterfall, only that the river was bringing so many water that the jet was very thick. It(he,she) was like of approximately three meters of height, formed by the rocks of side and side.  The erosion of hundreds of years still(yet) was not conquering them and they were doing that the river was turning(becoming) a tremendous wealth, roaring and throwing(adding) foam. We stoop(stooped) the launch and tie(tied) her next to that of the mayor, who already should be coming to Big-mouthed Jet.

The normal procedure was to leave the craft in which one was coming and to agree before for radio in order that they were coming for one in a craft of another side.  To raise a launch for the stream was implying neither an effort nor the hog and loading her on hand on the rock he(she,I) would need more than ten men.  The anthropologist had resolved that they would receive us in the part of above(up) of the stream, so we expect(expected).  But the people did not come.  The wait was made(become) very long and it(he) was decided to ask the first one that was happening(passing) that it(he,she) was taking us.  And the first ones that happened(passed) were the representatives of the communities of under Inírida.  They were like approximately 12 and were bringing a launch of aluminium, big and thin.  Between(among) all we help(helped) to load her over the rock, seizing her to hand and travelling this way a span of approximately 15 meters. Between(among) so many people it(he,she) was easier. We give(gave) up her(it) to another side of the stream and prove(try,proved,tried) her(it) with the whole crowd, to see if it(he,she) was not sinking. The flying one was a bit bigger than the one that we had used in the coming. But this it(he,she) did not have cover of glass fiber and was leaving more space. We sat down shoulder with shoulder and fitted. He(she) was amazing the facility with which the natives were loading the engine it was a hut in the shoulder. They were raising it of the floor(flat) between(among) it(he,she) was going away with it(him) all 15 meters of the stream and then they were lowering it afresh(again) between(among) the two. I tried to make it I and could raise it neither of the soil nor ten centimeters.

We Continue(continued) during a span, in the middle of rocks that were going out suddenly or from some that you upset they were hiding a few centimeters below the surface. We had rock aside and to other one.  The pilots were showing the know-how that I could see whenever I travelled for the river.  They are known the shores, the rocks, where the banks of sand are in the habit of appearing, for where to take when the current bifurcates and this way.  Any mistake can cost the hull of the launch.  If it(he,she) goes full speed and can not avoid the rock, the blow is tenacious.  This way the craft is not damaged, the sensation is not at all agreeable.  When we were in Deer, a launch smashed with a rock and was heard like in a kilometre to the semibreve.  The pilot who was coming with us was joking on the "tortugazos". He(she) was smiling before the stories that were inventing some to hide his(its) mistake.  On not having taken(caught) the correct way, they were saying that they had given him to a big tortoise that was swimming thereabouts, not to a rock. Naturally, to the owners of the launches no grace was causing them.

Anyhow, the crashes were a very rare(strange) thing.  Only the pilots tyroes were putting on airs that way, and it if they were not noticing one more expert.  Normal age that the experienced one was giving up the helm to the apprentice when it(he) was in the same trip, and it(he,she) was explaining to him(her) for where to take, where to accelerate, where to reduce speed.  The apprentices have to navigate the river in all the epochs, during long periods to learn quite(everything) of memory.

The trip was a constant swaying.  The flying one was inclining a bit in every curve to the left side and then to the right, just person since(as,like) it to coo to one with the noise of the engine.  Less badly, we come(came) to the second stream, that of Sapuara, in a few minutes.  This it(he) was a bit calmer, similar to that of Mavicure. We come(came) up to the edge of the rocks and stoop(stooped) one for one. We lower(lowered) the suitcases and afresh(again) to loading the launch! We took her during a few meters for the rock beach and put her(it) to another side of the stream. In this span I could observe round holes, since(as,like) of approximately 10 cm. Of diameter, dug in the floor(flat). They were too perfect to be natives and had a depth since(as,like) of 30 cm. Or more.  To one they had filled it with a material similar to the cement.  A captain said to me that they were doing the fish in winter. They were doing the holes in the rock with his(its) beak(peak), were turning to do a nest and to put there the eggs; because of it they were staying so finely round. What patience and what beak(peak) those of these fish! Others, colonists, said to me that they were the track that they had left a few machines, in the last project of micro-hydroelectrics that had taken the river to itself. I have the feeling that both versions were real, since there were a few aligned hollows and the bottom(fund) was not meeting them, others had it curved and were not so deep.

When we come(came) next to above(up) from the stream, a bongo was tied and they were saying that it(he,she) was of the municipality.  The captains of the communities did group about the engine out hut, which was obvious newly released. They were commenting on something, but I did not understand anything, so(then) they were speaking in puinave. I managed to understand a word that they were repeating between(among) many strangers: "Yamaha".  The youngest of all approached me and I was asked that wanted to say Yamaha.  I answered him(her) that was a city of Japan where the factory of the engines was staying, and that the company that was making them had taken the name of the city. My response translated them into the others and again they commented in his(its) language, but this time asintiendo* before the word "Japan", as whom it(he,she) does with a known word, as saying one " ah, yes! Japan! ".