Part One: “The dolphin are up the river today,” I heard the boat captain shout in broken English. He was referring to the endangered pink river dolphin unique to the waters of the Amazon. Before long, there was a pod rolling in front of the boat and to my astonishment they really were pink. (link to full story) Our journey into the jungle began in Manaus, Brazil where we boarded a boat on the Rio Negro River and headed into the Amazon. As I looked at the lush forests, the occasional sloth hanging from a tree and monkeys jumping in the canopy, this was a surreal moment for me. It had been a lifelong dream to experience the Amazon rainforest. At times it seemed unattainable. The months of planning, packing and numerous calls to the Brazilian consulate for our visas seemed endless. I was finally here and wanted to absorb every moment.
We woke to the sound of chattering monkeys scampering across our porch in the tree house. No alarm clocks necessary as we were now on “jungle time.” It was our first night in the canopy of the rainforest and I could tell already that this was going to be the adventure of a lifetime. Our tree house hideaway and home for the next week was located deep in the jungle on the banks of the Rio Negro River. Enjoying the slower pace of jungle time my husband, Skip Haerter, and I watched the sunset from a rope bridge in the canopy, played with squirrel monkeys and watched the locals gather on the river banks with cane poles. What were they fishing for, I wondered, and why didn’t I pack my fishing pole? The next day Skip went in search of some tackle and poles. He soon befriended a local named Fabio who was born in this dense tropical forest and grew up along the river. Fabio was kind enough to offer us the use of his personal fishing gear. He owned one of the few spinning rods in the jungle and lent us the use of a cane pole. No extra hooks or line as tackle is hard to come by here. You get one chance to land your fish so breaking a line or losing a hook on a snag is not an option. We were instructed to meet him on the river bank at sunset.
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