Snakes and ladders was a board game I loved playing when I was a kid, but I never dreamed I would one day be playing it for real in the Amazon rainforest in South America. Well, at times that’s what it feels like – I make good progress in the direction I want to go, edging a bit closer to the next level, and sometimes a risky roll of the dice reveals a double six and forward (up the ladder) I go… But at times, I roll the dice and land on a big fat problem, sliding back (down the snake) to a place I was before.

Recently, I chose a slightly risky route, but one that was away from rivers so the ground was better to traverse, with less closed forest and less flooded areas. The risk was that it would take longer to escape to safety if we needed too. I had a successful but very scary and exhausting swim across the vast Baia Do Caxiuanã, and then we started the crossing to Porto de Moz. Now Paulo, my current guide, can see dangers way ahead – he has eagle eyes and can spot things I would easily miss. After one of the best days walking on high ground so far, and only two days into the crossing, we put up our hammocks and washed in a small stream, (igarape). It was raining, but we were determined to get a good fire going, cook food and make coffee. Paulo was simply cutting firewood when his machete slipped out of his wet hand and caught his kneecap, the blade caught the bone below the skin and he had a cut about 60mm across, I couldn’t risk him contracting an infection in his kneecap, and we both agreed it would be best to get back to Portel hospital ASAP as you really need to be 100 percent fit to do this trek.

It has taken over four days to get back to Portel, and luckily he was fit and determined enough to still walk to the nearest river 7km away even though the wound kept re-opening. We then pack-rafted another 11km to the point where we had started walking four days earlier.

Never mind. I never intended to cross this amazing part of our planet with blinkers on and running for the finish line. I wanted to immerse myself, meet the terrain and its residents from a ground-level perspective which is what I’m doing. Yes, it’s been difficult and a bit slower than I originally thought, and yes, in my last blog I said I would write my next blog from Porto De Moz. Well, that’s the way it goes. I’m back in Portel, so I’ve had a bit more time to explore the city, film the busy port and write this short blog, as I have access to wi-fi.

Amazingly they have a small museum here with a large collection of artefacts local people have found washed up along the sandy beaches overlooking the Baia de Portel (Portel Bay) where apparently ships from Europe that entered the bay 300 plus years ago ran aground or capsized due to the tricky currents and deceptively shallow water, and spilled their contents across the sandy bed. Most the good objects have been stolen from the museum but some  remain.

I’ve also met some really interesting people, from the multi-lingual Japanese family of doctors, to local but worldly-wise people, and the local Carimbo group with their infectious music and dance, and of course the passionate teams and supporters of the game of football that seems to bring the whole community together here.

We should be walking again from the point where we entered the Rio Tapacu by the weekend. I hope we manage to make progress and don’t encounter too many snakes!

For live updates as we walk, see my Twitter feed on the left side of this page.

 

Header photo: Baia Do Caxiuanã, Pará, Brazil

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Some of the 300-400 year old European items found washed up on the small beach in the Baia Do Portel, Pará, Brazil

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Paulo ahead of me in the Alpaca Pack- raft as we make our escape to get Paulo to hospital: Rio Tapacu, Pará, Brazil

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The infectious music and dance of Carimbo. Portel, Pará, Brazil

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A church in the small community: Baia Do Caxiuanã, Pará, Brazil

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My versatile Hennessy hammock becomes an office desk at times.

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An unusual-looking but harmless arachnid, whip spider/amblypyglid/tailless whip scorpion. Thanks to Steve Backshall for identifying.

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