Jutaí, October 02, 2024

Hello lovelies, we are currently moored in the port of Santo Antonio de Iça and writing this blog. But this blog is still dedicated to yesterday, when we called at the port of Jutaî.

Luiz reports on yesterday:

Jutaí is a municipality in the state of Amazonas, located on the banks of the Jutaí River, a tributary of the Solimões River. The city, which is predominantly inhabited by river dwellers and indigenous people, is surrounded by extensive areas of Amazon rainforest and has a rich biodiversity. The local economy is based on activities such as fishing, subsistence agriculture and the extraction of raw materials, particularly rubber and açaí. There is virtually no access to land, so river transportation is the main link to other cities in the Amazon region. In addition, the city preserves its cultural traditions and maintains a harmonious coexistence with the nature of the Amazon.

Like other regions of the Amazon, Jutaí is facing serious problems related to illegal mining, which mainly affects remote areas. The presence of prospectors, attracted by the search for gold and other minerals on the banks of the rivers and in the forest, leads to devastating environmental impacts such as the degradation of the banks, the pollution of the water with mercury, deforestation and threats to local fauna and flora.

In addition to environmental damage, illegal mining also leads to conflict with indigenous and riparian populations who depend directly on natural resources for their livelihoods. Although the local and federal authorities carry out inspections, the vastness of the Amazon region and the difficulty of access make inspections difficult, as in the case of Jutaí.

The night before, we were having a drink with some people who were also on their way to Jutaí. During the conversation, I asked a young man about his profession and he replied with unexpected candor: "We're gold diggers." That shocked me to the core. Most of the people on the boat are of indigenous origin and we noticed that they are rather reserved and hardly speak. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for them to live alongside those who are only here to exploit the wealth of the forest, with no concern for the devastating effects this can cause. What struck me was the clear realization that we are on the cusp of this harsh and disturbing reality.

Today is October 2, 2024 and, as we were informed yesterday, the long-awaited "land in sight" is finally here. After many days of uninterrupted travel, we have made a stopover! A small part of the goods on the ship have been unloaded. There is a bit of everything, from building materials to frozen chickens, cleaning products, furniture and lots of Itaipava beer! All these packages that were shipped from Manaus are now traveling in the hold of our ship.

Dirk and I used the stop to buy sunscreen, soap and toothpaste and withdraw some money from the ATM. Unfortunately, the pharmacy wasn't near the landing stage, but we decided to disembark anyway. Questions here, questions there: "Where is the pharmacy?", "Where can I find an ATM?", "Is there a bank or supermarket nearby?". In this context, I must emphasize that everyone was incredibly friendly and always ready to help with information.

When I arrived at the pharmacy, my credit card was not accepted, probably because it was international. The owner kindly told me, "Here's my pix key number. You can pay when you can. Take the goods." I was speechless! This situation made me think and showed me that there is still hope in the world. The trust this gentleman placed in us is simply priceless! It almost made me cry with emotion.

After withdrawing the money from the till, we quickly returned to the landing stage. However, due to the low water level of the rivers, the boarding platforms, the floating pontoons, were far from their normal location. To allow access to the boats, some rather precarious wooden structures had been improvised. Nevertheless, the crossing is difficult, especially for those who have to transfer the goods from the boat to the cars and motorcycles, which in turn take the goods and passengers to their destination.

And right at that moment, I looked down at the quay and realized something unbelievable: our boat was no longer there! 🙀🙀🙀 Yes, you read that right! Do you remember how we almost missed the boat's departure from Manaus? Well, this time the "prophecy" didn't come true in Manaus, but in a small town on the banks of the Solimões River called Jutaí!

But the Brazilians are incredibly helpful. Within two or three minutes we had found a helpful person who took us to our ship in a speedboat at high speed. We changed there at full speed and were able to continue our journey.

We then drove past Foz do Jutai, "belezas naturais". Another spectacular sunset, another day without rain.

We then moored off Tonantis at around 4:00 am. In the early morning, huge quantities of goods were transferred from the ship to a large floating pontoon, which was brought to the town by a smaller ship

A new day begins......