[freshfish]

This is going to be my Journal for the Bolivian fishing expedition.

I am asking that no one else post in this Journal, instead, this thread in the General Freshwater forum is for discussion and/or comments: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26301

This is going to be a large project, and I'm going to start just with posting photos (since I know that's what everyone wants to see most of all ), and then I'll go back in and fill in the text.

At the time of this post, I have access only to pictures taken by Gary and myself. I should receive addional photos from the other members before too much longer, and will also incorporate those (those pics will be very nice, as Jim and Barry had very nice cameras plus the skills to go along with them). 11/6/09 EDIT- I received pics from Barry, so am adding them in!!!

Unless otherwise indicated, photos in this thread were taken by me (so I apologize in advance for all the completely lousy ones LOL)

[freshfish]

Our trip was a 10 day trip, spanning from Tuesday, Aug 18 to Friday, Aug 28, 2009. Our destination was the El Prado Reserve, a privately owned 2500 acre reserve on the Rio San Martin up in the northeastern corner of Bolivia, near the Brazilian boarder. El Prado is approximately 3 hours south (upriver by boat) from the nearest town, Bella Vista:



We spent approximately 6 days travelling by plane, bus, and boat as this reserve is so remote and pristine. Here's the website for the El Prado Reserve: http://www.elpradopreserve.org/

DAY 1 Tuesday, 8/18 to Wed 8/19 - La Paz to Santa Cruz to Trinidad- nonstop travel!

Our plane left Miami late Tuesday evening, and we landed in La Paz for a brief on-plane layover before heading on to Santa Cruz. I think in total the flight was about 8 hours from Miami to Santa Cruz. These are photos taken by Gary from the plane shortly after takeoff from La Paz.





I swear the takeoff from La Paz was at an 80% angle!!! At any rate, my stomach didn't agree too much with the pilot's skills...

Once arrived in Santa Cruz, we exchanged money and caught a bus from the major airport to a smaller airport on the other side of town, where we caught another plane to Trinidad.

These are pictures I took during the bus ride:







Our bus looked exactly like these:


Once we arrived at the smaller regional airport, Bob lined up our flight from Santa Cruz to Trinidad. We ate lunch at a restaraunt upstairs from the terminal and discussed our options. We decided that once we arrived in Trinidad, we'd stay the night there in order to visit a local fish museum Bob told us he'd heard was very good, though he hadn't been there yet himself.

The plane ride from Santa Cruz to Trinidad was pretty turbulent; our plane spent quite a bit of time rising, dropping, weaving from side to side and going around huge thunderstorm clouds. I remember commenting, "I'm sure we'd get there a whole lot faster if we'd just go in a straight line!" I'm sure a 3D rendering of our actual flight path would look like the trail of a drunken butterfly... As a movie was not available, I apparently provided in-flight entertainment for my travelling companions, with my frantic grabbings of the back of the seat in front of me after each heart-stopping drop through empty air... Barry managed to get a pic:



Here's Jim (also Barry's pic)


Barry also got these great shots of Trinidad from the air:

[freshfish]

Exploring Trinidad

After arriving in Trinidad, we briefly checked into the Hotel Beni and then all 5 of us (plus our driver/impromptu tour guide!) piled- and I really mean STUFFED ourselves - into this small taxi and drove to the campus of the local university (Universidad Autonoma del Beni "Jose Ballivian") to visit the fish museum.


(photo taken by Gary)

Here we found the Ichthyology Museum.











Barry got this great shot of a mural depicting fishing for Peacock bass (Cichla temensis):


Just outside the museum, we found several university students engaged in a research project. Here, the students are weighing and examining the gut contents of voracious Wolf Fish (Hoplias malabaricus) caught in a local pond:





There were 2 large aquariums with live locally collected fish just outside the museum entrance. An assortment of cichlids, catfish, Otos, and I believe Killies were found inside:

[freshfish]

The Ichthyology Museum at the University in Trinidad

Bob, our group leader (and one of the owners of the El Prado Reserve where we were headed) had never been to the museum, so we had no idea what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised at the number, quality, identification and organization of the preserved specimens we found. The majority (if not all) of the fish species we were to later catch on this trip could be found preserved inside.

As you will see from the following photos, I got just a tad camera-happy once inside the museum... (hey, I was surrounded by FISH!)





















































































































In addition to all the boxed specimens out on display, behind these were jar upon jar full of additional fish. I'm sure I couldn't even come close to guessing how many fish in total had been preserved in this tiny little museum! As I said before; it was a very impressive display.

[freshfish]

Outside the Ichthyology Museum

My camera-happy trigger finger did not slow at all after leaving the museum, either; on the campus grounds were some fantastic trees, air plants, and birds.

Turns out that another of our group, Jim, is an avid bird watcher, and so we were exited also as each day passed to add to the list he was keeping of bird species sightings.

Here's a few pics I shot of the trees, airplants, and ferns just outside the museum.

What first drew my attention was this magnificent pink Jacaranda tree:














Next was this tree covered in unusual hanging air plants:











And then, several birds (I know that Barry and Jim got some much better pics than mine, I hope to add their pictures to this thread as well down the road once I have them...)









After returning to town, we wandered around till dark, then had a fantastic dinner at a local restaraunt. We'd forgotten that South American custom is to eat dinner fairly late, so we had to amuse ourselves until the restaraunt opened at 7pm. Barry took these pictures of Trinidad:

Rooftops


I guess you make do with the straightest tree you can find?


Transport in Trinidad is usually via motorcycle


Streets are divided by a nice wide median, where the bus stops are located


Statue in the middle of the city square


Hotel Beni's mascots


Water Hyacinth-overgrown river where the rest of my team spotted some Capybara, but I had my back turned so missed them


We spent the night at the Hotel Beni. The hotel was very nice, especially by Bolivian standards. The room was faily cool, well screened from bugs, and had a ceiling fan that ran all night. Though Bolivian mattresses seem to all be hard as rocks, the sheets were clean and each room had a clean en suite bathroom, complete with toilet paper.

I learned on this trip that 1) toilet paper is not to be taken for granted in bathrooms (fortunately I'd come prepared and packed my own), and 2) in Boliva (as in many South American countries) you don't flush toilet paper down the toilet, as it will clog the plumbing. Instead, you throw it away in a little trash can. (Ewwwwww...)

[freshfish]

Day 3 Thurs, 8/20 - In Trinidad, Waiting for the Plane

We were supposed to head out the next morning to Bella Vista, but there were hiccups with our flight. Bob kept making phone calls to the airport, only to be told, "we'll call you."

While waiting, we had brunch at a local restaraunt. Here we saw our first jaguar :


After an interesting but surprisingly tasty breakfast of combined beef strips, scrambled eggs, and french fries (!), Bob called the airport again and they finally admitted that they were having trouble lining up our plane and pilot as it was a local holiday and most were out of town. They said the earliest we'd be able to get off would be the afternoon, so we decided to do some more sight-seeing.

We once again piled into a taxi (this time it was a station wagon so I managed to snag the hatchback trunk for myself!) and visit the archaeological museum, but it was closed "indefinitely." We later heard that there had been some construction issues with the building, and the exhibits inside were endangered from both roof leaks and foundation erosion. Too bad, as I would have found it fascinating...

So instead, our driver took us down to the river, to the boat yard. This was our first look at the river! And Gary managed to catch our very first fish; a tiny tetra he snagged in a lowly aquarium net!

All the boats you see are being built or undergoing repairs of some sort. Most are either tugboats or barges.

















This barge is in the process of being built and caulked with a combo of horsehair and tar. We spoke a bit with one of the builders, who was very proud of his work, and told us that the horsehair is imported from Brazil. Unfortunately, that was about the extent of understanding his Spanish that Barry and I could muster between the two of us or we would have probably learned quite a bit more...







Barry got this great picture of the builders:


And also these photos:




Barry's quintessential scruffy village dog pic:


Barry also took this pic of a piece of Caiman tail that was just lying on the ground. This was the closest I came to seeing a Caiman the entire trip. Turns out we were there during the hunting season, so all wise Caiman had made themself scarce around humans. Not-so-wise Caimen end up dinner.


And here's Gary doing his first fishing! With his little aquarium net he caught a pretty little yellow tetra (we haven't ID'd yet) and a Water scorpion.

[freshfish]

The Ferry Crossing near Trinidad

We left that bit of the river and headed to a wider section, where there was a ferry to transport locals and cars across the river. Here we also found some local fishermen, and I saw my first wild piranha as well as 2 dead freshwater stingrays. The locals call stingrays "devil fish" and kill them whenever possible to reduce the chances of being stung while fishing. These stingrays apparently were landed that morning and the birds had gotten to them, so if you're squeamish you may want to skip those pics...











Village at the top of the bank overlooking the docks


Chicken I dubbed "the most beautiful bird in Bolivia." (Gary calls it a Hot Chick)


Fishermen


















Barry took this pic of the cutest of the fishermen:


Barry also got this picture of the log jam just beneath the village, showing the force of the river waters when they're at full strength:

[freshfish]

Trinidad to Bella Vista

After leaving the river we went back to Hotel Beni to collect all our luggage, and then Bob decided it would be best to go to the airport and wait to help "encourage" them to round up a plane and pilot for us. We spent several hours relaxing in the airport hangar. Bob wandered around talking with everyone and reminded the staff that we very much needed to get to Bella Vista today, Gary played soccer with the owner's young son, I read one of the books I'd brought along, Jim wandered around watching and taking photos of birds, and Barry took a nap. It was actually a restful afternoon after all our non-stop travelling, with a lovely breeze blowing through the hangar to keep us nice and cool.

We were unable to charter a plane large enough to accomodate all five of us plus our baggage, and finally ended up making the trip divided into 2 separate small planes. Jim, 1/2 our baggage, and 2 other local passengers went in a separate plane that stopped off at nearby Magdalena before joining us in Bella Vista. As we took off, we hoped it would not be the last time we saw him...

This was the little Cessna that Barry, Gary, Bob, our pilot and I jammed ourselves into... with baggage! When I say small, I really mean TINY- we had to sit three across in the back seat and were wedged in so tightly that there was no moving shoulders or hips no matter what!




(both Barry's pics)

We also had to help push the plane out of the hangar to the runway:

(Barry's pic)

Barry got the front seat. He said most of the instrument panel did not work. Very comforting.

(Barry's pic)

We flew at only a few thousand feet, however, so the view and scenery were fantastic. We also obtained a clear first-hand view of the extent to which the rain forest has fallen to slash-and-burn practice in the attempt to support enough cattle to feed the people scraping out a life here. Primarily only small areas surrounding rivers are still forested; the rest is all cleared and re-burned each year to keep the grass short and capable of supporting the Brahma cattle that we saw everywhere. These were all taken by Barry:









Here's Bella Vista as we land

(also Barry's pic)

After a very short, mercifully smooth, and uneventful hour and a half plane trip (which Bob informed us would have taken several days by car) we arrived in the small town of Bella Vista late in the afternoon. Gary took some nice pics of the "airport" and our runway in Bella Vista:





Barry took these airport pics:



Our pilot


Ambulance on standby


Barry's airport dog


And Barry got this cool series of shots of Jim's plane landing:












Hey- Jim made it after all!


As the local trucks were all busy, we caught rides into town via motorbikes. We precariously perched behind our drivers, each driver holding one of our suitcases in front, and took a bumpy ride along dirt ruts in the road (dodging free-roaming cows, horses, chickens, scruffy dogs, and children) to the town center.





We checked in to a local hotel and then wandered around town till dark. Santa Cruz and Trinidad are cities, but Bella Vista is definitely a town, and a rural town at that- very much my idea of a South American village. Similar in organization to Trinidad, the town is arranged in tidy blocks centered around a large square.

Barry took these pics:

Village hot mama










Situated where the Rio San Martin and the (Bolivian, not Brazilian) Rio Blanco merge, the river is wide and the current fairly rapid. This picture shows rather clearly the darker tannin-stained waters of the Rio San Martin (foreground) merging with the muddy lighter waters of the Rio Blanco (background):



I was surprised by the large rocks that dotted the landscape, especially down by the river, and amazed at the power of the flood waters that must have occurred to move such massive boulders into their positions. Gary also took these pics:





We got our first real look at the type of river habitat where we would be fishing along the shore at Bella Vista. I was very surprised at the lack of variety in the aquatic plant life. A single species of swordplant (which was busy transitioning from submerged to emersed growth and also flowering) and Eleocharis dominated the river banks and could be found only a few feet into the water. I surmise that the dark tannin stained water must not allow much light penetration, and as the waters were still rapidly falling (they fell approximately 6" just during our 5 days along the Rio San Martin), the plant growth and perhaps even species were most likely going through a big transition from low light (submerged) to full daylight. I could not identify the Echinodorus species, though the submersed form did resemble E. angustifolius from the long leaves (unfortunately my pictures did not turn out well, either ) Aquatic stem plants were few and far between, at least, at this time of year:





Here's one growing emersed. You can see the submerged growth lying dead around the plant.

(Barry's pic)

We also ran across some locals who were landing a great catch. These massive Pacu were caught in gill nets that stretch out from the bank right at the merging point of the two rivers. We were told that this was an unusually impressive catch; normally they average one Pacu every 3 days. We're fairly sure that the Pacu we had for dinner that night came from these fish (pics by Barry):











I did not take pictures of Bella Vista our first time through, but these photos were all taken of village life during our return trip through town:

City square:








Taking a break to watch Hot Chicks:


Hot Chicks:


Local crafts included the manufacture of wooded cart wheels:



and a unique process of smoke-curing and stretching rubber into waterproof ponchos. We were told that the rubber is cured with a special sap collected from trees local to the area, and the smoking process takes all day:













We also met a gentleman who makes handles from cow horns and cures leather hides:





Barry took these pics of our first sunset along the river:

















We learned that in Bella Vista there is electric in the town only from 6pm to 12am every evening. Hotel rooms were all up on the second floor, and there were 2 community bathrooms to share- complete with open, unscreened windows and large treefrogs. This cool frog was brought out of the shower for a rather unwilling photo shoot (all pics are Barry's):









Plus Barry caught this guy crawling across Jim's bedspread:





Most critters don't bother me, but these I have to admit I wasn't too fond of (all Barry's pics):






I was glad that I had packed toilet paper, as more often than not there was none in the bathrooms, and what might be there was typically very scratchy. I enjoyed my last shower for about 5 days at the hotel in Bella Vista. Unfortunately, none of us got a good nights' sleep, however- there was a mariachi band that marched through the square at 10 or 11pm (apparently practice for some upcoming event), dogs and roosters howling and crowing all night long (I have concluded that Bolivian roosters have absolutely no sense of time or decorum, as they would "go off" every few hours throughout the night each and every night... ), and a cold front rolled through at about 3am... but nonetheless we were up at daybreak the next morning eager to catch the boat upriver for our final leg of the trip.

[freshfish]

DAY 4 Fri 8/21 - The River Trip- Bella Vista to El Prado

The following morning we caught a ride in the back of a truck along with all our luggage to the riverbank.



Here we loaded up the boat. After seeing the boat packed with luggage and how low it sat in the water, I was certain we would be travelling in a 2nd boat.... I was wrong! lol





Barry got this pic of our captain and the baggage-laden boat. We still all had to squeeze in there, somewhere..


We were all loaded up and on the water by 9am. Early morning on the river was beautiful.







August is well into winter and the dry season in Bolivia. We could clearly see the high water mark from the debris in trees; the water levels had fallen about 4-6 feet from their high point, and had at least that still to go. December is usually when the waters are lowest, and the rainy season begins again. At times, the banks were steep and erosion wearing away at the trees holding up the banks. In other places, the banks were not visible due to vegetation covering the more gradual slopes.



















And, we saw our first river dolphins, and I managed to snag a shot of one! (sort of... can you find it in this picture? LOL)


I do take comfort in the fact that even Barry struggled to get a decent picture of river dolphins; even though we saw them all the time, they typically come up for air only a fraction of a second and then are back under- leaving you with a shot only of empty ripples on the water... I found it interesting that you'd see the pink ones, grey ones, and mottled coloration all in the same pod. (The one in my pic happened to be a mottled.) Barry did manage to get a few decent shots, but the only other picture I ever managed to get did not capture much more of the dolphin than my first:



Here's some of Barry's river dolphin shots, on the other hand:












The trip upriver was actually a bit chilly with a stiff breeze blowing- at least, by my own South Florida standards! Once again I provided in-trip entertainment as my West Coast and Canadian companions watched me hunker down in my long pants and pull on my windbreaker. They were all decked and enjoying their short sleeves.

Gary rode up in the bow on the bench seat in front of me


I snagged a "surprise" picture of Bob, who rode beside me


Barry and Jim (left to right) sat behind us, with our driver manning the motor


By mid-day, the clouds had passed and the sun was out in force, however. The rest of the trip remained in the balmy 80s during the day and rarely lower than the 70s at night. I had actually been expecting much more humidity, but found that my home town of Naples is extremely more humid than Bolivia this time of year. Once away from the water, the atmosphere is rather arid.

The river teemed with life. The surface of the water was continually stirred by large fish swimming just below the surface, and birds of all sorts lined the shores and perched in the trees. I learned that Jim is a passionate bird-watcher as well as aquarist, and he quickly identified most of the birds we saw, or researched and later told us the few he did not know offhand. Many species of beautiful herons, egrets, cormorants, anhingas and kingfishers were found every few feet along the banks- a testiment to the incredible amount of life supported by the river.





I saw my only snake the entire trip while heading upriver. It was coiled on a log overhanging the river, and I caught only a brief glimpse of its head and a bit of its neck. I believe it was a Colombian boa, though no one else saw it to help me with the ID.

Strange spiky growth covered many of the tree branches lining the river. Bob said that he had asked for information several times trying to identify them, but could never understand the answers he was given. He pointed out that they never grew above the high water mark, and also shared from personal experience that if handled they would leave behind painful little slivers that often would swell and become infected.





I later took some better pictures, from land. We concluded from the way that they grow that these are most likely some sort of freshwater sponge? They were prevalaent throughout the Rio San Martin, and we had to be careful to avoid stepping or grabbing onto them by accident. We often had to carefully remove them from our nets.

[freshfish]

Arrival & Fishing in Bella Vista

We arrived at the Preserve early afternoon, quickly unloaded the boat, and unpacked all our fishing gear for the first time. THIS was the moment I had been waiting for! I grabbed my cast net and headed straight for the river.

(Barry's pic)

My very first cast captured a collection of these large tetras we still have not identified (they resemple Buenos Aires but the body shape is wrong?), a red-bellied piranha, and a small freshwater flounder.


(Gary's photo)

I also caught a small Peacock Bass.

(Gary's photo)

Bob took his rod and reel and began fishing for supper. The area was teeming with piranha, and he landed a decent-sized red-belly very quickly.





We then headed across the river to our first collecting spot. I wish I'd taken my camera with me, but I was too eager to get fishing. This was probably our most fruitful spot by far. Directly across the river from the cabin, and a short hike along an overgrown trail through a few swampy areas (up to our knees in water this time of year).

Barry snapped this pic of Jim all geared up along the path


The area we fished was under overhanging trees, with thin water reeds growing up from the muddy, slippery clay bottom. The current here was very gentle, allowing a thick carpet of leaves to cover the bottom.




(both Gary's pics)

We caught Cories (I think Corydorus anaeus, but we're not sure as they were juveniles and possibly not colored up yet; Barry and Jim took plenty home with them so hopefully we'll be sure of the ID within a few months...), dwarf cichlids of all sorts (Apistogrammas, Laetacaras, Crenicichlas, Biotodoma cupido...) and many, many species of tetras. One in particular really caught our attention; a tiny and lovely deep red Serpae-shaped tetra that none of us had ever seen the likes of. We dubbed them the "El Prado tetra." Unfortunately, these proved extremely delicate, and I am not sure that any survived the trip home with Jim and Barry?

Jim and Barry tried to seine, but there were just too many submerged branches and reeds in the water, so we all ended up relying on the hand nets.

(Gary's pic)


(Barry's pic)

While we mucked around in the shallows, Bob diligently continued to angle for our supper. Unfortunately, there was only one rod and reel (the reel broke after a few days of use, as well) so it was up to Bob to provide fish for our meals each day!

(Gary's pic)

Bob caught this lovely Aequidens viridis with the rod & reel. Jim would have loved to have taken some home, but we didn't catch any small enough. This one ended up on the dinner table, and was quite tasty!



(both Barry's pics)

Also this fabulous piranha

(Barry's pic)

Our cabin seen from the opposite river bank

(Barry's pic)

Barry snapped this shot of a vivd green caterpillar


These were our dinner for the evening:


Bob also hooked this gorgeous pike cichlid back on our side of the bank; poss Crenicichla lacustris?





(all are Barry's pics)

Gary took on the task of tracking the fish species we caught each day, here he is journaling on the river bank:

(Barry's pic)

[freshfish]

Bella Vista Night Life

The moon and stars at night were fantastic, especially after midnight, since all the lights in Bella Vista would kick out. The bands of the Milky Way were clearly visible, and shooting stars streaked across every few minutes.

For some reason, Gary thinks my moon pictures are hysterical




We also found out that an entire colony of bats lives in the rafters of our cabin, and would come out at dark. We didn't mind at all, since as far as we were concerned, the fewer bugs, the better!






(Barry's pic)

We often sat outside for a bit after dinner and chatted, enjoying the stars and cooler night temperatures. It was a bit disconcerting to every now and then get whapped in the head or on the nose by a bat wing, however... I just kept telling myself that they were grabbing a bug that otherwise would have taken a bite out of me.

Actually, the mosquitos weren't bad at all the entire trip; they'd come out in force only for about an hour at dusk. We'd just plan to be inside at this time, and rarely had issues with mosquitoes at all.

BUT- Horseflies were an entirely different story. They loved ME. I attracted several species of the large painful biters; to the point my legs and arms were covered in red itchy welts, but they pretty much left everyone else alone. I was told I had found my purpose in life and was invited on all their trips from now on.
Ha. Ha.

[freshfish]

El Prado Around the Cabin

The cabin at El Prado was rustic but functional.

(Barry's pic)

It had a nice-sized kitchen, complete with gas range and refrigerator:



(both Barry's pics)

The kitchen is part of the open main living area. The living/dining area is opposite the front door:

(Barry's pic)

This shelf is on the wall opposite the kitchen. The door opens into one of two bedrooms.

(Barry's pic)

Both bedrooms are equipped with a bunk bed, a single bed, and a wardrobe for storage.

(Barry's pic)

The bathroom is opposite the bedrooms, next to the kitchen. Unfortunately, there was no running water while we were there, as the water pump had recently been stolen. We had to use water from the river to flush the toilet. Barry and Jim converted the shower area into their fish holding area:


I was actually up just after sunrise one morning (*gasp* Please don't tell anyone! ) and wandered around taking photos of the area around the cabin. The El Prado reserve consists of about 5 miles of riverfront property. The location truly is stunning. The cabin is on a small clearing surrounded on 3 sides by rainforest and the river on the front. The cabin is only 20 yards or so from the riverbank, with beautiful views in all directions. All these pictures were taken just a few steps out the front door:



















Jim woke up early each morning to go birding, and I think every day added at least one new species to his list. I would typically take my toothbrush, washcloth and soap down to the river for a quick morning cleanup, and enjoy all the fish, birds, butterflies, and river dolphins.

(Barry's pic)

The property caretaker's ducks typically joined my morning routine for their own morning drinks and baths.




The ducks were shy but completely naive to the real danger they were in... every time they waddled by Barry kept having uncontrollable thoughts of duck for dinner... and even caught a few in the cast net one day!

(Barry's pic)

These wooden benches are used by the locals to wash clothes. They use soap, stiff brushes, and pound and rinse the clothes clean.



(Barry's pic)

I found the benches handy for laying out my soap, toothbrush, shampoo, etc. (I always brought down bottled water from the cabin for my toothbrushing...)


The banks on the cabin side of the river for the most part were steep and rocky.




There was only a small strip of beach where the boats could be docked, an area formed by water runoff and still with a very steep slope.


The bottom here was a mixture of sand and rather muddy, with several areas of thick slippery clay. A few Echinodorus were able to take root along the sides of the beach, but for the most part there were no rooted aquatic plants.




Occasionally, bits of Salvinia sp. (?) and Pistia would float by:




What was truly amazing about this tiny little beach was the incredible diversity and sheer volume of animal life that could be found clustered together.

I named the beach "Playa Mariposa," as throughout the day the bank was always covered in butterflies of various species:



(all above pics Gary's)



(below pics are Barry's)








The banks were dotted with small caves both in the rocks and sandy areas, where crabs would emerge at night. When the waters are higher, these caves likely serve as hideouts and spawning areas for various catfish:

[freshfish]

The really amazing bit, though, was the sheer density of the fish population supported solely in this small part of the river. The ecosystem here was organized and dominiated strictly by water depth and fish size. The smaller the fish, the closer it hugged to the shallows to try and avoid the larger predators.

Small tetras, fry, and Pyrrhulina were found closest to the water's edge, usually in an inch or less of water.





Pyrrhulina sp.

(Gary's pic)

Misc. tetra

(Gary's pic)

Next came the Cories, which schooled on this beach in the thousands! These juvie Cories were all an inch or less, and found in less than a foot of water. If you stood still for more than a minute or two, they'd swarm your feet and start rooting between your toes... their tickling made brushing my teeth each morning a bit of a challenge!

All those little dark dots... are Cories!






After that began the cichlids. 4-6" Geophagus, Aequidens, Biatodoma, wolf fish, Crenicichla, and juvenile Peacock bass could all be seen from about 2-3' in depth. These could all be seen schooling together, though often one would break away for a quick dash into the shallower water to snag an unwary meal.

Geophagus sp.

(Barry's pic)

Aequidens sp.

(Barry's pic)

Biatodoma cupido

(Barry's pic)

The Buenos Aires-like tetras also schooled at this depth, though they also ventured out as well into much deeper water. Here's the shadowy outline of a small Peacock bass. The stripes down the sides give away the ID:


Large schools of piranha roamed freely throughout. Just in front of the cabin we caught at least 4 or 5 different species. Red-bellied seemed to be the most common catch, though the yellow were what we saw most often schooling around us as we swam and bathed. I was actually completely caught by surprise by the beauty of these fish. They sparkled and shone like gems; often with flecks of silver and gold, set off by brilliant reds, yellows, oranges, greens, and black.

By the 2nd day at the cabin I had decided that all the piranha horror stories I'd heard must be wildly exaggerated exceptions to the rule, and I just needed to get over my nerves. We all spent hours each day wading and swimming in these "piranha-infested" waters with never a single nibble from any of these toothy fish. We did however observe their work; many of the fish we pulled in were missing fins, scales, or even chunks of flesh off their bodies- evidence that the truth of the matter is that piranha most of the time feed only taking quick bites from nearby fish, most of the time leaving those fish to hopefully live, heal, and provide yet another meal at a later date. Over time, this is a much more successful predatory strategy, and probably why the river is able to support such large populations of these fish.

Here's some of the yellows that were always swimming around the washing/bathing area (look for the black wedges at the base of their caudal fins):





Here's the teeth of a red-belly. They are indimidating!

(Barry's pic)

We caught and ate piranha every day. Though the flavor was decent (nice mild white meat), the flesh was full of bones, and very small sharp ones at that. We all favored cichlid meat over the piranha- especially the Peacock bass, which was one of the nicest fish I've ever eaten.

We caught this nice Rineloricaria sp. (L010A?) right at the beach. We actually collected these everywhere along the river, especially around submerged tree trunks. All are Barry's pics:






Though the Rio San Martin is officially a "clear water river" - meaning that the waters do not flow fast and turbulent enough to keep the sediment constantly stirred into the water, turning it "white" like the Rio Blanco, nor slow enough to allow the accumulation of decaying leaf litter all along the bottom, making it "black water" - the tannins in the water limited visibility to just a few feet. Therefore, you never saw more than just a hint of the true monsters that inhabit the deepest parts of the river. Only large splashes and the frantic skittering of fish along the surface of the water leaving you to wonder a the size of the fish below that had chased that fish to the surface.



Each time I heard a splash my mind would go back to all the wildly fantastic monster fish we had seen in the fish museum in Trinidad, and I would wonder which of those had risen to the surface to feed this time?

[freshfish]

Day 5 Sat, 8/22 - Failed Boat Trip, Hanging out at the Cabin, & Night Fishing

This day we'd planned to take the day and go several hours upriver to hike up a tall hill overlooking the lowlands, but the boat motor kept breaking down and eventually we had to give up. The boat also was taking in water at an alarming rate, leaving me to bail out several inches of water every few minutes, so I was rather relieved when we finally gave in and headed back home.

Bob had brought along the rod & reel, though, so he, Gary and I all took turns with it while we drifted back downriver to the cabin. I caught a fairly large fish that we have not ID'd yet; it somewhat resembled a mullet- with the large eyes, thick torpedo body, and large silvery scales. Wasn't the best eating, though. Gary caught his first piranha, and Bob caught this fabulous Peacock Bass;




Dinner!


That Peacock bass was the best fish I've ever put in my mouth! Yummy!!

Me helping Gary with the rod & reel

(all are Barry's pics)

Once back at the cabin, the rest of the group decided to go for a walk, but I stayed behind to relax, have some alone time to journal, and wander around the clearing. It was such a hot day that before long I decided to change into my swim suit and took my first bath in the river. The water felt fantastic!

The guys walked along a road running parallel to the river all the way to the end of the El Prado property line.





(all Gary's pics)

They came across a huge spider colony sharing a community web, and Gary brought back these photos:




Barry took these photos:










Jim got separated from everyone during the walk, but eventually met back up at the cabin. I was still enjoying the river when they all got back, and it didn't take much to convince them that cooling off was a great idea, so they joined me. This became an afternoon "tradition"- going down to the river to clean up and cool off.

I believe it was this same night that Gary and I weren't sleepy and so didn't turn in shortly after dinner with everyone else. We chatted out front of he cabin for a bit, and then decided to take our flashlights down to the beach to see what we could spot after dark. Gary wanted to see where and how the Cories slept. It was about 10pm, and we quickly became excited by what we found! Most of the fish (including all the Cories) were sleeping, and in very shallow water. Even with our bare hands we were able to scoop up fish; I caught a 3" Geophagus that way! We were very excited about our fishing prospects and tried to quietly sneak back into the cabin to collect some nets without waking everyone else up (we later found out that we woke everyone up anyways but they claimed they didn't mind... oops... probably didn't help that we were giggling like a couple of schoolkids sneaking out of the house while their parents were sleeping...)

So we took back down a bucket and 2 of the tiny 4" bait nets I'd brought for fish sorting. We caught more Geophagus, another small cichlid that I think may have been a Laetacara, and some lovely Hatchetfish that I believe are Marthae. We never saw those same hatchets again, though we caught silver and marbled hatchets in other places along the river; I wonder if perhaps Marthae are normally nocturnal? This was our catch that night, all either with our hands or those tiny nets:

[freshfish]

DAY 6 Sun, 8/32 - River Wildlife, Up a Hill, and River Collecting

By the following day, the caretakers had stripped and rebuilt the motor and also obtained a bigger and much drier boat to re-attempt the trip upriver to the little hill. So that morning we set out again on a 4 hour trip upriver. Unfortunately, my spare camera battery turned out to be dead, so I wasn't able to get any pictures this day (had to recharge the camera battery using the solar-powered battery at the cabin).

The river is usually glassy still in the mornings:

(Gary's pic)


(Barry's pic)

On the way upriver we passed a small settlement Bob said is known for making boats. Bob said the town is named California:

(Gary's pic)


(Barry's pic)

Though the trip was long, we enjoyed all the wildlife along the river; espcially the birds. (All bird pictures taken by Barry unless otherwise indicated.)

Cormorants and Anhingas






Kingfishers (there were several species)






Coots


Various Hawks, Eagles, & Kites










And many, many different Heron and Egret species









(Gary's pic)

The most unusual birds we saw were small flocks of rather large, clumsy birds (I thought Bob called them "Watson birds" so that's what I kept calling them, though Bob said that was not how the name is spelled...) These birds would be high up in the large trees, and Bob said they eat a poisonous berry that makes their flesh toxic to potential predators. Though awkward fliers (they reminded me of wild turkeys in basic size and flight), they have a hook on their wings that Bob said helps them climb through the trees. Unfortunately, these birds were rather shy and would squawk, fly, and lumber back away from the river any time we drew close, so none of us got any really good pictures of them. Their plumage was fantastic, however! This is a link I found on Wikipedia (where I finally learned the name is spelled Hoatzin ): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoatzin. Barry did get some pics of the Hoatzin birds:













We even saw a family of rare Giant River Otters! Only Barry was quick enough to catch them on camera and managed to snag photos of their heads as they quickly swam away from us downriver:












We kept an eye out for places to collect on the way back downriver, but at one point went ahead and pulled alongside a raft of floating grass and Salvinia just to see what was there.


Just scooping with nets underneath the grasses, we caught many, many knifefish (we collected at least 3 different species during the trip),







(all Barry's pics)

several more water scorpions,


(Barry's pic)

glass shrimp,



(both Gary's pics)

a Wood catfish, and several small mottled brown catfish (interestingly, they very much resembled Synodontis sp.) that Barry and Jim said were probably a Hoplo species (they took them home, so it's another one I'm interested in seeing what looks like when they mature!)

(Gary's pic)

We also caught a Symbrachid eel (I kept getting the name mixed and calling them Silurian eels, much to Jim and Barry's amusement )

(Gary's pic)

Shortly after midday we passed through a huge rookery of Cormorants and finally saw our destination hill in the background:

(Gary's pic)

All the following taken by Barry:








The hike up the hill proved quite a challenge for this flatlands girl, and I was pooped by the time we reached the top! I also kept quoting the mantra, "everything has thorns, everything has thorns," and added a few more bumps and scratches to my collection LOL Barry took these shots of flora & fauna along the way:










Gary took these photos:






Somehow, the rest of us got separated from Jim, and took the long way to reach the viewpoint; Jim said he'd been waiting for us for 45 min by the time we showed up!

(Barry's pic)

The view of the countryside from the top, however was amazing:

(Gary's pic)


(Gary's pic)


(Barry's pic)


(Barry's pic)


(Barry's pic)

Jim and Gary

(Barry's pic)

Barry and me

(Gary's pic)

Our intrepid leader, Bob

(Gary's pic)

Here again, you see slash and burn everywhere:





(all Barry's pics)