| The motor died a few times during the day, and come evening time it had given out completely. Alberto and Luis had labored over it for a while to no avail and decided to float down the river into the night to make up for lost time. I was delighted. The noise of the motor blocked out all other natural sounds and I had longed for a bit of river without the motor. As the night approached, the trees became dark silhouettes that slid by silently through the night sky. Forms of the dark shapes seemed almost human, kindly watching us as we passed by below. When it became pitch black, we swept our flashlights back and forth over the water's surface watching for logs. Maria and I were starting to be concerned about the rapids, as they had been fairly dangerous on the way up in the light. Just before we came to the rapids it was agreed we would spend one more night out and arrive back in Manapiare the following day. There was a camp that Alberto knew of, so it would be easy to set up for the night. Alberto stayed up for a while that night and by morning the motor was running again, just in time to take the bongo down the rapids - in the light! |
