A Golden Legend

Chapter 16

They had flown on another plane to an innominated village, which did not appear on maps, but whose location Rangel knew personally. The site was little more than a hut that served as a hangar, not-too-long dirt landing track, a sort of general store for replenishment, and a group of indigenous miserable huts. After a night stay in a modest hostel annex to the warehouse, the expedition members rose early and headed to a dock on the Javari River, the natural border between Peru and Brazil. In the place already waited for them Francisco, the guide and translator that would accompany them in the rest of the trip, and a dozen of indigenous laborers who would take care of the transport of provisions, the assembly of the camps, and help in the excavations. All of them depended on Rangel, who was also responsible for the safety of the expedition. Lupita, an acute observer said to her friends:

“By the familiarity with which he treats them, this Rangel guy already knows some of the pawns from before. I wonder if that's good or bad.”

“Both Rangel and Francisco are armed. Note the bulk of guns inside their clothes “added Marcelo.

“Also Magnus and Rodriguez always carry weapons in their expeditions, not only for hunting but also defense. That is logical due to the wild sites in which these activities often develop” replied Teresa; Rodriguez was a Mexican archaeologist, McPherson´s right hand in all endeavors.

“In any case, it is curious that Rangel know this spot” added Teresa “who knows why there is a village in this spot?”

“The native hamlet does not justify the installation of the hostel and the airstrip”

Marcelo insisted “they can simply be facilities linked to drug trafficking.”

The members of the expedition began to load their luggage in seven motor-canoes that were already in the water, tied to stakes in the muddy shore. Once aboard, the workers came to distribute objects in the boats to ensure their stability. At the end of the load, Rangel proceeded to place travelers in the different canoes, according to some criterion that only he knew. Teresa and Lupita travelled together, but Marcelo was destined to another unit, resulting in a certain frustration for them.

Canoes ran slowly down a river quite wide flowing in almost imperceptibly; its banks were covered by tall trees to which was added a thick understory, taking advantage of light entering at an angle through the opening in the tree cover represented by the river width. Indeed Teresa noted that farther away from the shore the low vegetation decreased, resulting in trees more than one hundred and twenty feet tall, relatively spaced between them. Inside the thicket it was shady and humid, since the place only received the direct light of the Sun on the rare occasions that one of those giants fell, victim of rot or axe.

On the left side of the river stood the Matsés nature reserve, entrusted to the aboriginal people of the region, from which the Peruvian government had expelled all exploiters of wood, poachers, seekers of gold and other predators that had looted the subsoil, the flora and fauna of the rainforest for decades.

The sun warmed the atmosphere and travelers grouped under the straw or canvas roofs of the canoes writing their notes, observing the river landscape, taking occasional pictures, or just dozing, hypnotized by the rhythmic sound of the engines, which were shaken every now and then by a sudden cough, perhaps because of impurities in the fuel.

Sometimes, a splashing in the water betrayed the presence of fish and even marine mammals, some of them of considerable size and weight, judging by the noise of the splash in the water. Teresa paid attention to noises to determine what had caused them, but could only distinguish amorphous and dark beings that came briefly into the air, without being able to elucidate what creatures they were.

They were definitely navigating one of the tributaries of the vast sss basin, one of the largest reserves of the world's plant and animal biodiversity.

After several hours of sailing, they sighted a small Indian village on the left bank of the river. Rangel, located in the first canoe, gave an order to the helmsman, who put bow to the rotten wood village dock. There descended the Venezuelan and Francisco, while all others waited on board the canoes.

“Magnus, would it not be convenient that either you or Rodriguez go up with them to monitor what their dealings?”Teresa inquired the teacher, who was in the same canoe.

“If I have given the responsibility to Rangel, I must rely on him whatever he does” responded the man with his typical candor; then on a more realistic mood he added “Besides, they are surely speaking languages that neither Rodriguez nor I can understand.”

Teresa was not completely satisfied with the answer and scowled, but a light touch on the arm by Lupita made her desist from further asking. She then devoted to observe the tiny town. It was a group of huts of circular shape, with walls made of sticks and canes and roofs of palm leaves. The settlers wore costumes from jeans and shirts in the Western style, down to a simple loincloth for men, while women generally wore some fabric tunics made of a material that resembled jute.

At that time Rangel and Francisco returned, accompanied by an indigenous wrinkled old man, no doubt a chieftain of the village. The patriarch was dressed with a faded jacket and pants from different suits and smoked a wood pipe. Francisco beckoned the others indicating that they could descend from the canoes and approached the group.

McPherson and the indigenous leader conferred for a time, acting Francisco as translator. After the long parliament the American smiled and pulled from his backpack some bundles, obviously gifts, which extended to the chieftain, who took them with apparent indifference.

With the excuse that she wished to extend her legs a little, Teresa moved away from the Group and flanking the village plunged into the forest. Every time she had the chance to wander in tropical environments she did it since this kind of spaces subjugated her. Close to the shore dominated a floor of white sand, with a grove of Palm trees surrounding the village´s huts. Penetrating into the forest the texture of the soil changed to clay, and correspondingly changed the flora. Near the village prevailed middle height trees partially surrounded by parasitic plants and epiphytes, with great thickets of bromeliads, inside which she observed water and insects pushing desperately out of their closure.