Turtle Swims to Freedom
- 11 Dec 07, 01:10 PM
Posted from: Wijint
Today we have been invited by Manto to go fishing with him and some other Achuar from the community. Zubin is so looking forward to this. He’s been wanting to catch a fish on the Amazon since we started this adventure and at every opportunity we have either been too busy filming or the boat has been travelling too fast. This scene should be great as we will be experiencing one of the Achuar’s traditional methods of community fishing so Zubin has promised us that he will be supplying the much needed food for us to eat tonight.
My immediate dilemma is not a technical one but what footwear to wear: walking boots or wellies? The consensus among the production team is that they have all opted for walking boots but Angel, our fixer and all-round jungle tough man, laughs at this and says although less comfortable, it has to be wellies for grip, if they fill up you can just empty out the water and they also give you lower leg protection against snake bits. In other jungles I've filmed in the guides always wear wellies so I go for what the locals do. Zubin laughs at this and says it’s because they don't have walking boots and that I'm dressed to go gardening and not for a long hike with kit.
We set off in a long line with about 20 Achuar consisting of men, women, children and babies leading the way. Zubin and I are carrying heavy filming equipment and we soon realise that despite the Achuar and Bruce carrying equally heavy loads, we’ll not keep up with their pace. To make sure that we don’t miss any moments, Steve heads to the front armed with a smaller HDV camera and we’ll take over when we catch up with the front group on our larger HD camera. This proved a great call as on the trek he manages to capture some nice spontaneous moments of Bruce travelling and interacting with the community.
The path we follow is a well-worn one with long narrow logs laid down lengthways over some of the swampy parts. As it had been raining heavily this was not always helpful because the logs were covered with wet moss, which made them treacherously slippery and every now and then you would hear a yell and then a crash as someone would slide off and land in a swampy bush.
Every technique seemed to be employed including using a pole like a tight rope-walker and the much favoured, yet deadly, run-as-fast-as-you-can style. By now the welly choice was looking good because the soles of the crews' walking boots were simply clogging with thick mud, making the difficult walk even more treacherous. Angel, our fixer, must also be one of the strongest men in the Amazon, along with being a talented cameraman in his own right. He is a fantastic help to me throughout this shoot and nothing is ever too much trouble for him. In the line just behind me he noticed that I was struggling with the camera’s weight so took over carrying it. I prefer to usually carry it myself over risky terrain but knew it would be in safe hands.
Zubin was in front and was doing a great job coping with the weight of his sound kit. As he leapt off a log into what he thought was a shallow puddle he suddenly found himself waist deep in a muddy bog. He reached to pull himself out but there was nothing to hold onto and he was stuck fast. I know it’s not amusing if it happens to you and Zubin was panicking a little but this had to be the funniest thing I’ve seen on the whole trip.
I had to take a picture of him so scrambled for my small camera, which was not the reaction of help he was looking for as he stood stranded. By then Zubin started to sink so Angel, always the hero, leapt across the bog and somehow pulled him out with one of his huge arms. By the way, to describe Angel - he is a very cool-looking guy, about 5’2, with a goatee beard, a permanent bandana and a large AC/DV tattoo on his arm. He’s just great.
We set off for a few more hours and by now Angel had slowed down considerably. We've been sharing the carrying of the camera but even with nothing he is struggling. He admits that he badly hurt his toe playing barefoot football with the Achuar but didn’t want to let us down.
Eventually we catch up with the front group just in time to film the men with Bruce start to beat a pile of specific leaf types into a pulp with the ends of narrow logs. They then put this into baskets and leave the path and head into the jungle. Hoping to keep up and film them but they are gone in seconds. We do our best to follow in their direction but soon get lost.
After a short time we see the riverbank and head for it and then fight our way through the dense jungle while following along the bank. Several minutes later there they are on a beautiful narrow river approximately five metres wide. The community is in great spirits with many already waist deep in the water. Bruce is right in among them and we film him both helping them and talking to the camera.
The baskets containing the pulped leaves are then submerged into the water which causes a cloudy white colour to form when they mix. Within 10 seconds or so it was quite amazing as fish literally started jumping out of the water. This milky water starves the water of oxygen and the fish start to suffocate. It's an amazingly effective technique and soon there were hundreds of fish floating to the surface as the cloud washed down the stretch of water. The kids' faces beamed as they collected them with some fish even jumping into their baskets. The men and older boys used spears to collect the larger fish. Bruce was given a spear and helped in the harvest.
By now the Achuar were now all chest-deep in the river and wading away from us around a bend. There was no way we could work our way around the river bank as the jungle was too thick so Steve and I had a quick chat over the pros and cons of following them. We both agreed we should go for it. The plan was that I’d hand-hold the large HD camera and try to watch where the Achuar had stood to try to avoid suddenly standing in a hole and losing our only HD camera.
It was impossible for Zubin to operate his sound mixer while in water so he had already waterproofed his radio mic with a condom, an old sound recordist trick (although he did get some funny looks when he asked our fixer to buy him a large quantity of condoms when we were prepping in Cusco). So we made our way down the river among the Achuar as they collected fish from the surface and into their baskets. Some of the fish were huge and the whole group of Achuar seemed on a contented high.
The shots were working out nicely because, by having the lens low in the water, the camera felt in their world rather that being higher on the bank and looking onto the scene. It was such a natural, pure scene as the line of Achuar glided through the water past us. This community were so at home in their environment there was even a lady in the water up to her waist collecting fish as she breastfed a small baby at the same time.
My favourite shot of the whole series so far happened when a young mum made her way past as I was hand-holding the camera in the middle of the river just inches from the surface. As the young mother approached while collecting fish, a small baby strapped to her back had grabbed an overhanging stick and was splashing this on the surface of the water like a spear.
The camera pans with them and they walk away following the line of Achuar. It was not an adrenaline-fueled or exciting shot but one that really captured the essence of these people in a pure, unobtrusive way. A really special moment and the highlight for me so far.
We decided to leave them to it so as to not risk the camera any more than absolutely necessary so bagged up the camera in a waterproof dry bag. The only way back was the way we had come so Steve, Zubin, Angel and I waded back up the river. Angel was determined to carry the camera and as he is only 5'2 had the water up to his chin as he balanced the camera bag on his head.
Zubin was in his element as he collected fish left, right and centre. He was desperate to catch a fish but never though it would be this easy - he filled his pockets with them. Suddenly Angel yelled and passed the camera bag to Zubin. He had spotted an enormous stingray that was half in the water on the bank suffocating and warned to us that it was very dangerous.
He feared that if startled it could panic and speed our way with its enormous barb. We all froze and, like a man possessed, Angel grabbed a large stick and this bandana-wearing, tattooed little strongman took a huge swing, yelled at the top of his lungs and started clubbing the animal. The already half-dead stingray was dead within moments and, having both saved and worried us all in one act, Angel again carried the camera on his head and we waded on.
We made our way back through the jungle and back to the path. The Achuar were gathering and they divided the catch equally between them. Suddenly one of the little boys was carried in by his mum and placed on the floor. The boy had stood on a stingray and had been stung by its barb on the ankle. A stingray strike is highly painful and the boy was in shock and shaking with pain. The boy was treated as best as he could be with our first aid kit and quickly calmed down with the extra help of some sweets.
When we finally arrived back at the village we were all exhausted. I could hardly walk any further and collapsed onto my makeshift bed. Zubin proudly emptied his pockets of fish in front of our local cook who laughed at him saying that they were too small to cook. Zubin humoured her and charmed her to cook them anyway and they were in fact delicious.
I headed down to the river to cool down with a swim and wash before the mozzies came out. Strangely I kept hearing a banging and scratching noise and eventually investigated, looking into our moored boat. On the floor in the front was a large piece of blue plastic sheeting and underneath it was a huge metre-long freshwater turtle. It was a sad sight to see for such a stunning animal and one of our boatmen had drilled a hole through the back of it’s shell and tied it to the inside of the boat. The turtle was obviously in distress and completely dried out.
I totally appreciate that, if the boat driver was wanting this turtle for food, then who am I to criticize? But as he was being fed by us, and was very well paid, then he was not wanting it for food but instead wishing to keep it onboard our boat to sell it for money further down the river. I wouldn’t feel comfortable travelling with the turtle held there so decided to let it go and if necessary I’d give the boatmen some money for it myself.
Zubin had just washed and left saying his daughters would certainly be happy if we saved it. Almu turned up at the river for a swim and agreed so we set about freeing it. After untying it the turtle wriggled around the footwell and as I lifted it all four flippers went back and fourth in the air like crazy. It was very heavy yet became incredibly lightweight the moment it reached the water and it swam off as fast as it could. I know the politics are more complicated than simply setting an animal free but as it was one of our team who had caught it and not an Achuar this felt fine. The boatmen never did mention the missing turtle so neither did we. Hope they don't read this blog!
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