It was a great evening reuniting with my friends Joe Wolthuis and Ross Purnell in Manaus, Brazil last night. All three of us were supposed to arrive Thursday night but as you read yesterday, Delta left me hanging in Atlanta for another 20 hours. But I made it here late yesterday afternoon and as soon as I could dig out my shorts and flip flops, the guys and I took a walk from our hotel, the Juma Opera Hotel, and enjoyed some beers and dinner.
We made it a short night because today we were fetched from the hotel at 5:30 AM for the airport. There we got on the Cessna Grand Caravan and made the three hour journey south to the Kayapo village of Pukararãnkre on the banks of the Xingu River. I should mention there was a fantastic surprise when we got to the airport. Ichthyologist Alec Kruse Zeinad, author of Peixes fluviais do Brazil, whom I met eight years ago at Kendjam on another Amazon trip, was waiting and will be joining us on the trip. You couldn’t ask for a better person to help with identifying a strange fish species.
When we arrived, the Untamed Angling guides and lodge staff were waiting, but before heading to the lodge, we had a “Meet and Greet” at the Kayapo village. One thing I always preach when fishing the world, make about 75% of the trip fishing, but do yourself a favor and save time to meet the locals and discover their unique culture. Once done, we made at 20 minute scenic boat ride upstream to the lodge where we got a firsthand look at the nature and birds.
How Xingu Lodge could come to be in the heart Amazon wilderness on the lands of the Kayapo Indigenous people is a story on its own. But Untamed Angling founders, Marcelo Perez and Rodrigo grew up enjoying remote Amazon locations and as men have specialized in exploring this vast land. Ten years ago Rod and Marcelo got permission from the Kayapo to research the area. When they realized its phenomenal potential, they negotiated with Kayapo Indian Chiefs and explored the possibilities of running an adventurous fly fishing program in the area.
There is only one way make such an endeavor work. Create a program where the Indians benefit. Soon Rodrigo and Marcelo had an agreement in place where the Kayapo natives are rewarded more so for protecting their land by allowing high paying tourist fly fishers to visit rather than by allowing the outside world to rape and pillage their lands like in so many other places around the world. Thanks to their arrangement, this is the largest untouched piece of the rainforest left in the Amazon. Its home to the Kayapo Indians and like the land they live on, their culture has hardly been interfered with by outsiders.
After a 20 minute boat ride we got the lodge around 2 PM where Rodrigo was waiting. Its only Ross, Joe, Alec and Rodrigo fishing this week so we all have our own cabin. They are very comfortable and I have a fan over my bed. After a fine lunch we took the afternoon to prepare for our week of fishing that will start tomorrow.
We just finished dinner and I’m exhausted. It took four days to get from Hayward, WI to the Xingu River. Its time for a sleep. Bright and early we’ll be on the water. First target tomorrow, payara.
If this is a trip you want to do (and you are crazy if you don’t!) you can Contact me, Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures or Untamed Angling.
For more pics from trips check out my Instagram page @jeffcurrier65
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