Botos-cor-de-rosa

 

It was when the waters of the Rio Negro tried and failed to mix with that of the Solimões, to form the mighty Amazon, that we saw them for the first time – hunting dolphins, a whole pod of them.

These clever mammals were taking advantage of a phenomenon that was once described as “the greatest hydrologic spectacle on the planet”.

The very fittingly named “Meeting of Waters” was a bit like an attempt to mix a Café au lait with Yorkshire tea…. something only done with hesitation. And in the case of these two large watercourses, the matter was far more complex….

The milk coffee coloured water of the Solimões, the upper Amazon, originates from the Andes, has a temperature of about 22 degrees, carries far more sediment and flowes at a speed of up to 6 km/h, when it meets the water of the Rio Negro. As this river has its source not in the mountains above the tree-line, but in the rainforest of Colombia, it is considerably warmer with 28 degrees and has a much darker tea-like colour, due to the degrading plant material it is carrying. This also results in a much lower ph of between 2.9 – 4.2, which has the not inconsiderable advantage, that it is not particularly conducive for the development of mosquito larvae. In addition to this, the speed of the Rio Negro is much more sedate with not more than 2 km/h, so that when these two large water masses meet, they first run just alongside each other for about 6 kilometers before they are starting to mix and it takes them another 50 kilometres, before they get used to each other and blend completely to form a uniform water mass.

The difference in nutrients and water temperature was attracting a lot of small fish and the dolphins were taking full advantage of it. While their prey was struggling with the reduced visibility in the tannin stained water of the Rio Negro, the dolphins benefited from their echolocation that made hunting so much easier.

These were grey river dolphins, easily identifiable by their prominent dorsal fin and their more predictable direction of movement.

For my first encounter with their more elusive, much larger, pink cousins, the Botos-cor- de-rosa, I had to wait for a couple more days.

While looking for a sloths in the canopy of the rainforest on the Paraná do Mamori South of Manaus, I noticed a familiar sound that transported me immediately a few thousand kilometers to the other side of the Andes, to the Pacific coast of Northern Peru, where I had heard for the first time the blowhole of a whale.

While not as large as its Cetaceaen cousin, the exhaling sound was the same and sure enough, looking to the other side of the river two distinctive pink backs, nearly devoid of a dorsal fin, were breaking the surface of the water.

Unfortunately this remained my only encounter with these strange animals while staying on the Amazon.

Returning to Manaus, with a few more days to spare, I did some research and found out, that there was a small place in the North, right next to the Anavilhanas National Park, a Labyrinth of half submerged islands in the middle of the Rio Negro, where it would be virtually impossible to miss them.

While the adventurous way to get to the park would have been to hitch a ride on a seaplane that would cover the 160 km from Manaus in less than ½ hour, the 3000 $ price tag was just too eye watering, so that I chose for the second best option – a three hour lasting joint taxi ride along the partially tarmaced road to the village of Novo Airão for less than 20 $.

As it turned out, this ride was no bit less audacious, with the driver, glued to his mobile phone, frequently exceeded 120 km/h on a road with numerous, often unexpectedly appearing, large potholes, while his wife, riding shotgun, was balancing their unsecured small child on her lap….

I didn’t dare to check if at least her airbag was disabled…..

When entering the village, it was not difficult to tell, that I had arrived at the right place:

images of botos and of manatees could be seen everywhere. Several house fronts and property walls provided the necessary canvas, the local karate club displayed them as their mascots and even the village’s carnival float had the shape of a manatee.

Once I had checked into my hotel, which alongside an excellent internet connection and a Bavarian flag on its roof (which no one could explain why it was there….) featured a massive, very inquisitive iguana and his hareem.

It didn’t take me long to find out, that the best chance to see a boto was to head down to the beach in the morning and to look out for the bicycle of a young girl that was working on a small floating house that contained a simple information centre about the national park.

Helped by occasional treats, the girl had befriended a pair of river dolphins, that were usually visiting her both in the morning when she opened the place as well as in the evening before closing it.   

       

But this time it wasn’t that straight forward….. the bicycle was there, so was the girl and the floating house, but what was missing were the dolphins….

“Probably somewhere down the river”, said the girl and shrugged “They are free and you never know…..”

And sure enough, despite turning up twice daily for the next two days, I always left empty handed….

At least I had found out that staying at the hotel included the free use of a kayak, which eventually would give me a front row seat when the botos finally returned….

With underwater visibility less than 30 cm, not seeing one of these river dwellers did not mean that they were not there….The river dolphin has the ability to stand motionless in the water and especially while swimming – which I did every morning – you might pass one just a few centimeters away from you, which is a bit unsettling, considering that these creatures that resemble somewhat the embryo of an Ichthyosaur, can easily be larger than 3 meters. Thankfully – like their grey cousins – they are completely harmless piscivores.

When paddling towards the floating house at the end of the third day, starting to get frustrated about my poor luck, a pink, an indeed primeval looking shape jumped out of the water right ahead of me, but disappeared below the surface before I had a chance to reach for my camera. Well – not everything could or should be kept on film I thought….

But this time my lucky run endured, and shortly after this brief encounter, the girl appeared and sat down at the edge of the float to give the botos their evening treats.

“Surely some of the most unusual creatures I have ever set my eyes on”, I thought. Certainly not particularly pretty, actually slightly spooky, and yet an alluring sight in this remote corner of the Globe.