9th June 2005 – Into the mangroves
The morning trip was to a mangrove river where we saw a village built on stilts, in the water. Some homes were so old that more and more extra stilts had been added. Even with these repairs, some of them were sloping into the water at one side. People were travelling about in boats. It was customary, in the past, to live entirely on boats rather than in houses. People who live on one particular side of the river have to travel to the other side to buy clean water. We saw men fishing from the small boats and Gilbert told us that they also farm fish.
We went away from the village, into the narrower stretches of the river, where the mangrove trees were growing further and further out into the water. We saw herons and kingfishers flash by – much too fast for my camera!
It was an interesting trip and it was pleasant to speed along and feel the breeze as it was a hot and sticky day. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and chatting (84-year old Margaret is looking forward to going to Chile next year!).
It was going to be an early start the next morning and the day around which this entire holiday centred!
One Anne and Her Dog 