Fishing for piranhas without a fishing rod in the Amazon Rainforest, and a campfire feast of fresh fish｜A once-in-a-lifetime experience

In the Amazon rainforest of Peru, the rain doesn't seem to stop. The sheets are so full of moisture that they seem to be able to wring out the water. The clothes are soaked with moisture and stick to the skin coldly and softly, exuding a smell that needs to be washed.

On the afternoon of the last day of the trip, our guide, Chris, took my partner storyteller and I paddling across the lake to the other side to fish— no rods , just line and hooks . I watched Chris try it out with the storyteller.

Fishing for piranhas without a fishing rod

Chris quickly caught two piranhas, and as soon as the piranhas left the water, they let out a squeal like a pig, opening and closing their mouths, revealing their white fangs. Chris put a leaf in its mouth, and it snapped off crisply.

The storyteller's bait is always eaten. Ten minutes later, a little frustrated, she handed me the fishing line. I thought about Chris' actions, and I didn't have any expectations in my heart (everyone said that fishing requires patience), I just wanted to say give it a try. On the one hand, he was also worried about catching the savage piranha.

I felt the bait being bitten, pulling back a section of the line, and when the line suddenly tightened, Chris said, " Now! " I pulled the line in with both hands, and saw the fish scales glisten under the water, struggling to escape its fate. Chris told me to slow down and instructed, "It's too powerful and the fish's mouth is hooked and it escapes."

The moment I pulled on the boat, I could see clearly that it wasn't a piranha. It was thin, long and delicate, with no fangs and no arching sounds. It flapped its tail and looked at me with wide eyes. It was my first fish .

"It's called Lisa Fish ," Chris said. "Lisa means slippery in the local language."

I was enveloped in the uncanny vibe of the world, and I remembered the "official" English name of my partner's storyteller, the name she introduced herself to unfamiliar strangers, also called Lisa.

" It's an experience you won't forget, for the rest of your life, " Chris said. I believe in him.

At this time, the sky was covered with dark clouds for half of the sky, and a strong wind was blowing on the lake. Chris reeled in the line and paddled back. The wind shoveled the waves and pushed us back, and I saw Chris gasping and fighting back, trying to help, but he said that the storyteller and I were no match for the gust of wind, and his arms seemed to have motors that carried us all the way back. shore.

Campfire in the Amazon Rainforest

After dinner, Chris picked up dry banana leaves, firewood, two bricks and a plank. Found a small clearing, used only three paper towels, and successfully started a fire in a high humidity climate. The bricks are placed on both ends, and the planks are placed on top to become benches. I wanted to sit down on my butt, but Chris stopped me, and he took the planks to the fire and smoked them.

"In this way, the ants will run away and will not climb up again." He explained that ants in the Amazon can bite people , and if they are bitten 10 times by a giant fire ant, they will be life-threatening .

After the fire was over, Chris put the fish wrapped in banana leaves next to the fire, and then he took out a bottle of Cachaca and mixed it with Coke. Cachaca is a 39% high-concentration drink brewed from sugar cane by Peruvians. Its smell is familiar to me. I spit it into my throat, ironing my stomach hot, and then hot straight to my forehead. I couldn't help but take a few more breaths. After a few sips, I thought, yes! The taste of sorghum .

The white smoke from the fire made mosquitoes dare not approach, and sitting by the fire can dry and dry clothes. I can't help anything but talk. I asked Chris, "Why is your English so good?"

He talked about his school days, learning computers in the morning, playing football with friends in the afternoon, and learning English by himself in the evening. His English teacher only came to the school to teach for eight months, and without giving any reason, he resigned and returned to China. The school could not find an English teacher either.

After graduating, he did a lot of jobs: serving dishes in restaurants, bartending, but he told himself, "I wasn't educated to do these kinds of jobs."

He took a job as a tour guide, asked tourists questions in English, recorded them with his mobile phone, and listened to them again and again at night. Now that he is fluent in English, he says he likes his job very much.

Chris is not an employee of a particular company. He has worked with several travel companies, similar to the case. He said: "To be hired by a company, you have to stay in the same place all the time, go to the same attractions, eat the same food, and see the same scenery every day. It's so boring." The tour guide there, many the night before If you drink too much, or if you don’t lack money, you will take temporary leave, and you will not even find anyone at all. That's when Chris became the fire brigade.

"Like this group, it was eight o'clock in the morning on the day of the tour, and I got a call: 'Chris, can you pick up a tour today?' I was lying on the bed watching TV and replied, 'Okay! What time?' They called me back at half past eight. I'm here."

It occurred to me that if the original guide hadn't gone missing, we might never have known him, learned to fish, or cooked fish in the Amazon rainforest .

Listening to the crackling of the burning dry palm leaves, watching the guide Chris turn the piranha wrapped in banana leaves from time to time, and sipping sugar cane cocktails, the three of us chatted in the dark. Suddenly, Chris stopped all movements , waved us and told us to follow him into the bushes, and happened to witness the wagging tail of the pangolin scrambling away.

"Very rare creature," he said.

piranha taste

The banana leaves are roasted until the outer layer is browned, and the fish is almost ready. When the banana leaves are opened, the fish is covered with some garlic and salt, as if steamed fish is full of moisture. We eat the hot, hot fish with our fingers. The flesh of the piranha is as tender as the white pomfret, and the garlic fragrance brings out the aroma of the white meat .

For a split second, I felt that the chirping and the rustling tree shadows above my head were all my reality, and all my existence , as if somewhere deep in the rainforest, I had left all my past behind , maybe rowing a boat At the moment of the lake, I had no intention of leaving it on the other side of the lake. There is a part of me that I hope will not be found by the past when I return.

When I was slightly drunk, I felt relaxed and extremely happy.

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