In the late 1980s, we led tours for travel writers to the Peruvian Amazon and took several trips up the river from Leticia, Columbia to Iquitos, Peru. The Rio Amazona was no QEII. However, as a former rubber-hauling vessel that had been refurbished for passengers, it had a wonderful open deck that provided fantastic views of the jungle. Its sister ship was the craft that was used in Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, that starred Klaus Kinski.
The boat stopped frequently for side trips on wooden skiffs with our bilingual guides, most of whom were the sons of Riverenos – Amazonian fishermen. These young men understood the river, the jungle, its moods, risks, and beauty.
So one afternoon when the boat hit a sandbar, we saw concern on the faces of the crew members. It was too early in the dry season for the river to drop so low. The owner of the boat, an American who had lived in Peru for years, tried to play down the problem, assuring us that the crew would find a way to free the vessel. But we could see he was apprehensive.
Meanwhile, below the deck, passengers were watching a video of Fitzcarraldo, which had begun before the boat hit the sandbar. We joined the others and were astonished that the scene showed our sister vessel
stuck fast on a sandbar and the crew finally deciding to drag the ship through jungle to another branch of the river.We looked at each other, shocked not only by the synchronicity, but by how none of the other passengers seemed to connect the parallel worlds of the movie and our situation.
Fitzcarraldo had been chosen from two boxes of videos, but even if it had been the only movie on board, what were the odds that the scene of the boat stuck on a sandbar would be playing just as the same thing was happening to us?
When you connect with synchronicity, it’s as if your world holds an added richness and dimension that others apparently miss.
A short time after the movie ended, the crew managed to maneuver the boat into deeper water and we continued our trip. We commented that it was fortunate that we didn’t have to drag the boat, like in the celluloid version of events. “That was just a movie,” one of our fellow passengers remarked. True. But for us, it was more than that.
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yep, am headed there now to check it out – thanks bunches!
Thanks for the link, musing. Will check it out and I'm sure gypsy will, too.
Another "Wow" story! (Thank you). Gypsywoman may be interested in a wonderful book ("Undaunted Courage") by the great historian Stephen Ambrose about the Expedition. Here's a writeup about the book.
https://www.craigr.com/books/undaunted.htm
There were 3 of these trips, but we got stuck only once, with the Fitzcarraldo playing on…
I so agree with what you said about the richness one is rewarded with when looking through a clearer glass! A special privilege, no?
What a trip! Dennis
What are the odds?
This is definately a synchronicity! The odds are just too great for it to be anything else. You have led exciting lives – no wonder you are both such great writers.
P.S. Thanks for lighting the candle.
hey trish – the movie is THE FAR HORIZONS – about 1954 on the lewis/clark expedition – the scene is just like you were describing!
Gypsy – synchronicity for sure! What was the name of the Heston movie? Sounds like Fitzcarraldo may have borrowed the plot!
I think they do, Lakeviewer. In this instance, we were just taking a trip on the boat and didn't know the Fitzcarrado movie was even on board. The odds that it would be playing while our boat was stuck…how high? But we seemed to be the only ones who recognized the connection. So it would seem that awareness is what makes the difference rather than conscious effort to bring about a synchronicity.
– Trish
oh, and i could not tell you the last time i watched a charlton heston movie! 20 years probably!
ok, weird enough for you two! great story! love the drama of it all – traveling in the amazon is a whole different thing in and of itself – but the thought of being stuck – on a boat – on a sandbar!!! and to calmly saunter down to watch a movie in the midst of it! can't even go there! 🙂
in any event, weird thing for me is that the last thing i did before going to sleep at midnight last night was to watch an old film of charlton heston and fred macmurray who portray lewis and clark who, along their expedition by boat, come across a great waterfall that cannot be traversed by boat, so they have to drag the boat up on huge logs from the riverbank onto land and to the next place they can put into the river – the film is the far horizons –
just got on the computer and the first post i've looked at today is yours – and here's your stuck on a river in a boat story!
great post – i could listen to your amazon tales all day, i'm sure!!! love love the personal photo – but am very sorry of the loss of the others in the photo!
You have quite a story here, full of life events iminating art, or vice-versa. What I wonder about is this: without our conscious efforts, do these connections exist?