016.アマゾン河 01.川下り
016.Amazon River 01.River navigation

2023年1月20日

ペルーのイキトスから、河口にあるブラジルのベレンまで3700キロのアマゾン河の川下り。

When navigating the Amazon river, it takes 3700 km from Iquitos in Peru to Belém in Brazil at the river mouth.

陸路のない村では、週に数回の定期船の寄港は、経済や生活の命綱であり、イベントでもある。たくさんの住民が集まって来た。マナウスーサンタレン間。
In a village with no land routes, the several weekly port calls of regular ships were a lifeline for the economy and livelihood, and were also an event. A lot of locals came here. Between Manaus and Santarém.
https://goo.gl/maps/3duE48VMr4tTUpss8

アマゾン河の定期船は、コロンビアのレティシア、ブラジルのマナウス、船によっては、サンタレンで乗り継ぎとなり、経由地で船待ちに数日掛かることもあります。

陸路のない村や町では、船だけが、物資や人を運ぶ生命線。到着は、週に数度のイベントだから、港にはたくさんの人。村の子供が乗り込んで、船を川への飛び込み台代わりに使い、対岸からは、品物の受け渡しを行う小船が近寄って来ます。そして、外の世界へ出る唯一の手段として、さまざまな事情で乗船する人々。船の柱に手錠で結ばれて運ばれる犯罪者もいます。

川幅もそれほど広くないイキトスーレティシア間は、熱帯らしい森林風景を間近に航行する区間。ペルー、コロンビア、ブラジルの辺境のため、のんびりとした生活が残ります。テロ活動が活発だった1990年初めのペルーでは、陸路がなく、テロリストとは無縁なアマゾン河でも、川辺の検問所の警官による頻繁な検問があり、真夜中も２、３度、叩き起こされました。人種差別の激しかったのもペルー。唯一のアジア人乗客に対して、下級船員が、チーノ（中国人の蔑称）と、毎日何度も、見下したように声を投げ掛けます。

アマゾン河に接するコロンビア領はほんの数十キロ、そのレティシア（タバチンガ）で船を換え、ブラジルに入ると、検問もテロ活動もアジア人差別も、嘘のように消えました。たった一本の国境線で切り替わる現実。川幅は少しずつ広がり、マナウスを超えると、雄大な大河の風景が現れます。

アマゾン河の暮らしとランドスケープを、3700キロという長い断面で、鮮烈に切り取って行くのが、この船旅。

Liner ships in the Amazon river relay at Leticia in Colombia, Manaus in Brazil, and Santarém depending on a liner. A passenger often has to wait the connecting liner during several days at the transit point.

In towns or villages without land routes, liners are the only lifeline for transporting goods and people. Arrivals are an event that happens several times a week. Many people gather at the port. Children from the village use the liner as a diving board into the river, and a small boat approaches from the opposite bank to deliver goods. Passengers get on board for various reasons as the only means to go to the outside world. Some criminals are handcuffed to a ship's post.

Between Iquitos and Leticia, the river was not so wide. A liner sailed through tropical forest scenery up close. Due to the remote area in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil, leisurely life remained. In Peru in the early 1990s, terrorist activity was active. Even in the Amazon River, where no terrorist activities occured since there were no land routes, the police frequently checked passengers at riverside checkpoints. They woke passengers up two or three times in the middle of the night. In Peru, racial discrimination against Asians was also severe. A junior sailor called me "chino" (a derogatory term for Chinese people) many times every day in a condescending voice since I was the only Asian passenger.

The Colombian territory bordering the Amazon River is just a few dozen kilometers away. A liner, which I relayed in Leticia (Tabatinga), entered Brazil soon. In Brazil, the checkpoints, terrorist activities, and discrimination against Asian disappeared. The situation switched with just one borderline. The width of the river widened little by little, and a majestic landscape of the river appeared across Manaus.

The river navigation vividly cuts out the life and landscape of the Amazon River over a long cross-section of 3,700 kilometers.

イキトス付近のアマゾン河 / Amazon River near Iquitos