At Calacoto the River Desaguadero is joined by
its biggest tributary, the MAURI. This was important to
us because we reckoned it would bring in more water and
enable our fleet to move more easily. But in fact although
it was a broad river it was very low. This setback caused
Col John Blashford-Snell to make a big decision: portaging
three boats in lorries was expensive and time consuming
so we would leave two balsas at Calacoto under guard and
carry on with just one accompanied by the Avon inflatable
safety boat. Our journey south is continuing from the
International Bridge to a mining town called Eucaliptus.
The weather has taken a turn for the worse: Normally at
this time of year it is fairly cold and dry, but due to
El Nino it is raining heavily and very cold. We are wearing
five layers most of the time and topping our outfits with
thermal hats, gloves and waterproof socks. The land has
turned to very sticky mud and flash floods are frequent
making it very difficult for the vehicles of the land-based
support group to travel between camps.
Jim Allen, Capt. Toby Marriner and their party are now
on their way south to survey the mysterious canal linked
with the Lost City of Atlantis. Results of their findings
will be published as soon as we have them ourselves.
