Amazon Adventure Day 5 - Flying and Floating to the Kendjam Fishing Lodge

Anglers Assemble!
L to R - Fred, Brian, Danny, Jared, Larry, Harlan, Dave, Mike

Quote of the Day: "Are you going to wear that hat fishing?" Brian to Mike 

The official itinerary for 26-July:

"Breakfast Buffet at Hotel. The host will pick up the group at approximately 5:30 AM and head to the local airport, to board the charter flight to Kendjam. After a 3:30 hours flight, guests will arrive at the Kendjam Indian Community landing strip where our guides and staff will be waiting. There will be a “Meet and Greet” providing anglers time to discover the Kayapo culture, social organization and more. We will present the group to the Indian chiefs. The group will head downstream to the Lodge. Anglers will be served a simple lunch of sandwiches for the 3 hours boat trip downstream. It’s a great trip to the lodge where anglers will see great river scenery, birds, animals and obviously lots of fish in the Iriri clear waters. Anglers will use this first afternoon to get situated and ready their tackle for the following day. That evening the fishing team will brief anglers on the daily fishing plans and make arrangements for any exploratory camping trip plans." 

On our way

The itinerary closely matched reality.  We're up before dawn, breakfast at the hotel, check out, gather luggage in the lobby, and then loaded into a mini-van bus and whisked to a local airport. The bags are weighed and loaded. It's actually a two-step before we're in the plane. It takes off with our bags to fly to the main airport and refuel. We bus there, clear security, and board. 

Flying and Floating to the Kendjam Lodge

Although we greeted our traveling companions individually the night before, this is our first opportunity to meet as a group. Only eight anglers are allowed at Ketcham for each one week slot during the dry season. The five in the Heller / Wallach family contingent are the majority of the group. As I'm older than Danny by a few months, I thought I'd be the old man in the group. But of the remaining three, Dave was 76, and Fred 84.  So there's that. 

Another way to divvy up the group was by fishing style. Danny, Larry and Jared are pure spin fisherman. Dave, Fred, Brian and Harlan are committed fly fisherman. I brought both a spinning and fly rod /reel, but planned to primarily spin. Let the debates begin. 

Flying

The plane is a single engine Cessna 208/B Caravan. And we're off..

On board and on our way.

Mike, Brian, Harlan

 

Upon departing Manaus, we are offered another unique perspective of the Encontro das Águas as we fly over the confluence of Rio Negro and Rio Amazonas.

Brazil is a big country. Approximately 85% the geographic area of the United States. And about 60% of the country is encompassed by native vegetation, primarily in the Amazon Rain Forest and associated geographies and ecoystems. That area alone is comparable to the size of Europe. 

It is relatively easy to understand these numbers in a dispassionate analytical way.  Not so looking out the window during our flight. Our views from the the plane over the 3.5+ hour flight covered a small percentage of Amazon Rain Forest. But even with that limited scope, it presents a perspective on the size of the Amazon forest, rivers, highlands, wetlands and wilderness that is so incomprehensively vast, it fills you with wonder and astonishment.

The landing at the Kayapo village of Kendjam offers a bit of excitement as the plane banks over Kendjam Rock, clears the trees and lands on a dirt strip that doubles as a road the rest of the week.

Kendjam Rock and locals strolling down the landing strip.

Floating

 

Shortly after we disembark and bags are unloaded, the anglers from the previous week at the lodge board the Cessna and take off for Manaus. A cycle that will be repeated for us one week hence. 

There's not much time to interact with the locals as the bags are quickly loaded onto the waiting aluminum skiffs, as are we. We change into water shoes and sun shirts for protection during the ride. The itinerary accurately describes the journey as we are handed a "simple" sandwich and push off for the downstream cruise.

So, after 3 1/2 hours in the plane we now embark on a 3 1/2 hour boat ride down the Iriri River to the Lodge. I labeled this blog section as "Floating", but that's fake news. It's more like an exciting motorized nature tour, while running small rapids and portaging around shallow areas and small waterfalls. There are two angler guests in each boat along with a guide and one or two native guides controlling the motor and/or paddling from the bow. Harlan and I are paired with a couple of native guides. 

Let's check in again with Teddy:

"The paddlers were a strapping set. They were expert rivermen and men of the forest, skilled veterans in wilderness work. They were lithe as panthers and brawny as bears. They swam like waterdogs. They were equally at home with pole and paddle, with axe and machete; and one was a good cook and others were good men around camp." - Teddy Roosevelt, "Through the Brazilian Wilderness" 

At the lodge we settle into our rooms, and start setting up our rods, reels and bait. The guides check out our gear, make suggestions, and change out some lines. Mostly they cut out the flourocarbon and go with long wire leaders and biteline.

We convene for dinner in the lodge.

The 7/26/25 - 8/2/25 guests first dinner at Ketcham
L to R - Danny, Jared, Mike, Harlan, Fred, Dave, Brian

Tomorrow we fish.