ERP: Once more to the lake option a

Inspiring, awe-inspiring, mighty yet fragile, no, I am not talking about the Great Wall of China, nor the Great Pyramids of Giza. I am refering to the Amazon River. Not satisfied by the sub-standard television images, I decided to see for myself this great river in its hay day.

Last year, my family took a long haul flight to Brazil for the end of year holidays. Our first destination was, you guessed it, the almighty Amazonia. No expense was spared, and we soon found ourselves on a helicopter towards the heart of the river.

The sound of the rotors chopping through the air filled the cabin. The flight had been extremely boring. Apart from a sea of green, there was nothing to be seen, except for that occasional patch of civilisation. I was dozing in the back seat when the helicopter started its decent. As the whine of the engine stopped, we rubbed our eyes and got off the helicopter. However, what we saw was exceptionally disappointing. There was a moderately sized river in front of us, flowing so slowly even a tortoise could out run it. There was none of the white water, none of the glamour.

Even our guide was confused. He certainly had not expected anything remotely close to this. He was tongue-tied and kept scanning the area, as though he was trying to find a patch of the river with the Amazon's might. After what seemed like hours, our helicopter pilot came back. Sheepishly, he told us that he had lost his way and had to land for directions. With a collective sigh, we all got ready to depart.

After another long flight, we finally landed at our destination. The roar of the mighty river soon displaced the whine of the engine. Even the overhead view of the river could be described as stunning. My jaw dropped when I saw the river. It was thrice as wide as any river I had ever seen, and the water was whiter than a sheet of paper. The waves were walls of water up to two meters tall, and jets of water cleared the treetops. This was the Amazon.

I had been to many wonderful places, from the Venetian in Macau, to the Eiffel tower in Paris, however, nothing was as spectacular and wonderful as this. The Amazon, Mother Nature’s finest creation, dwarfed any man-man structure, from Taipei 101 to the Pyramids of Giza.

However, the best was yet to come. After a stroll in the woods, we went canoeing in a calmer part of the Amazon. Although I said calmer, it is still very difficult to negotiate. I went under more than just a few times. However, as time passed, I got a feel for the boat, and a feel for the river itself.

The river was filled with energy and had a life of its owned. It was like a naughty, misbehaving child. One second it is calm, but when you turn your back to talk to someone, wham, you are underwater and that was just a Class 1 section of the river. The Amazon seemed to take on the roles of different people. At some places, it is like an old woman, creeping along, with the transparency that only age can bring. At others, it is more like an adventure-seeker, who is packed with pent-up energy, ready to unleash it at anything that crosses his path. The river is alive. You could feel it beneath its boat. This has been one of the most beauty places I had ever been to.

Then, something shattered this perfect, pristine drawing. A single soda can rode the waves and bounced off my canoe. As I watched it slowly sink below the surface, I realised how fragile this almighty river can be. This river has been here for thousands of years, yet it took humans only tens of years to render parts of this river polluted and uninhabitable. The forest was not spared either; logging and the Trans-Amazon highway have severely reduced the Amazon.

Suddenly, I was the logger, felling tree after tree, the chainsaw never stopping for a single second. Then, I was the town planner, ordering the loggers about and constructing factories in their wake. Then, I was a person in the year 2060, where there is no Amazon. Instead of the mighty river, there is a small stream bordered by hundreds of skyscrapers. Instead of the forest, there is a sea of grey.

This could be the future of the Amazon if our actions continue.I was jerked back to the world when I went underwater. We canoed for a little longer, took some photographs and boarded the helicopter for home. As the drone of the engine filled our ears again, one could clearly see a strip of grey in a sea of green and little multi-coloured islands streaking up and down the strip of grey.