IVE 12

The purpose of the trip is: To collect and document fish species from the genus Rivulus (Cynodonichthys), family Rivulidae, including both non-annual and annual species, by boat in the river areas of the Orinoco, Ventuari, Atabapo, and Rio Temi, all the way up to Yavita, and from Yavita overland to reach Maroa alongside the Rio Negro.

All travelers gather at Caracas International Airport on August 5, 2012, to take a domestic flight to Puerto Ayacucho, but Oscar Leon will travel to Puerto Ayacucho by bus.

05-08-12 We arrive in Puerto Ayacucho and meet the boat owner to make detailed arrangements. A cook and a boat captain will accompany us on our journey, together with the owner of the boat. We also decided to take a small aluminum boat with us on the trip. Furthermore, a refrigerator is loaded and we unanimously agree that no alcoholic beverages will be brought along. Oscar joins us to make the group complete. The big question is whether we can buy enough fuel and oil, as these are controlled by the military police. On August 6, we managed to buy seven 100-liter barrels and load them onto the roof of the boat. The boat is quite small for the crew of 3 and the 6 passengers making it a group of 9 people, who all have a reasonable amount of luggage with them and here the little boat comes in handy. That evening and the next morning are spent stocking up on fresh food for 10 days, and by late afternoon, we are ready to leave. The first goal is to spend the night on Isla Raton and continue very early on the Rio Orinoco the next morning. On the way back, we want to visit Isla Raton to go fishing at the known locations of Renova oscari, Terranatos dolichopterus, and Micromoema xiphophora.