Day 8 A ride in a Peapod boat

After riding for about an hour, we transferred to a little "Peapod" boat for the remainder of the trip upstream. These were small wooden rowboats. I suppose it was called that because we were packed in like peas in a pod. They were so full that they had to add a seat, load it, then add another one until the boat was full. There were six crew--the captain who controlled the rudder and then three rowers in front. In the back, there was another rudder operator and one more rower.

What an exciting trip! As we got further upstream, it got very shallow and rocky -- so the rowing men, called trackers, got out and pulled the boat.




The crew was made up of local farmers who had been rowing since they were children, so they were VERY strong and experienced. Originally when these boats were used for farming, the trackers rowed naked because the fabric of their clothes (linen) was rough on their skin. When they began doing the rides commercially and it became a tourist attraction, they had to put on clothes.


It took about an hour to go upstream and 1/2 hour to come back down.