Building a Raft | Primal Survivor

It's easier to carry my raft in pieces and assemble it at the water's edge. I got this long straight piece, and I'll use this as my cross beams. I sharpen small pieces of hardwood into nails and use them to hold cross beams in place. I want to make sure that I build this raft as solid as possible because I don't want this thing falling apart. It's gonna be taking a lot of abuse in the Darién.

Building a raft is a basic life skill. Not everyone in the tribe has a canoe, so for one-way trips down river, they use balsa rafts like city folk use rental bikes. Take my friend Placido; he picked a tree, we made a raft, and off he went. Then, when you get to your destination, you'll leave the raft for the next passerby to use.

So then, the final bit here to make this thing really strong is to tie it all together with these roots better dangling from the trees. There will be difficult parts of this river where I can't afford to fall in. If I hit my head on a rock, it'll be game over—just another victim of the Darién.

All right, maiden voyage! The river is my quickest way through this terrain, but I can't go upstream, so initially, it's taking me away from the coast and into the heart of the jungle. Standing on the raft gives me more leverage and allows me to survey the river ahead. It's dry season, and the rivers are low, but there are still small sections of whitewater to navigate.

As the river picks up speed on the bends, I struggle to keep my balance. Kneeling or sitting will lower my center of gravity and allow me to negotiate the trickier sections. And now, I'm making progress.