We picture the Amazon as jungle, rivers, fauna and flora, but a big part of our experience is to get to meet the people that for generations has been living here: The “ribereños” as they are called, due to the fact that they live along the rivers edges.
Today we visited one of these communities. We disembarked on Amazonas, a little village inhabited by hard workingmen, strong creative women and playful children. While visiting the place we were really touched by the way how locals came to show us their way of living, their art and their homes.
After walking along the town and visiting one of the local schools, we got together to learn about the Minga Peru project. Minga is a local word to describe a communal work. A very common way of thinking on these communities, when you need something in the village to be done the idea is to work on a “minga”: all together for a mutual benefit.
The Minga Peru project is an initiative that Lindblad has been supporting for years by now, through training and empowerment, this non-governmental organization prepares locals in topics such as: leadership, domestic violence, fisheries and agroforestry. Reaching them by a local radio they have been able to access the further villages.
We met Panchita, a local woman who got trained in leadership. Always with a smile, she told us about her story and the change she has had in her life due to the work of Minga Peru.
We left Amazonas Community behind, to be able to navigate to the Amazon River; we went to the place where two rivers give birth to this giant that we all know as the Amazon. We celebrated by drinking a Pisco, and then we continued our way to our next visit: Clavero Lake.
Clavero Lake is a magical place, surrounded by Fichus trees and vines, these waters create an ecosystem that is home of many different species: Fish in the waters, shore birds waiting for the opportunity to catch their meals, monkeys and Toucans on the trees. We explored this place until sunset when the time came to go back home, to our cozy Delfin II.
