We continued our expedition on this brand new day in the Upper Amazon of Peru with an early pre-breakfast skiff ride along the Marayali Caño. The early and late hours of the day are the best for spotting the creatures of the rain forest.
Once back aboard we had a splendid breakfast before visiting the San Francisco community. In this place we had a blast watching and experiencing how people live nowadays in the Amazon. Our visitors marveled at how little things in life that we take for granted can mean so much to other people in a different environment. The highlight of this cultural visit was the official launch of the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic Fund (LEX-NG Fund) in the Upper Amazon in Peru. This fund support initiatives around the world. In the Amazon it will benefit conservation initiatives that are and will be crucial to the long-term well being of this amazing ecosystem.
Minga Peru is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 with the mission of promoting social justice and human dignity for women and families in the remote, rural areas of the Peruvian Amazon. They have been developing various projects in the area. They run educational workshops that focus on the protection of the environment and the development of leaders. They also host radio programming twice a week reaching more than 100 thousand inhabitants focusing on strengthening the prevention of domestic violence, managing natural resources, and discussing health issues. It’s become a popular way to reach the remotest communities in the area.
They also work to train technically women and community members in agroforestry, crop cultivation, and the construction and management of fishponds, which has proven to be invaluable in increasing the economical sustainability of many people.
The meeting was very emotional and unforgettable. With tears in the eyes of the many participants we watched the beginning of this great joint initiative.
When we returned to the ship we had a very special celebration. The ship was located in the famous confluence of the Marañon and Ucayali Rivers, the geographic place where the Amazon River takes its name. We toasted it with a local Amazon drink!
In the early afternoon before heading in the direction of our next visitors’ site, we had a photo instruction session with our photo instructor Aura Banda that included questions and answers until our guests’ curiosities were satisfied. Once this session was over we went to swim in an idyllical lake, Clavero. It was a lot of fun. We came back just on time to continue with the rest of the activities planned for the afternoon, kayaking and skiff riding.
After dinner we watched a nature documentary entitled Amazon, River of the Sun that gave us a broader understanding of the annual changes between the dry and wet seasons in the Amazon Basin and the adaptations of the Amazon inhabitants to such dramatic changes.
