As the light started to appear through the pitch-black darkness of the Amazon night, the horizon revealed a different landscape than what we have been seeing lately. There were some houses, a little main plaza, and even a school visible at the distance. Even though it was still dark, people already were walking and starting their daily chores in their houses and farms. In a matter of a few minutes, it was no longer dark, but full daylight, and I had a better appreciation of where we were.
Our ship was tied to a tree next to the entrance of a river community known as Amazonas, and what I was observing was a very early beginning of their day, as it normally is in all communities along the upper Amazon River. Although we had planned to visit this community later in the morning, our immediate goal was to make an early exploration of a nearby caño called Marayali.
The rain decided to be part of our early morning experience, and a light one accompanied us for the whole skiff ride. Despite the rain, we had a great time, as animals can’t stop their foraging because of this. After all, what would be a real visit to the rain forest without a little bit of rain, right?
Right after breakfast the rain stopped, and our visit to the village was a total success. Children were little by little gathering at the edge of the riverbank, waving madly to our guests as we walk in the ship’s corridors. Once ashore, we got to walk by their houses, and despite their chores, there was always time for a friendly smile, a wave-back, and even an informal chat with some of them.
By the end of our village walk, we all end up in the house of a local woman, who for six years now has been a community promoter in the village. What this means is that she has been actively involve with an NGO called Minga Peru and, through workshops, received proper training to identify the sources of social issues among the villagers and help develop strategies to correct the problems. Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic are now actively involved in the support of this great cause, and we foresee many more great positive changes to come.
As for our afternoon, we headed to a destination even further up the Ucayali River in the Upper Amazon. This destination provided us with many more sightings of pink and grey river dolphins, as well as many more species of birds to add to an already large list!
