TripTracker.net - 2009 Trans-Amazon Expedition, La Selva

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation The Final Countdown El Mercado Mira Flores La Selva Chipaota The First Leg: Chasuta to Yurimaguas Pacaya Samiria Reserve The way to Iquitos to Leticia The Slow Boat to Manaus Difficult Questions

RainforestPartnership

2009 Trans-Amazon Expedition

La Selva

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Sep 18 2009, 06:00 AM

18 photos

3 comments

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Traveler

RainforestPa-
rtnership
Austin, Texas, United States

Journal

Location

Tarapoto, Peru

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When we stepped off the plane in Tarapoto we were met by a wall of hot, dense air and a palpable feeling that we were in a very different place than Lima. Maybe it´s the heaviness of the rainforest air or the afternoon siestas, but things move slower here. People don´t walk with their heads down, hurrying from one place to the next, they savor each step, stopping to talk to friends along the way. Today is the first time we got a chance to see the rainforest, and what deforestation means. Outside of Tarapoto there are large plots of tobacco, rice and fruit carved into the flank of the rainforest. We walked the fields and talked with the workers as they were on their way for lunch and it elicited many different emotions for me. Protecting the rainforest is the cause that brought us here, but it´s hard to tell these people who work all day under an unrelenting sun for meager pay that what they are doing is wrong. It has put into perspective the delicate balance man must strike with nature; everyone and everything is just trying to survive. Perhaps the work of the Rainforest Partnership can help level the scales. There are instances though when the scales are level, and you can feel it when you engage them. Next to the place we are staying is a small river, and in the afternoons it´s full of children playing, women washing clothes, and men fishing. It´s a beautiful and humbling thing to witness, people living simply. On Monday we are leaving to spend three or four days in the jungle with people who are working on the plots of land under the management of the Rainforest Partnership. After that we´ll spend some time with the community of Chipaota.

Photos

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Comments

Beautiful

Written by jokead 30 months ago

Both pictures and words!!!

Tarapoto

Written by lizgold 30 months ago

Nice to read your messages and see these beautiful pictures. Still worried about you, so every time we see a new report we feel better about your "excellent adventure". Keep the words and pictures coming as often as possible, Love, Beth & Robert

Saludos!

Written by BTTX 29 months ago

Great work guys. Keep the blogging and pics coming! Thanks for putting a human face on this global problem.

	11. Difficult Questions Jan 26 2010, 03:26 PMSanta Fe, United States, New Mexico10 photos When people from home ask me about people from the river, I always tell them about the teacher's wife. We had been staying in Chipaota for the better half of a week, living and working with the men and women of the community and trying as best we could to assimilate ourselves...

	10. The Slow Boat to Manaus Nov 29 2009, 09:39 PMManaus, Brazil14 photos We had made it to Leticia, the end of our paddling leg, but we still had a long way to go to get to Manaus. Leticia is a Columbian town situated on the tri-border of Peru, Columbia and Brazil. As soon as we set foot on the banks of Leticia and climbed the wooden steps that led to the central...

	9. to Leticia Nov 17 2009, 09:21 PMLeticia, Colombia37 photos Paddling the final few meters into Porta Masusa in Iquitos was like stepping into another world. We rounded a bend in the river out of the ether a mass of lights and urban sprawl lay ahead of us. We spent four days surrounded by the concrete and grime of this lost city dropped in the middle of the...

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