The Upper Amazon is known for having flooded forest between the months of December and April. The wildlife behavior is completely different than when the water is low. But the Upper Amazon is more than animals, birds and lush evergreen forest. It is also about people; people that live in very remote areas that can only be accessed by boat or by flying in.
Today we had the great opportunity to visit one of these communities, San Francisco. Right after breakfast we loaded the skiffs and went to the village. We were greeted by the locals and toured the premises of the village. We were invited in some of the residents’ homes to see how they live.
Traditionally, men were the ones to bring home food, which left the women mostly staying at home, sometimes making it difficult for them to find their place. This began to change when a nonprofit organization decided to do something about it.
Today the village is a good example of sustainable development. All this was made possible with the support of a nonprofit organization called Minga Peru. It began with women-focused education and has developed to lead participatory educational workshops on environmental protection and leadership skills to spread conservation messages and tools to young people and adults. Some of their topics include how to protect the Pacaya Samiria Nature Reserve, biodiversity awareness and benefits, how to create local conservation projects and many others.
We spent a lovely time with the local people and donated some school supplies that were brought by several of our guests. After supporting the local economy by purchasing some local art crafts, we returned to Delfin II and started our course towards Clavero Lake.
Once there, we went on skiffs to explore some of the tributaries. There was no doubt about the biodiversity of the place. Lovely birds like oriole blackbird, slate colored hawk, red capped cardinal and many others just stood on the shore as we passed next to them.
We returned to Delfin II by sunset. The lovely colors of the sky were a grand finale for another day of our journey in the Upper Amazon.
