In the Jungle, the Mighty jungle!!

South America » Peru » Loreto » Iquitos » Amazon Rainforest
January 24th 2008

Published: January 29th 2008

Edit Blog Post

Lesley D

Amazon Hope 2

Sailing towards us up the Amazon river. I never thought I would ever see anything like this!!

Hola from the Jungle,

Today is Thursday 24 January - my second last day in Peru. Today was a pretty incredible day!!

Was up v early again and out of the hotel at 6am. After a moto taxi trip across Iquitos to the harbour, we stood at the edge of the Amazon and washed the Vine Trust's 'Amazon Hope 2' sail up the river towards us. The VT support Scripture Union Peru in their work with the street boys and also with their medical work. Part of the medical support included provision of two ships (Amazon Hope 1 & 2) built in Scotland and sailed across to Peru. The ships sail up the Amazon river with a team of qualified medical volunteers and provide medical support to people who live in the remote villages further up the river. The reason we were out so early to see AH1 was that it was due to sail at 7am with the latest team of medical volunteers. We boarded the small boat that took us out to the ship and climbed aboard.

The ship is v impressive. There are rooms with bunks for the staff and the medical area includes a

Another angle

What a great thing to see!!

dental surgery and doctor's surgery. Minor surgery such as cataracts will be performed on board the ship. We also met the medical doctor who will be leading the team of volunteers and saw the preparation of lunch for the volunteers. Plenty of photos attached. We then also met the group of volunteers - interestingly all women and the majority from Scotland!! - and waved them off on their trip. It was then another moto taxi trip back to our hotel where we met up with the others who weren't prepared to be up quite so early!!

Once the group was all together, we then headed out to Puerto Belen which means in Spanish 'Little Bethlehem'. Puerto Belen is one of the pooreat areas in Iquitos. It is basically built on a sewer. The houses in the area are built on stilts as one of the Amazon tributaries flows right through the area when the water levels increase. Needless to say when this happens, the sewerage is also lifted with the river and often floods the houses. The houses are very basic, although we did hear the odd radio and see an occasional TV. The people who live in Puerto

Dental Surgery

Just the same as you would see here in the UK!

Belen get around on open canoes. They use the water from the river to drink, cook and wash - they have no other choice. Because the water is contaminated, this results in numerous health problems such as cholera etc. For this reason, SU have built a medical clinic in Puerto Belen which treats the locals and their families.

We were headed to the medical clinic and had to walk through Puerto Belen and then board one of the open canoes to get there. My first impression was the smell, which you quickly get used to. You should also have seen the huge volumes of mosquitos breeding in the dirty pools of water left behind by the river!! In all of this, people were living and children playing. The other thing I noticed were the vultures (yes - real vultures - the bird kind). They were hopping around under the houses amongst the rubbish where the children were playing. There was also a crowd of them circling above an area further ahead of where we were. Obviously either a person or an animal had died and they were circling with a view to feeding. That was pretty horrific!!

When

Medical Room

Just like a regular doctor's surgery!

we got to the section where the river started, the guys in charge of the boats constructed a ramp from wooden slats for us to walk on and board the canoes. Whilst we were being careful not to fall, these guys were standing in the contaminated water, mostly in their bare feet. Yet another example of the difference in our lifestyles - we were terrified of falling in contaminated water whilst the locals live in it all the time!

We all boarded the canoes and headed towards the clinic. All arrived safely with no mishaps. Most of the locals paddling the canoes for us were young boys. Their families own the canoes and they ferry people along the river for a living.

At the clinic, there were a number of local people waiting. The doctor in charge gave us a tour and talked about the types of conditions common in the area (chest infections and cholera etc). The clinic was v impressive and does wonderful work in this very poor area. The medical volunteers that go on the Amazon Hope usually work for one week at the clinic and then on the boat.

After our tour of

Medical Team Leader

This doctor is responsible for leading the team of medical volunteers.

the clinic, we headed back in the same open canoes. En route, I spotted a larger boat reversing out (very slowly) and headed straight for our canoe. Needless to say we collided and our canoe wobbled. I did think I was in for a swim in the contaminated water. Was I bothered? Well, aside from the discomfort of being wet, not really. I am a strong swimmer and I had all my injections before I left, so risk of catching anything was pretty slim, and at the end of the day, the local people live like that every day. Am I really any different from them? The only thing that would really have bothered me would have been if my camera got wet and I lost the photos from my trip. Ultimately, I didn't end up in the water. I just had some slosh over my legs and shoes, and my camera survived the experience!! All I had to do was push the canoe out (we were kinda stuck under the other boat) and we were off again.

When we landed back at our starting point we again disembarked on the makeshift ramp and regrouped. Whilst waiting for the

The Lifebelt

Impressive!!

others I got chatting to a local girl who was holding the most gorgeous baby. The girl was 15 and the baby 5 months old. They were mother and daughter.

Our next trip was through the market. If you thought that my pics from the market in Ayacucho were yucky, then be prepared for these as the market was much worse in terms of dead animals and raw flesh. They were even grilling turtles!! Plenty of pics attached for you to enjoy!! Karen Stevely, Fiona MacD and I on hand to answer any questions you may have re becoming vegetarian ;-)

After our trip to the market, we headed to the SU day centre for boys in Iquitos. This centre provides support for 'at risk' boys. By 'at risk' I mean boys that are close to becoming street kids as a result of difficult family situations. In order to stop that from happening, SU take the boys into the centre each day. The boys attend school for half the day, are provided with a main meal, and also sport and activities. They return home (perhaps some do sleep on the streets) at night and return the next day.

Made in Scotland

.....................by girders - oops I mean BAE systems!!

Whilst there we heard the story of a volunteer worker called Abraham. He developed sceptic hip and had to have hip replacement surgery. Funds were provided by the VT and Abraham is now back to full health. No photos from there I'm afraid as the batteries in my camera died!!

From there we headed back into town where we had lunch in a nice sandwich bar. After that we headed back to the Amazon where we boarded the SU boat for a nice sail up the river. Purpose of this was to visit the Girasoles centre further up river called Puerto Allegria. I have to confess that I fell asleep and missed all the scenery on the way up (well it was a v early start and I'm definitely not a morning person!!). I didn't miss all the excitement though. At one point the boat just gave up and the engine refused to kick in. We later discovered that this was because the propeller had fallen off!! No drama though, as the boys from Puerto Allegria who had come to pick us up simply used their mobile and had another boat meet us with a replacement propeller.

The

Good luck

This is the medical team headed out for their first trip

Giraoles home at Puerto Allegria is just gorgeous. Lots of photos attached. As ever, the boys gave us a very warm welcome and chatted away to us. The last boy had arrived there just the day before. Paul explained that it was obvious he had some sort of brain damage, and the team were trying to work out the best approach in terms of meeting his needs. Again we heard stories of more of the boys - all of them very sad. We were given a tour of Peurto Allegria (some of it is still under construction) and at one point I spotted a parakeet. I was with one of the boys and we went to speak to it. It was quite tame and the wee fella suggested I put my hand out. I did and it jumped on. Photos attached of the boys with it, but none of me - I did hold it though - honest guv!!

The boys then sang and danced for us to Christian songs - again they could put our Girls Brigade kids to shame!! They seem to really enjoy it. Paul Clark asked if any of us wanted to say something, and

Puerto Belen

This was the start of our walk in this area.

one of our group - a lovely girl called Fiona - gave them a special message as it was her birthday that day. I'm not going to recount it as that would embarrass her, but we were all very moved.

Unbeknown to Fiona, we had a handmade Peruvian card for her which the group had all signed. This was to be presented (together with a cake) at dinner later that night. Then it was another trip down the river on the boat. I managed to stay awake this time and the propellor also remained intact, so I managed to get some views. Again, lots of photos attached.

After that, we headed across the city (again in a mototaxi) and went out on a small speedboat on the Amazon. We headed round to the dry dock where we saw Amazon Hope 1 - photos attached. Another mototaxi ride back across the city and we were back at our hotel, with half an hour to get ready for dinner. By this time I was feeling a bit off, and promptly fell asleep. I slept right through and missed dinner and Fiona's birthday!! Rest of the group told me it all

Puerto Belen again

This was one of the main thoroughfares

went well. Sorry Fiona!! I'm blaming my anti malaria pills.

Anyway - that pretty much covers the excitement of being in the jungle!! Didn't see any wildlife, but heard it whilst on the boat. What will remain with me is the damp heat - you were constantly covered in a light sheen of moisture in very high temparatures. There was almost no point in having a shower. My hair immediately went haywire in response to this - a very good reason for me never to live in the jungle. Didn't manage to swim in the river, so no threat from pirhuanas or spiny fish. Will save that experience for another time.

Ciao for now.

Lesley

Hope that yo enjoyed this - it was a pretty exciting day!!

Additional photos below

Photos: 37, Displayed: 29