Today we experienced a diversity of aspects of the Amazon River Basin. Skiff cruises this morning along the Marayali—a shortcut “river” (the name is a hybridization of Maranon and Ucayali) presented the wildlife element. We started with fish jumping nearby as we navigated upriver and one errantly landed in one of our skiffs! We soon met a local fisherman and he displayed his catch of assorted catfish, along with two different piranha species. The highlight of the outing was a large troupe of common squirrel monkeys feeding in a tree at the edge of the river. Bits of flowers, leaves, and fruit fell into some of our skiffs as we delighted in this up-close and relaxed sighting.
For the late morning we visited the local village of Amazonas. Here, a local non-profit organization, Minga Peru, is working with residents providing them with the tools, in the form of education and sustainable agriculture and aquaculture projects to make better lives for themselves and for their children. Several women, a few men, and a couple of teenagers spoke to us about the difference this organization has made not only in their personal lives, but the benefits that have resulted for their community as well.
We also visited the elementary school in the village and in particular the 6th grade class, as that is the grade two of our guests traveling with us this week will be entering when they return home. Zander Galli, age 11, wrote a few impressions to share with us all:
“The Amazonian school today was magnificent. I could not believe how different the school was to a school in America, such as my own. For example, in my school we have many more students therefore, more teachers and classrooms. Also in my school, we have to drive to get there, while these children can just walk. Another difference would be that we have many teachers for each subject. There were many similarities as well. One of them is they need desks and school supplies. Another is that they sometimes have to wear a uniform. These children were very grateful for the things they have.”
After lunch our downstream navigation brought us to the confluence of the Rio Maranon and Rio Ucayali, this is the Rio Amazonas proper. We toasted our arrival with raised glasses of camu camu sour.
For the afternoon we had choices to either enjoy a skiff ride into sunset or to independently paddle in Lake Clavero, an oxbow lake. We ended the day stargazing and plucking the Southern Cross from the myriad of twinkling jewels in the night sky.
