This morning we awoke tied to the bank of the Inti Pacari village. Inti Pacari meant “Sun Rise Village” and as David put it, “was very picturesque, like something out of National Geographic.” We got into the small boat and headed up a tributary and into the village. On the way Segundo spotted an Iguana in a tree. It was a big one, about two feet long with large spikes running down its back and tail. “Mono” began to climb the tree to see if he could catch it but the Iguana saw him and took a long dive into the water below. When we got into the village we had a chance to look inside the local school. The school was new and not yet finished but it was still interesting to see how little the people had. Since Fugimori has been president he has made significant beneficial changes to the country. One of the new laws is that everyone has to go to school, at least through the primary grades. We left some pencils and a book to help at the school.

We also had an opportunity to see how the natives squeeze the juice out of sugar cane. The process involved laying the branch over a special flattened crook in a log and pressing down on it with a heavy branch stuck through the other side of the log. It was amazing how much juice came out of the one branch. We all tasted the juice which was incredibly sweet.

When we returned to the boat, Segundo showed us hand-painted maps that he made detailing many of our stops and tributaries along the Amazon from Iquitos to Letitcia. They were very beautiful and for sale so several of us now have one as a keepsake of the trip.

In the afternoon we took another jungle hike. We entered the jungle on a trail behind the house of a man named Oligario. This man lost his wife seven years ago when they were caught in a vicious storm when crossing the river. He is the Shaman (medicine man) for his area and has raised his numerous children alone. On this hike we saw the beginning of a canoe that Oligario was making, plus many different medicinal trees and plants, including an iodine tree, Pichurina. Several of us put the sap on our bug bites. We also tasted the thick white sap from the “Milk Tree” which is commonly used for an upset stomach. It tasted like marshmallows. We saw huge, fierce, bullet ants an inch long, a "walking stick" ,tarantula holes, armadillo holes, and an amazing variety of trees including an Iron Wood tree that some tribes used to make their incredible Talking Drums.

In the afternoon we continued up river to the town of San Pablo. The only leprosy colony in Peru is in this town. There were thirty male and four female leprosy patients in a hospital where they were cared for by French Canadian nuns. It was a little strange to be around people with such a disease, but Segundo told us that all the stories about leprosy being so contagious were just stories. In fact leprosy can only be transmitted by blood, and in most places as in this town it has been contained. We gathered as many medical supplies as we could and donated them to the hospital. Most of these patients had only stumps for fingers and toes but the medicine they were taking kept the disease from going any further. Even without fingers these people made gorgeous handicrafts, such as detailed carving, woven bags, and embroidered cloth pictures. We supported them and took home some great souvenirs. Many of the carvings were of armadillos because these people believed that they got leprosy from eating armadillos, even though the doctors try and convince them that it is a blood fluid problem. David organized another "beer stop" in San Pablo and Martha gave some Polaroid pictures to the crowds of kids that walked with us and gave us flowers.

This evening Segundo joined us on the top deck to point out birds as they took up roosting spots for the night. He had asked the captain to travel close to the bank so we could watch the birds.All of a sudden right in front of us a huge tree came loose from the edge and sank straight down into the river. It was an amazing sight.

Next Page.........

return to menu..