April 11, 2005
Our Second Guide Speaks!
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I had the good fortune of paddling with Warren on our first day on the river. He is our second guide, who we met in Lagunas. He doesn't speak any English at all, but with my limited Spanish we were able to communicate, and now I am helping him learn English and he is helping me with my Spanish! With Ruben's skillful translating, I was able to ask Warren a lot more questions. Q: What is your name? Warren: Warren Coqinche Saurin Q: How old are you? Warren: 30 years old Q: Where do you live? Warren: I live in Hambourgo on the Samiria River. Q: Do you have a family? Warren: Yes, I live with my girlfriend and our three daughters in Hambourgo. Q: What do you do for a living? Warren: I build dugout canoes by hand to sell to others. I am also a local guide for the Lagunas District. I have been building canoes and guiding since 1991. Q: What did you do before 1991? Warren: Before, I was a rice farmer and raised pigs and chickens. I was born in Hambourgo and went to school in Lagunas for 2 years then I went to Lima to finish the rest of my primary and secondary school. Q: How did you become a guide? Warren: Older people only used to be guides - they knew I constructed canoes and also the tourists I worked with wanted to see construction of canoes. I often showed them my work. I am an expert at paddling my canoe, so I was invited to work in the guide association based out of Lagunas. Q: How long have you been paddling? Warren: I have been paddling these rivers since I was 8 years old. I know many rivers in this area, but I know the Samiria like the back of my hand. Q: How far have you paddled in this area? Warren: I made a trip for 19 days with a group of students studying to be teachers. Project Peru will be the longest trip I have taken yet. Q: Do you have any really good stories from living in the rainforest? Warren: One time in 1983, when there were no check points along the river, my father had a farm 3 hours down the river from here. He used to grow rice and pigs. I visited him one time from Lima when I was in school and we went hunting in the rainforest. We found a pack of wild peccaries [an animal similar to a pig], but for some reason the bullets in our guns didn't work. The peccaries began to attack us. We had to climb trees. There were about 150 peccaries! The tree that I had to climb was covered with fire ants that really hurt when they bite. I had to withstand the pain of the ants for a long time until the peccaries finally went away and we could climb down We are looking forward to more of Warren's expert paddling, knowledge of the river and great outdoor cooking skills, too! Between Ruben's translation help and impressive knowledge of birds and animals and all of Warren's excellent skills, we are are being well taken care of on this trip!
Come join the team in the Chat Room Tomorrow! The Wilderness Classroom Team will be in the Chat Room on Tuesday, April 12 at 1:00 PM CST. |
Warren skillfully paddles his canoe down the Samiria
Using only a machete, Warren makes 'luggage racks' for our canoes
Jenn and Warren practicing English and Spanish |
