Project Peru: The End or Just the Beginning?

So we end our adventure in the city of Iquitos, where we began. What we have seen and done is overwhelming, but some clear themes have emerged. The Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve is an amazing resource--home to a vast number... May 6, 2005

Veinte de Enero

It was a fun, short paddle from Arequipa to Veinte de Enero, but it resulted in a whole new world for us. I think we are all in love with this super friendly village. One of the first people... May 4, 2005

Life in Arequipa

We arrived in Arequipa (not to be confused with the larger city of Arequipa, elsewhere in Peru) in the daylight and it was nice to see the town we were going to settle into for a couple nights. It's... May 2, 2005

Esther's Kitchen

The night we arrived in Yarina, it was dark and we weren't sure where to go. We stopped at the main dock and the woman who greeted us wanted to be sure we had the proper permission to stay... April 29, 2005

Antonio Pacaya: "Father of the Water"

For our wonderful three days on Lake El Dorado, we were lucky enough to be staying with Antonio Pacaya at the spacious Cantagallo Ranger Station. Antonio is one of the original founders of the Yacu Taita Project. Yacu Taita... April 27, 2005

The Children of Manco Capac

Manco Capac is a very small village on the Canal Puinahua, down river from the end of the Pacaya River and the closest town to Lake El Dorado. Only about 1,000 people live there and they see up to... April 25, 2005

What People In Peru Eat

We've been in Peru for over three weeks now and have had the opportunity to sample a lot of native dishes. Mostly we have had a very simple diet consisting of staple foods found locally. Rice is a huge... April 22, 2005

A Salute to the Park Rangers

In addition to being a place of amazing biodiversity, the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is home to a number of people who work to support the park for themselves and the environment. Essentially, these people fall into three main... April 20, 2005

How People Get Around in the Flooded Forest

We have been paddling our three canoes for well over week now and most of that time we have not seen a lot of other people. In the past few days that number has increased dramatically. As the river... April 18, 2005

People Who Need the Rainforest

In the next few weeks we hope to visit some villages and meet indigenous people who depend on the rainforest for their existence and learn more about how they live. While many of these people's ancestors have lived in... April 15, 2005

Lunch with our Ribereños Friends

We've been paddling for several days now, deep in the jungle. I was getting a little worried we might run out of people to write about! Luckily yesterday when we stopped for lunch, we stopped at a camp where... April 13, 2005

Our Second Guide Speaks!

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... April 11, 2005

Five Star Accommodations in Lagunas

After saying good-bye to our beloved lancha and taking an overloaded motocar ride, we arrived at Hospedaje Puerto Alegre. It is a combination pharmacy, hotel and extended family home. Seventy-eight-year-old Marciano Escobedo Alvarez and his wife Telacila are the... April 8, 2005

El Capitan y la gente de la lancha (The Captain and the river boat people)

We have been on the lancha for two days now, it's very comfortable and all our fellow passengers are very nice. Today Ruben and I interviewed Captain Rolando Donaifo Pinedo. Q: Where are you from? Capitan: Distrito Parinari, Loreto... April 5, 2005

Connecting With Kids From Colegio Sagrada Corazon

Students in Illinois wrote letters for us to give to new friends in Peru. We hunted around Iquitos for a school that might like some new penpals. When we were let into the Colegio Sagrada Corazon (Sacred Heart School),... April 4, 2005

Meet Ruben, the newest member of our team!

While we are traveling, we are lucky to have 2 guides that will be with us and helping us. Our first guide, Ruben, met us in Lima. He actually found me at the airport as I was about to... April 1, 2005

Maya, Paya, Kisma

There are roughly 5,000 different languages spoken around the world. We mentioned that Peru has 3 official languages. Quechua is one of them: this is the language that the ancient Incas spoke, and about 8 million people in South America... March 30, 2005

Brushing up on our Spanish

I have been learning a lot about Peru as we prepare to leave, and the more I learn the more excited I get. In three days our team will be in Peru, meeting locals, and practicing our Spanish! Do... March 28, 2005