our return to the amazon

hi everyone!

about a month ago now (!) - my family came to visit and we spent a solid 5 days on the Tambopata River in the southern Amazon Basin of Peru. the experience was astounding and unforgettable, even with the 100% humidity, the sneaky mosquitoes, and the ridiculously hot weather. it is also a protected area of the Amazon- so it was mostly just you, your guide, and endlessly impenetrable jungle.

matt was hooked on the amazon after that trip - and as someone passionate both about wildlife and conservation, its no surprise. so after arriving in Bolivia, my MFI's president told us we absolutely had to go to the Bolivian Amazon Basin before rainy season starts - as thats when Dengue fever becomes rampant. he got us an extraordinary deal on the trip, which entailed four days (Friday-Mon) on a floating hotel down rio mamoré. this river is much bigger than tambopata, and we cruised it in the Beni department of Bolivia. the river's size afforded us the awesome opportunity to both spot and swim with pink river dolphins - and we even went fishing for piranhas (each of us caught one, but of course matt wanted to throw his back!). a swiss couple we are friends with here in Cochabamba, sebastian and sara, joined us on the trip. seb works with me at my MFI. we all had a great time.

the area of Beni department we were in is totally unprotected. now, to draw a fair portrayal here, there are tons of protected national parks in Bolivia's Amazon, this just wasnt one of them. likewise, in Peru, much of their Amazon is unprotected. the sheer size of the amazon itself takes up over half of these countries' land, so we must be understanding of how it works.

across from where our flotel (floating hotel) was docked for one night, there was a blazing fire in the jungle, so close you could see nearly all the flames below the tunnel of smoke above. it was the local people, indigenous communities that have lived in the area for eons, who were responsible for the burning. they burn the land so that they can use the burned space to grow crops, but the fertility of the soil depletes after just three years. so they burn more of the jungle, and begin the process over. but we were able to meet these people, to get to a place where we understood their perspective, and to be inspired that one day, these people will learn more sustainable land fertilization tactics, rather than simply burning the jungle for more space. the scene was so heartbreaking, as you couldnt help your gaze from imagining the monkeys fleeing that area in panic, the birds abandoning their nests, the trees that have been building themselves for centuries - instantly destroyed.

but that is why it is important to see those different faces of the Amazon, the protected raw beauty, the reality of its future, the true compassion of its indigenous, and the value in helping protect this paradise of biodiversity. to learn more and check out a phenomenal organization on the ground here, visit http://www.conservation.org/explore/priority_areas/wilderness/Pages/amazon.aspx

love
suzy

fun post!

do you like women in hats?
i know i do!!!!

check out the new post I wrote on the KF blog about them :)

http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/09/22/women-in-hats/

love,
Suzy

eat the rich

deleted for privacy reasons - please contact me directly if you'd like to read it.

:)
suzy