Adventure Expedition 3 - August 2005

Ecotribal Adventure Expedition, August 2005

Together with the 2 tour leaders – Carlos and Dilwyn – this third Ecotribal Adventure Expedition was formed by a group of people diverse in age and occupation, but nearly all linked by being inhabitants of Wales.  Chris and Carlos are the exceptions to this.  Chris comes from the East Midlands but has lived in Ireland and more recently Australia.  Carlos is indigenous Peruvian and General Manager of Ecotribal Peru, which manages tour and expedition logistics in-country.

Expedition Participants

Max        (18 yrs)   start of gap year
Teilo      (16 yrs)   between O and A levels
Rachel  (18 yrs)   start of gap year
Huck      (18 yrs)   start of gap year
Kalie      (18 yrs)   start of gap year
Morgan  (13 yrs)   High School
Geraint  (40's)      Farmer and Wind Power Developer
Bryn       (30's)      Doctor (GP)
Rhys      (30's)      Computer Consultant
Chris     (40's)      Ethnobotanist
Carlos   (50's)      Photographer/anthropologist / Logistics Manager
Dilwyn   (40's)      Tour Leader

Tour Summary

The 2005 Ecotribal Expedition arrived in Satipo on August 5th, 12 of us travelled upriver from Puerto Ocopa by canoe to Cutivireni. We were in the forest for the next 9 days. To minimise impact on the Ashaninka communities, we split into two groups of six visitors. Guided by our friends and colleagues - five native Ashaninka accompanying each group, the expedition visited several indigenous communities, treked for four days, saw monkeys, macaws, snakes. toucans and also an anteater all in the wild and visited the Parijaro waterfall (1,000ft single drop). As with previous expeditions, we came back down river utlising our own infaltible crafts plus a couple of balsa wood canoes. Both groups took about six hours to get from Parijaro back down river to Cutiveni. Arriving wet but exhilerated, the journey took us through some amazing scenery, including a stunning rocky canyon, called the Pongo de Sankatiaro, by the Ashaninka.

Both groups also visited the Ashaninka community of Ashaninka, where some of their fine handicrafts were bought as souvenirs. The expedition departed down river by canoe, then from Puerto Ocopa by road to Satipo. We took a night bus back to Lima, then continued to Lunahuana, a desert coastal valley, two hours further south towards Nazca. The Nazca line were out next major stop. Many of the the group flew over the mysterious lines and figures etched onto the dry pampa. From here we travelled to Cusco and then on to Machu Picchu. After 21 days the tour finished, however some of the group remained to explore other parts of Peru, and Bolivia independently.

Adventure Expedition into the Rainforest

We gathered in Lima and set off over the Andes for Satipo on August 4th, changing from the bus to three estate colectivo cars at La Merced, for a faster final couple of hours.  Arriving at Billy Evans' spread in total darkness on the edge of Satipo, one of the expedition's trickiest moments was negotiating the taxis along an unknown and almost non-existent track to Billy's ranch-style home.   Billy's grandfather was from Swansea, and he has spent a year or two in Wales himself; but this Senor Evans is Peruvian and long term local to Satipo.  He is a frontier man who knows the rivers, forests and communities of the region better than most.  Because of this, he is Operations Manager for the ACPC (Asociacion para la Conservacion del Patrimonio de Cutivireni) - an environmental charity which has worked closely with the Ashaninka communities of the Ene and Tambo rivers over the last 15 years.

We stayed at Billy's native guest tambo, or hut, and, with his help, organised our purchases and boat ride into the forest for early the following day.  We took three estate cars from Satipo to the end of the road - two hours of dirt track, where we had breakfast in a wooden café supported in mid air, above the lapping mud banks of the Rio Perene by long, precariously thin, twig-like stilts designed for an even higher river.  

August is the height of the dry season here.  We could see the forest was dry, almost brown, autumnal, during the first two hours of going up river in the long canoe powered by twin Johnson 70 outboard motors (within a month there were forest fires on the lower Rio Ene).  We spotted a couple of caiman on the shoreline of the big Rio Ene and passed without problem through the canyon-like 'Pongo de Pakistipanko' and rapids.  Our destination was Cutivireni in the upper Ene valley.  Arriving after six hours, we put up tents at Cesar's house and café, the only place on the riverside here.  Cesar is an Ashaninka and presently Vice-President of the Ashaninka Community of Cutivireni.  He is also Dilwyn's compadre and friend of more than 25 years.

Early the next day, a group of around 8 young men from the village of Parijaro arrived at Cesar's house.   They drank a little masato (manioc beer), picked up the canoe and rafts bundles, gathered together the various gifts we had brought their village, then set off at a fast pace back up stream to Parijaro.    They would do in a day what would take us at least three days to walk.  It was great to meet Jaime and the others guides and porters again who all seemed very well.  Two of Dilwyn's god-daughters (Adelaida and Mikaela) were asked to come along as cooks, one for each group.

Since Ecotribal agreed to limit numbers of visitors to six at a time with the community of Parijaro, the ultimate destination for this expedition, we had to divide our group into two.  Dilwyn's group – Group 1 - included his two sons, Max and Teilo, plus friends Rachel, Kalie and Huck.  Carlos went with Group 2 - Chris, Morgan, his father Geraint and the Roberts brothers, Morgan's uncles.   Group 1 – left Cuti the next day with Jaime and Adelaida carrying ridiculous quantities of gear compared to the rest of us!  We camped at Camantavishi and had a meeting with the community there.  Dilwyn agreed payments for entry to the waterfall at Parijaro and was made to promise to get football shirts and shorts for a woman's village football team (which we will be taking in 2007).  G1 continued, now with the help of two porters from Camantavishi, upriver, passing other communities and evidence of mahogany logging.  We arrived at 4pm at some natural springs after a long haul with our rucksacks through a section of the forest which short-cuts a big bend and a canyon on the river which is impassable on foot.  After quenching our thirst we made camp on a good size river beach.  We had camped here in July 2004 on the first Ecotribal visit to Parijaro and it has since become known to our local Ashaninka guides as el campamento. 

We cleared the rocks, put up tents and bivis, before sleeping well.  Teilo dreamt that some Ashaninka, in fine clean cushma robes, came out of the forest and gave him a bundle with macaw feathers and other treasures.  According to our guides, this was a good omen for Teilo, the spirits of the forest were welcoming him.

We reached Parijaro the next afternoon, after a relatively leisurely walk and scramble along the rocky river banks, crossing the river twice, stopping to swim and cool off, and drinking at a couple of natural springs.  The community leader - Shiramperi Potente and other villagers at Parijaro seemed pleased to see us and allowed us to use Segundo's lovely tambo style hut, with platform, palm frond roof and open sides. 

We stayed here for a couple of days, visiting the Parijaro waterfall and preparing our rafts for the journey downstream.   The waterfalls were beautiful as usual.  The second largest falls in Peru and the 5th longest single drop falls in South America, they never fail to take the breath away.  The water drops from a height over twice that of the London eye and equivalent to a 90 storey building.  It's hard to take in from photographs.  Being there at the plunge pool and seeing the scores of macaws flapping and screeching around the sheer cliff bowl of stratified rock-face that envelopes the falling column of white, spinning water is an unforgettable experience.

While Group 1 were visiting Parijaro Group 2 walked to the village of Tinkareni, then followed us up the Cutivireni river.  They arrived at Parijaro about 30 minutes before we leapt onto our fleet of balsa and inflatable rafts and an inflatable canoe that took us back downriver.  Enough time to shake hands and exchange stories.

The six hour trip downriver was stunning and without major incident.   We use the rafts as transport rather than for seeking out white-knuckle experience. Our strategy is to get out at the difficult sections of river and walk the rafts around these.  The major rapid, the Pongo de Sankatiaro, was deceptively peaceful looking and we have no choice but to float through here.  Once through this rocky canyon with natural Inca faces reflected in its protrusions, flat surfaces and crevices the river was fairly slow going and without significant rapids to negotiate.  Group 2 followed us down a couple of days later.  They had one serious capsize of the canoe, but thankfully everyone was safe, largely due to the cool head and fast reactions of Jesus, one of the lead guides from Tinkareni village, who was steering the canoe at the time.

While Group 2 went to Parijaro, Group 1 visited Tinkareni village.  Both Groups were re-united at Cesar's house and glad to find and enjoy a saved a bottle of rum.  The next day we set off by motorised canoe back to the road, Satipo and Lima. 

Following our return from our jungle adventure to the busy street of Lima we went straight to a mansion in the desert valley of Lunahuana, 2 hours south.  We rested (and ate very well) for a couple of days, nursing insect bites and sore feet, before visiting the Nazca Lines and then Cusco for the colourful Andean markets and Inca archaeological remains, including Machu Picchu.