Life on the Amazon

a community along the Rio Marañon

We spent our days with the U* on the Rio Marañon, which is one of 3 main tributaries to the Amazon River. The other two are the Rio Ucayali (which is where I went with Amazon Hope in 2006) and the Rio Itaya, which meet at Iquitos and become the Amazon.
It is an amazing part of the world, and a number of people groups have lived there for ages, still today retaining their cultures and lifestyles much like in centuries past.

In this part of the world, transportation is largely by canoe, houses have to endure significant rain and change in water level each year, and life revolves around the River.  These rivers are teeming with life - fish, reptile, plants and animals of all kind. These photos give a sense of what I saw every day, and are strikingly similar to the views I saw in 2006 on the Rio Ucayali, so it was quite familiar in many ways.

The vast expanse of the Rio Marañon

The Aurora Property which sits on the Rio Marañon and extends back to include many other buildings, 200+ acres total.

Our boat (called a lancha) which took us back and forth from the lodge, and served as a classroom for Health Promoters. Some of our team also slept on the boat in tents or hammocks.

The sunsets are spectacular and different every day. This was evening settling over the Rio Marañon from the banks of Aurora.