On the last day of our Amazon cruise, we visited the Manatee Rescue Center in Iquitos – here biologists and volunteers care for endangered Amazon manatees that conservation authorities have seized from local people and fishermen. Efforts are underway to educate the local people about sustainable alternatives to hunting these friendly creatures. The rescued manatees are rehabilitated with the hope of reintroducing them into their natural habitat.
{ 0 comments }
On the last day of our Amazon cruise, we visited Belen – known as “The Floating City” – and a manatee rescue center (pictures to follow in another post).
Iquitos (population ~370,000) is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest and is also the world’s largest city reachable only by plane or boat. Belen is an area at the edge of Iquitos inhabited by 65,000 local people, many living in extreme poverty, without electricity, clean water or sanitation. Most of the homes float on the river or are built on stilts such that only the top levels are habitable during the flood season. Pueblo Libre (population 15,000), a section of Belen nearest the river, is the poorest neighborhood in Iquitos. Sadly, overcrowding and inadequate living conditions have lead to problems with disease and other issues associated with severe poverty.
I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything quite like Belen. In addition to some of the scenes below, we saw a little girl – probably only 5 or 6 years old – walk out the front of her floating house, get into a canoe, and paddle down the “street”…all by herself. While we were amazed to see people so comfortable going about life in a place filled with water – it was also with a heavy heart, knowing that they are living without clean water and sanitation.
{ 0 comments }
After leaving Machu Picchu, we spent 2 days in Cusco are are now waiting for our flight to Iquitos, Peru to start our cruise on the Amazon. We’ve heard that there is no internet access in Iquitos or along the Amazon, so we probably won’t be able to post any more pics until we get back…
{ 0 comments }