01-07 Helfrid
At last we head up the river! Hectic last minute preparations then we jump into our boat “Rapidissimo” – only two hours of day light left until we camp on a beach by the river. Dinner is salt less due to frantic packing. We stay up by the fire to share first impressions of the trip. We are all full of awe for the forest and the river.

02-07 Marcos
We arrived at the Las Piedras river today! A dream come true. I am tiered but happy and I really like the team. On the boat we talk and joke and thus pass the long hours. We had an amazing football match at the beach which ended in a mud fight and then communal bathing in the river. We stayed up late – Memo, Jake Tina and I – talking by the fire and watching the stars.

03-07 Jake
Being tiered from football and noisy capybara sleep disturbance we all had a tiered day on the boat. We managed to speed up our boat from 8 km per hour to 10 by hiring a second boat to reduce our cargo. Got bitten to pieces; my magic balm was popular. Exchanged some food for nuts. Javier our native in the group fought with a kaiman for the guts of a peccary and finally got the heart and liver which once in the grill reminded me of a bacon sandwich – so I ate the heart! Nearly cut off my finger with a knife – good job I did not, Javier might have eaten it. Beds! Toilets! Dinner! Pure luxury – finally we are at the lodge.

04-07 Guillermo (Memo)
Today was our first day in the forest, and it impressed us a lot. We saw medicinal plants, animal tracks and a variety of monkey species. The squirrel monkey reminded us of Jake due to his new haircut (Puerto Maldonado 4 Soles). We did not see Howler monkeys but heard their deep growling just like Margaritas stomach before dinner. I also ate “escarebega” larvae, very tasty similar to nuts. I love the forest and feel very happy especially as I am in the nature and with good friends.

05-07 Tina
Torrential rain destroyed early morning transect plans. Helfrid’s first aid instruction took its place – good, considering the various injuries already acquired. Bjorn, Javier and Andres braved the elements and crossed the river to start cutting the second transect into the virgin forest there. We walked the Colpa transect with Juan Julio (the lodge owner) in the rain, which was fun despite the absence of animals. After dinner we stumbled into our rooms and crawled under the mossi nets. Bed! Bliss.

06-07 Margarita
No rain! We set out in two groups guided by our locals for sight and sound jungle training. We saw dusky titi monkeys for the first time! Snake ecology and bite treatment training followed in time for departure for the new transect on the other side of the river. Hard cleaning work for all involved. Sights of the day:
Tina with an enormous bunch of bananas on her shoulders and Jake swinging his “organic-forked-branch-broom” like a professional cleaner.

07-07 Bjorn

click on picture to enlarge!

08-07 Patricia
Today was devoted to transect cleaning – hard going. Encountered a river and decided to cross it. Mago, Memo and Manuel cut trees for swamp bridge construction and were attacked by fire ants. Tina stayed by the river and saw capuchin monkeys at 2 meters distance. Jake cut another frog in half – machetero loco.

09-07 Helfrid
We finally witnessed a beautiful sunrise during breakfast. It turned into a hot day but we still
managed to finish our transect - 3720m of hard work, bandaged hands and insect attacks.
I actually stayed at the beach and recorded the number of boats passing. Surrounded by beautiful butterflies and the sound of the passing pekepekes (16HP, mostly used by loggers) I worked on my Spanish and still managed to ask “ que tal tu POLLOS” (how are your CHICKEN) instead of AMPOLLAS which means BLISTERS.

10-07 Marcos
Today we split up in two groups and set out to practise transect study. Andres and Javier led us on
the two transects. One group got to see a peccary from the lookout tower at the Colpa – great! Theoretical and practical methodology training took us from the blackboard to the garden, where distance sampling and monkey impersonation skills (Helfrid does a great flying monkey) were tested… . Finally we had a Double-Peru-Football-Tournament. Tina and Memo are the champions.

11-07 Bjoern


12-07 Tina
Bjorn and Tina set out for town – we hitchhike by boat (9 hours) to Puerto Maldonado.  No roof so sun stroke/burn is inevitable.  Frantic and productive afternoon sorting supplies and staff for transect cutting.  We work until 1:30am entering texts from this diary and sending them to Holger our web page angel.  Alarm clock set for 4am!

13-07 Bjoern


14-07 Margarita
The start of the mammal census!  Andres, Jake and Memo on transect A – they came back enthusiastic and with an encouraging number of sightings.  Good!  The rest had a day off – Nice too!  Tomorrow Jake, Memo, Bjorn, Javier and the 3 transect cutters leave for Soledad, the next camp to cut transects.

15-07 Patricia
The food so far has been very bad but todays breakfast was simply awful – old rice!  Jake, Memo and the others left for the other lodge in the hope of better food.  We saw a plethora of mammals and birds on the transects – including anteaters, great!  Dinner was very yummy – A Hunagana dish (White-Lipped Peccary), meat at last!

16-07 Helfrid
Magarita made “Quaker” for breakfast, then it was me, Tina and Andres on Transect B – the adventure transect!  Javier and co made lovely stairs in tricky places but forgot the worst part!  Crossing the river my boots were too short so Andres had to carry me across.  Tina was laughing so hard she cried!  Got a perfect view of a huge heard of White-Lipped Peccaries.  Meat for the carnivires for supper then discussed the problem of lack of time for chores.

17-07 Marcos
Today I went to Transect A with Tina and Andres and we had a wonderful day!  We saw various monkey species and birds but the highlight was an Ocelot at 6m distance – incredible!  At lunchtime I talked a lot of personal stuff with Tina, we then ate papaya and Anona at the farm on the way back – yummy!  Finally we saw Coatis – what an incredible day!

18-07 Tina
Quite an eventful day despite incessant rain.  I managed to get bitten by a finger sized ant and spent 4 hours in excruciating pain in the tent at the end of the trail with our health angel Helfrid and Manuel taking care of me.  Bjorn was in camp due to wasp stings having inflated his hand.  He made a great “kitchen tent” for us.  We have decided to alter the transect rota – one person less on transect B who stays in camp to cook and clean instead.

19-07 Margarita
Marcos fell into the river at 6am!  These things always happen to him.  On transect A we saw 2 Tayras eating honey – beautiful!  We now have a baby turtle as pet – Speedy!  A month old and very cute.

20-07 Patricia
Today Margarita and I started to practice – we want to learn to detect animals like Andres and Manuel do.  Manuels only comment was more practise needed…
Meanwhile Andres and Tina alone on transect B saw Tamanduas (Anteaters) and Howler monkeys – good going! 

21-07 Helfrid
Pancakes for breakfast at 5am and Manuel and I are on transect B.  Windy!  Manuel had to chop a way around a tree newly fallen onto the transect.  Margarita cooked supper.  Speedy got his exercise while we transcribe transect data and meticulously search each other for ticks and Isangos (even smaller than ticks!).  We find our beds with the help of the moon as all batteries are dead by now.

22-07 Tina
Wonderful food – Patty is cooking today!!  Veggie omelette for lunch and tomato sauce for dinner.  Everybody happy at last.  After dinner we actually find time to sit together and talk.  Andres, Manuel and Margarita play cards – Nice!

23-07 Tina
No animals on A but great lunch – Andres found Anona and papaya for Helfrid and me – Hooray!  Thanks for the story time in the tent after lunch too Andres!  After dinner I spoke to Jake and Memo by radio at Solidad – we miss you guys!

24-07 Margarita
Tina was stung by 5 wasps at camp and Patty got one on her forehead giving her a bad headache for the rest of the day – poor guys!  Marcos saw his first anteater and is happy on A we saw lots but nothing new.  Emma the lodge owner is here – a lovely surprise!

25-07 Bjoern
    

26-07 Helfrid
What a day! Can’t complain about it being uneventful. At breakfast Margarita told us about her and  Patricia’s decision to quit the project and go down to PEM. Shock and sadness over the way things had developed and that they left without having spoken to Bjoern who is still cutting transects upstream.
As it was too late to goto the transects, me Marcos, Manuel and Tina went fishing at a distant stream and grilled bananas on a fire on the beach. We added some tasty papayas from the neighbour’s farm to our harvest of 5 big fish and returned with happier thoughts to the lodge, where Andres surprised us by having tidied up the whole place.

I do hope that we will be able to pull through all this together and make something good out of it all.

27-07 Marcos
After receiving the sad news yesterday we decided to have a group meeting as soon as possible. It was scheduled for the 31^st/1^st, but since the people cutting transects with Bjoern quit their jobs prematurely, Jake, Memo & Javier (Lodge at Soledad) and Bjoern (transect cutting) could come down to meet us at Emma’s lodge tonight.

Now we are all together. Such group meetings are important for working teams.

28-07 Marcos
A cold and rainy day. Jake and Tina cuddle up in fleece pullovers and sleeping bags in the hammock – what a sight in the rainforest!

We had our group meeting in the afternoon.

Pedro, bless his cotton socks, had taken the boat through the rain to the logger’s stop 2 hours upriver, Huasca, and bought some alcohol to celebrate “Fiestas Patrias” (Peru’s independence day). A loud party in the evening with drinking and dice rolling. It’s my birthday tomorrow, another good reason to celebrate!

29-07 Marcos
My first birthday away from home. For me it was very special, the first birthday in the rainforest – with special people and good friends. From now on the work on the transects will improve, I’m sure!

30-07 Tina
Transect A with Javier was eventful despite a lamentable rain-induced absence of animals. A spiky palm viciously attacked my hand! It left no more than a tiny prick, but must have hit a nerve – immediate agony up to my shoulder. Just shows again just how out of place we are in this environment. Javier wrapped me into the tent and warmed me for two hours, then helped me home. Thank you!
Memo, Marcos and Manuel were to travel upriver to Soledad today, but did not find a boat to take them. They played football with the neighbours and Pedro instead, and stayed for another night, which was nice. I stayed up late with Memo and Marcos in the hammocks talking – really nice to have a good natter before they leave.

31-07 MEMO/ Tina
I went upstream with Marcos and Manuel to Soledad to continue the mammal census on the transects there. Travelling by boat is always an excitement and you get great views of the trees and animals, very different from the daily transect walks, where 35 meters of trees loom above you. It is quite tiring, too, however, monotonous, hot and the wooden benches tough on the behind. The rest of the day we enjoyed relaxing at the beautiful lodge, watching giant river otters at the lake.

*Quiero mandarle saludos a mi mama por su cumpleanos. Espero que esten muy bien por mi casa y los extrano. Escribi una carta y espero que algun dia llegue. Muchas saludos!*
 Back to Top

01-08 Tina
Tent duty with bad hand. Bjoern gets to check out transect B at last. Poor Jake has been bitten to bits by bed bugs – his whole upper body is covered in bites. He comes and relieves me from my duty and I cook dinner and wash my clothes – tough going with one hand. Jake, Bjoern and Andres will leave tomorrow to pick up urgently needed food supplies.

02-08 JAKE
Very early start to pick up food from Colpaya, which is the nearest road connection to Puerto Maldonado. We stopped in a community to radio Sandra (Andres’ senora) to find out the meeting time but learned instead that the road had been closed. We have to go all the way to PEM byboat!Gave a lift to some loggers and interviewed them as well as giving first aid: a badly infected hand was a real challenge to our medical sklls, but the “amputation” went smoothly.
I got to chat to a young squirrel monkeys the loggers kept as a pet; great, although the little dent spoke a different dialect from the ones they keep in Birmingham.
Saw a tapir swimming in the river!
Unexpected and frantic trip in Puerto – bought all supplies, got some pizza and slept for two hours.

03-08 JAKE
Having been up till 12.30 chatting to Chris Kirkby about methodology, we really struggled to make the 3.00 am start. Bit of a scare at the port in the dark, as “Rapidissimo” was nowhere to be seen. The guy we’d agreed to pay for guarding the boat had taken it to the other side of the river and did not hear our shouting as he was blissfully asleep.
Lugged the food onto the boat (incl. 150kg of rice etc…), we made the trip upstream in 15 hours. When we saw Andres literally falling asleep at the motor, Bjoern and myself took over. Dodgy, but got us there ok. Non-stop with fresh food from the market. Yummy!

03-08 Tina
Don’t talk to me about accident prone…still cannot use my hand well, but hoped to be able to got o the transect nonetheless. However, got up early to make brakfast with Helfrid, and managed to slip on the wet wood and fall out of the kitchen (raised to 1m for snake protection) !! Ripped openmy leg and spent another day in the tent by the river. It is an unsusually cold day and I sit in a pullover writing letters to my loved ones.

04-08 Helfrid
Bjoern and me made breakfast this morning. He was quitetired after yesterdays marathon trip and after theothers had left for the transects kept me “company” at the boat study at the beach…he slept all day in the tent.
Tina and Jake were crazy enough to join in a football match on the beach opposite directly after transects – Tina finally gets her desired work-out. JJ arrived with 3 Brits yesterday, plus Andres, Pedro and the Brits’ workers – a huge mud-fight with incessant laughter and frenzied water-fight afterwards.
Javier gave us some problems by telling us he needed to return to his native community and that we would have to find another guide. Talked about possibilities and started packing stuff for our leave tomorrow.
Tina and Jake stay up late with JJ and the tourists drinking and chatting.

05-08 Bjorn
Early start in the morning to continue our boat trip to the logging camp Zapallel in which we will be staying for 3 weeks.  Once we arrived loads of food and equipment needed to be carried and piled up for photos.  The camp has been used by loggers until May and they have left their sparten kitchen and sleeping sites making it much easier for us, never the less we spent all day searching for construction materials in the forest, carrying it to the camp (Guillermo did a great job – many thanks), and again being amazed over how Andres and Javier manage to construct our new home with such little.  Topa for house frames, palm leaves for the roofs, plastic on top and all tied together with Jungle soga – better than any string and easily made out of bark.

06-08 Helfrid
Breakfast at 6am by Bjorn and I so that work can start before the heat from the sun and the insects become too unbearable.  The sleeping areas are prepared and the path leading to the toilet is turned into something more like a motorway – relatively safe to tread even at midnight.  We have a lovely toilet!  A hole in the ground, planks to stand on, a roof of palm leaves overhead, the toilet roll on a stick and a bottle of alcohol on a stump.  The vegetation is chopped down and rubbish of ex-loggers is all burned – lunch/early dinner are prepared by Bjorn.  After the evening swim in the river to the sound of enthusiastic frogs we grill bread on sticks with some amazing Peruvian cheese that doesn´t melt even in the fire!

07-08 Bjoern
    

08-08 Bjoern


09-08 Jacob
With transect E “limpio”, we moved with aching arms to go and clean up the leaves on F.  I discovered a fine tactic: being in charge of GPS readings and also working behind Javier – “El Toro” (the bull), meant no work was really necessary!  A very rapid cleaning indeed, only 4.1km though.  It needs to be clean so that we don´t walk on twigs and leaves scaring off the mionkeys.  Bjorn had cunningly sneeked off to Soledad as he had a meeting there with the manager.  Terrible journey home for him taking hours with the 16Hp motor.  The excitement of the day was loosing Andrez in the forest.  Seriously worrying as its impossible to pass eachother on the transect without noticing, what bad luck!  He had gone for water at the stream 5 minutes away.  All well later though when we found him with a smile.

10-08 Memo
We have been in the camp at Zapallel for some days now, which has a fair population of wasps and insects.  We have good accommodation – very pretty at night with many stars.  It is also very close to the river for a bath – very relaxing.   We played cards tonight – gambling biscuits – I lost but to a good amigo!

11-08 Bjoern


12-08 Bjorn
Chief cook Guillermo managed to mistake kerosene for oil and not only did he put the frying pan but almost our cosy kitchen into flames.  Lots of screaming people and a poor lad who now suffers from black spots on his skin.  What are we actually doing here in the forest?!:  Leaving for the transect – a fairly straight trail – at 6.15am walking 5km to a camp that consists of a plastic sheet as a roof and a mosquito net underneath it, in 4 hours and measure the distance to all mammals and a few bird species – the ones that loggers like to eat – that we encounter on the transect.  Once at camp we rest for 2 hours and return to the base camp close to Las Piedras river, continuing our work.

13-08 Helfrid
Today started with a bang in the early morning!  Crawling out of our tents we discover the papaya tree – after being chopped at by two enthusiastic hammock hangers – Jake and Bjorn, it had given up and fallen right in between the radio mast and the tent of Bjorn and I!  Thank God not on top of us!  Jake and Bjorn in the camp were visited by the British tourists from Emma and JJ´s lodge and prepared supper.  Memo and Andrez went to transect E while Javier and I took the boat to F.  Met a wee Caiman at the river bank.  Apart from this and an incredibly pink and fluffy caterpillar there wasn´t much excitement on the mammal front.  A strange stomach immediately sent me to sleep in the tent.  On the way back some lovely Dusky Ti-Ti monkeys with a baby!  Received the news that Tina who has gone to Puerto Maldonado to check her health would go to Lima as the doctors here couldn’t help her-  The same evening Bjorn got a fever which would rise during the night.

14-08-Björn


15-08 Mono Blanco (Jacob)
 Much news.  A string of bad luck has left us 2 men down.  Firstly I have a hole in my foot – not the best for 11km walking per day.  Tina is no better and after finally managing to get radio contact we know she´s off to Lima for medical assistance and unfortunately will not come back.  We all hope she is better soon.  Bjorn has various conditions.  Medic Helfrid was delighted at pulling out her first botfly from a nice pussy boil. Mmmm.  He also has dysentery – he is amazed that so much can come out even when nothing goes in!  After a little time of worrying due to no radio contact, I am pleased to say he is getting better, passing food and we don´t need to pack him off as well.  Troops have been in high spirits regardless and we are all becoming dab hands at making delicious food from very few ingredients.  Pumpkin being the order of the day.

16-08 Memo
Today I went to “transect F” but unfortunately we didn’t see many animals, just two friends of Javier –“koto” (howler monkey). When we got home two friends of Andres had turned up for the night. They are loggers from India (a camp –not the country). One of them had cut the tip of his finger off in a sawmill and it was infected. We improvised an operation room on the kitchen table and using torches for light, Bjoern and Helfrid cleaned the wound. We suggested that he’d go back to Puerto to see an actual doctor, but he wouldn’t be convinced, and so left to go 15 days upstream in order to collect his timber. We later heard that his boss had given him money to see the doctor, but he spent it in a bar.
Saludos a mi hermana –ya que ayer fue su compleaños, tam bien a mi Mama, a mi familia in general y amigos. En el campamento nos hemos acomodado bien y lo mahor de todo es que estamos teniendo grandes progresos con la comida. Chau

17-08 Bjoern
A calm day in the camp. Not too hot, only a few wasps and long chats with Jake about future plans of Project las Piedras. Later during the day Andres son came along, joined by the rest of his logging camp. All young lads, quietly sitting around, staring at each other until big mama served them supper. Their plan was to travel upstream and chop wood, but the police blocked the river, roughly two days upstream, not permitting loggers to enter the area protected for uncontacted natives. By doing so they try to implement a new governmental policy and allow mahogany extraction in only managed (and therefore assumed as sustainable) timber concessions.
All people passing our camp day by day act in opposition to the law! What protects them is that everyone does it.  

18-08 Helfrid
It’s me and Javier on transect E –the beautiful transect with strange trees and lianas, and a tree trunk looking like he’s munching a smaller branch!
We met two groups of howlers, which is always a special occasion. One pair with a baby. On the way back there was some excitement as Javier was beating a green hissing snake from our path. With beating hearts we ran right into a horde of huanganas that were equally terrified at the sight of us. Meanwhile Bjoern had been fighting a wasp invasion in the tent of transect F, and Jake and Memo had, during their stay in the camp, dug a new toilet in place of our full one.
Thanks boys!
The evening swim in the river is blessed and enlightened by a smiling half moon.

19-08 Bjoern


20-08 Jake
First outing with Javier, “El Torro”, for a while. Much good work spotting animals seeing the groups first wolf “perro del monto”, expertly spotted as it crossed in front of us on the transect. Bjoern saw his first turtle today. There is much thought and planning going on for next year, how to expand and improve things –as I suppose we’re on our way back down river now. In fact I’m off on the 22nd to Soledad (the lodge with the legendary Caeser –80’s king worthy of his monikel; the lord of Singlets and Abba) with Andres. This is unless there is rain tomorrow, in which case we will go then. Thunder and unusual orange clouds at the moment –better pack my things!

21-08 Memo
Hoy fui al transecto e con Andrés, observamos varias huellas de tigre, lo que indica que esta presente y aunque me da un poco de miedo espero verlo y espero que no me haga nada, en la tarde mientras me bañaba en el Río, el cielo se lleno de nubes (al igual que ayer) y parecía que íbamos a tener una fuerte lluvia muy fuerte y rápidamente acomodamos todas nuestras cosas para mojarnos lo menos posible pero para nuestra buena suerte no paso de un susto, pero yo creo que dentro de unos días no nos vamos a salvar de una lluvia fuerte. Luego de la cena nos quedamos conversando sobre los problemas que existen en Puerto Maldonado y sobre posibles soluciones con nuevos proyectos y han surgido muy buenas ideasque espero se concreten. Es bueno este tipo de conversaciones por que se comparten muchas ideas que pueden ayudar a desarrollar a mi pais.
Kausachum Perú

22-08 Andres 
Hola diario, now I’m talking with you as well!
Some days ago Bjoern designated me and Jake “grandes Tetas” to go to Soledad, which is a very nice place by the way, and replace Marcos “Parpados Pesados” and Manuel “Drakula”. While travelling today nothing special happened, just that we stranded a few times with the boat and were otherwise occupied with euphory of arriving at the new place. We arrived at 10.15 am, welcomed by Marcos and Manuel and then they took pictures of my beard. I got to know Caeser and Narcisso of the lodge, had lunch and went fishing.

About the project:
Bjoern –good ideas, Jake –very intelligent, Helfrid –helps Bjoern a lot and is an excellent nurse, Tina –lots of energy and sad that she left, Patty –worked a lot but she left, Margarita –likes frogs and left, Memo and Marcos –equally intelligent, good friends who like the project, Manuel –nice person, Javier –he knows the forest very well, is a nice and funny person and says that he is a playboy (one of his jokes), Andres –45 years, I’m the oldest in the team and think that I’m complaining more than other people. I love my forest and learn from it every day. Until soon
White Lipped  

22-08 Bjoern
Descansar! Rain in the morning gave us a welcomed opportunity to relax and spend the day in the camp. A new front of “friajes” kept the insects away, and although Javier complained about the freezing cold, we all enjoyed being outside without being bothered by wasps. Javier’s brother came by after being stopped by the police upstream and refreshed our supplies of meat, which was highly welcomed. Andres and Jake went down to Soledad to continue censuring transect D, and Marcos and Manuel came up to the camp. A warm welcome with some laughs as we realised that Jake had forgotten his sleeping bag, and so we imagined him having to snuggle up with Andres to keep warm in the cold nights. Finished the day with playing cards in candle light.

23-08 Helfrid
Today ended with a bang –as this time the pole of the radio mast broke in half and came crashing down onto the roof over my and Björn’s tent (We’re having quite a few close misses here!). Sitting by the hammock with Marcos and Manuel we got a huge fright as we heard the crashing noise behind us –seldom has Björn been seen to jump so far so quickly!
The rest of the day was less dramatic. Marcos spent his first day in Zapallell by making us breakfast. I was happy to go on the transect with Javier after a few days in the camp. Unfortunately we hardly saw anything apart from the almost compulsory group of brown capuchins, but Javier did find “plata” (money) in the form of seeds which can be used in artesania to make beautiful necklaces. The expression “money doesn’t grow on trees” obviously does not apply here!

24-08 Marcos
Yo llegue a Zapallal recien el dia 22 con Manuel, luego de estar en Soledad como por mas de 20 dias. Me siento ahora muy feliz de ver a mis amigos de nuevo! El campamento esta muy bonito y especielmente la cocina es excelente! Claro que voy a extrañar a Tigre Viejo (Andres) y a Mono Blanco (Jake). Hoy 24 de Agosto es el dia que tengo que ver la actividad de los botes en el rio. Lo bueo es que puedo nadar por varias horas! Eso me gusta mucho!
En el mismo dia Bjoern estuvo toda la mañana y la tarde con migo en el campamento. Fue bueno estar juntos! Cortamos una topa (arbol) para arreglar la antena de la radio, comimos papaya, conversamos mucho, y tambien estuvimos en el rio. Fue muy divertido!!
J Estoy feliz de estar aquí en la selva, con buenos amigos. Somos en muy buen grupo! No quiero vulver a Lima, me gusta este lugar!

25-08 Bjoern


26-08 Memo
Today was very hot and the sun unbearable. In the camp there is a positive relationship between sun and wasps: the more sun, the more wasps. Today it was my turn to cook and I was in the camp together with Marcos who was counting boats. To protect ourselves from the wasps and the heat we spent the day at the beach where there instead were lots of “tavenas” (evil little monsters of insects that bite you where and when you least expect them to!). The only solution left for us was to dive into the water where we were much more “tranquilo”. We spent 4 hours talking, making the most of the time before Marcos has to go back to Lima and continue his studies.

27-08 Bjoern
We have a new rota. Transect one day and housework the next day. Helfrid and me are one pair and Memo and Marcos are one. Quite a lot of time in the camp, drinking tea with Helfrid, fighting the small yellow wasps that have taken over the camp, replacing the larger black ones, going for baths in the river, checking the solar panel and listening to “deutsche welle”. I couldn’t believe my ears as I was playing around with the radio –the same one that we are having problems communicating to Puerto with, and suddenly a German voice told me about the flooding in Magdeburg!
After 2 months of being disconnected from the world it is a weird but nevertheless a highly welcomed feeling. Listening to the news about the UN summit where 50 000 people –the money spent on their flight tickets would probably save the peruvian rainforest –talk about the worlds problems; amazing how interesting weather news can be!

28-08 Helfrid
Although the day didn’t start very promising I ended up seeing more animals on transect F than ever before. It rained in the morning so we didn’t leave until 9-ish.
Me and Manuel on F, Björn and Javier on E, Marcos in the kitchen and Memo counting the almost non-existent boats. Saw lots of spider monkeys and howlers too. At the end of the transect Manuel was so busy constructing a frame for the plastic sheet serving as a roof, he totally forgot to be hungry. On the way back we saw a huge group of capuchins, just before the rain came hurling down at us. The sun shone at the same time, making the forest sparkle in the light! Crossing the river on the way back to the camp we found Marcos where we had left him: in the water!

29-08 Marcos
Today is my last day here in Zapallell, and also my last day of participating in the project. I’m happy because I’m going back to see my family and because I’m satisfied with the work on the transects. Moreover I got to know more people, places and lots of friends.
But sometimes I am a little bit sad because I don’t know when I can come back. My days in the project were lovely. I feel a bit strange: happy and sad at the same time! I love the forest! I would like to continue with the project until the end, but that’s impossible as I have to go back to Lima where my classes have already started.
“Pero tengo a Madre de Dios y a mis amigos en el corazon!!
Cuiderse mucho! Hasta pronto.
Kausachum Peru!

Marcos “El hombre Lobo”

30-08 Jake
Andres and I continue as the mules of the team, walking every day, dawn till dusk at Soledad. We have obviously the grand advantage of never having to cook here. This is, however, somewhat overwhelmed by the fact that our cook, (the almost deified) Caeser, doesn't have a bean to cook with. With a rotten diet I am necking vitamin pills and surviving on biscuits. I have a lot of time, with so few people around, to myself at present. I have undertaken the business of putting the world to right and have taken to settling down for the night at 6 pm now! Normally to be woken at an absurd time for any of these three reasons: the pet peccary may wail, the baby Andrea (Andres little girl) may wail, or the cold, due to the very typical of my family non-remembrance of essential items, my bed and sleepingbag. Andres kindly complements me for being smart (fool) but is now beginning to realise that my reputation for my fantastic clutziness is well earned. He describes me as exemplifying difference between calmness and level-headedness! My qualification in philosophy (the fact that I live with two lunatic philosophers.) has led to some lengthy moral discussions. Jeeres and I over a large gin, discuss the situation of logging here and what can be done in the future. It's very easy for us in the west to criticise the logging but there is no alternative work. Andres has many good ideas for change and is keen to work with us in the future to provide other options. Still cold, but loads of animals here, but we don't have a river bath, which is greatly missed.

31-08 Bjoern

 Back to Top

01-09 Bjoern
This is our 28th day in camp Zapallall. 20 days of census at each site were planned but either nature again proves to be unpredictable or the loggers succeeded in eating and chasing away all the animals. Whatever the reason is, for us it means to walk transect E and F a few more times to complete the data collection.
By now we're in a perfect routine. It took a while for everyone to get used to the forest, the work and cooking on fire at 4 am for 6 hungry people, but we got there and still enjoy what we are doing. Only our guides are being a bit picky. Javier, the native in the team, suffers from constant diarrhoea but insists on drinking the water straight from the river and even to finish the peccary leg -a present from his brother- that has been lying around for some days. He prefers nature to chlorinated water.
Today not much happened. Rain with cold winds bound us to the camp and we could do what there is no time for otherwise. Memo, Javier and Manuel went fishing and -yes!- some loggers gave them some bananas and a newspaper, Helfrid painted and I slept most of the day.

At last day one has arrived. We meet the guides, Ernesto and Delfor (our 2 peruvian students) who have taken the boat upstream the day before by taking a taxi to a port two hours away from Puerto Maldonado. The taxi races along dirt tracks and we are all sure that we are lost. The taxi stops in the middle of nowhere. With the help of friendly local people we finally get to load our boat. Jo, Hamish, Ernesto and Javier get a lift on a different boat going the same direction as we and we all meet on the beach 6 hours upstream at our first camp. We stare in amazement at the surrounding green wall and at turtles and the black caiman. The first night is spent socializing and Hamish and Saul try to fish.

Day 2 on the boat. Animals galore and an eerie jungle camp. With the same crew composition as yesterday, the boat passed inspiring scenery which looked even more “tropical”. We made our frist sightings of scarlet macaws, herons and a completely pale yellow Tayra. According to our guide book this species exists in Bolivia, so had we made a new discovery for Madre de Dios?! At 11.30 we reunited with Jo, Javier, Hamish and Ernesto and bags which made our already overloaded boat sink even lower. Am abrupt introduction to jungle training as we scrambled up a muddy slope to camp 2. As the rest of us enjoyed the fire, Saul and Hamish caught 3 catfish and a stingray. Boatlife is not as claustrophobic as I anticipated, but with snakes, spiders and other beasties feeling ever closer I think we have a lot to learn.

We left the camp in the mist at 5:50 am to start the fourth day of boat travel. We arrived at Zapallall, where the project had had a camp last year and took lots of papyas with us. It was tricky to navigate the boat through shallow water with underlying sandbanks an rocks which we sometimes hit. Our guides Javier, Saul and Andres take turns in driving the boat. We arrived at the logging camp “Maproin” where we talked to concessionaires. We realized that their camp was far too far in the forest to active be able to work there and so it was decided, that we go a few more hours upstream where we can stay close to the river. We received a new guide: Don Juvencio, who came with us to show us the old transects by the camp where we were going and he also came so that he could learn the methodology of our data collection. We left the logging camp in two boats and arrived at our new home “Aororita” at 4 pm. We organized tents and things then Andres, Joanna, Hamish and me went fishing only to catch to small ones.

The day started at 5:50, which struck me as slightly late (!). Breakfast prepared by our cook Marcia, and then we set about making a new camp. Javier, Ernesto and Bjoern set out to check the new transects while the rest of us constructed the kitchen, table, benches etc. with the help of machetes and an axe. Late lunch at 4:30 pm, then Joanna and I decided to go fishing. Our result less fishing turned into swimming and joined by the others this evolved into a game of football on the beach where we were beat by the homeside. On return we were talked through transect methodology by Bjoern. The day was ended with coffee, biscuits and a game of shit-head.

We completed the camp Aororita by setting up plastic above our tents. Bjoern and Andres crossed the river to investigate the transect on the other side of the river. Javier and I cut 10 m long bamboo for the camp. Bjoern and Andres said that the transect on the other side was better as there was less bamboo, they also came across tractor tracks and it will be interesting to see the impact of this. At the camp 2 teams set out to clean the transect 1: guides in front with machetes and the others sweeping with sticks. Hot, sweaty work! Cleaned approximately 2/3rds of the transect. As we returned Sandra (Andres wife) and Andrea (his 3 year-old) had arrived. We all jumped into the river and tried to wash clothes and play with the ball without getting swept away by the current.

It’s Tuesday evening and we are ending the day playing the crazy card game “ocho loco” while insects are attacking our homemade kerosene lanterns – instead of us for a change. Early mornings and evenings are the most relaxing time due to the lack of insects. Today we got up late to a breakfast of spaghetti, lentils, torreja (fried bread) and mazamora (maize juice). We went to clean transect 2 on the other side of the river and were finished by 10:30 am.
In the afternoon we started learning English and Spanish names of the animals that we expected to see on the transects. We also talked through the methodology of the mammal census, tracks ID, regeneration of plants after the tractor and regeneration of cedro. Supper was rice, tortilla, torrejas and tomato sauce.

09/07/03 Delford

Hello friends! We got up at 5.30am and as we left for transect 2 with the boat, a sandbank was hit and we all had to get out and walk at least 100m in the river – Hamish and Hannes ended up having a swim.

At 7.30am we started practising collecting mammal census data. As we walked along the transect we saw brown capuchins and saddleback tamarins. On the way back in the afternoon we practised taking plant data in plots of 10 by 10m and 1 by1m. We also heard a group of white lipped peccaries, but only Javier and I had the luck to catch sight of them.

11/07/03 Andrecito

Brrr! Freezing ¡ (approx 16 degrees Celsius). This is my second time in the Project and it seems much calmer this year: we have a cook, the work is more dynamic and we have new people in the group:

Hamish – “the highlander fisher” – a good companion. When choosing between sleep and going fishing, he chooses the latter. Up until now he is the king of the stingrays!

Karen – initially shy, observing the differences betwen Europe and this new place. She is – like the others – quickly learning Spanish.

Joanna – Nice!!! I got a good impression of her as we first met at the airport and she is a good and fuuny friend – always friendly.

Juvencio – A concessioner working with us for a few weeks to learn the methodology in order to apply it in his concession.

Ernesto – Has a bachelor in Forestry Engineering and maybe the project will help him do a good thesis.

Delford – A tourist guide student who wants to learn more English from the extranjeros. Has a good personality.

Saul – Guide, he is very nice to everyone, is always joking and knows both th forest and the river well.

Javier – the brother of Saul and is on the projct for the second time together with Bjorn, Helfrid and me.

There is only one person missing: Jake, where are you??!!

12/07/03 Hannes

The second day “mucho frio. We wake up at 6 and are on our way by 7:30 after a breakfast of spaghetti, lentils, rice and soja. We spend the morning extending transect 2 for a further 2 km and the rest of the day doing botanical assessments – quite interesting work as it is the first time we have really left the track to go into the forest. Soon we can recognize at least some plant species. After a successful day of data collection we sail back to camp as the sun sets. Around 7 pm our first fiesta strats. Jo selected the theme: “sombreros” – fancy hats made from leaves – so fancy that some only lasted 10 minutes because of the weight and spines. Whilst listening to Beatles songs and playing cards we get drunk with the cheapest alcohol ever (6.5 Soles a bottle) – a few of us end up maybe a bit too drunk….

14/07/03

Today we started the mammal census in Camp Aurorita. Three groups on three transects: Saul, Hannes and Hamish; Andres, Jo, Delford and Sr. Juvencio; and I went with Javier, Bjorn and Helfrid. Karen stayed in the camp to collect boat data. We started the census of transect 2 at 7.15am. It is much colder now than before. We say tracks of ocelots and tapirs and among other mammals a huge group of white capuchins with young jumping through the trees.

Well, I liked my first experience of mammal census alot.

15/07/03 Hamish

Ahh, chance would happen that my dairy day was also my day in the camp (counting boats). My main task of the day? Counting boats – one boat with 3 men, 1 woman and an outboard motor passed by about lunch time… and that was it. The fun stuff: The day started at 6 am with a breakfast of rice. After the others left for the transects, Jo and I started on the data entering for transects, finishing by 10. We read and relaxed until lunchtime when we entered the data for fruit trees for transect 3.
Trail cutting was followed by fishing at 4 – one Bagre and 2 Carneros were caught (later it was dinner time). I came back to find a turtle, which Juvencio had carried back and tales of Coatis, Emperor tamarins and a green snake were told. After more data entry by all we settled down for card and then bed.

The fog and the sunshine together created a mystical effect this morning as Hamish, Senor, Andres and I set off for transect 2 this morning. Yet again my breath was taken away and I am reminded how lucky I am to be on such a boat on such a morning. Today we were actually beginning to be able to identify monkeys personally and I managed to male mjor sightings of a group of howler monkeys in the morning and 7 spider monkeys this afternoon. The spider monkeys were particularly spectacular – 1 mother and her baby fed on fruit before spotting us and jumping between trees right over our heads. This evening after a cool swim Hannes, Ernesto, Delfor and Javier arrived back to camp with a large delicious catfish, which we ate within the hour. The evening was spent entering data.

17/07/03 Saul

Dear friends, I woke early as usual and went on the transect. It was good, and as always my primary objective was to point out, and teach the students about the animals seen in the forest. Helfrid and Bjorn finally threw away the skin of the white lipped peccary which has been lying in the camp a couple of days now. The idea is to collect and conserve as many skin specimens from diffrent animals (already shot by the loggers for food) as possible and take them back to Puerto. We´ll have to satisfied with only the bones of this one though.

19/07/03 Helfrid

The mist dances across the water as the sun rises above the trees. It´s 6.30am and Andres is taking Javier, Jo and me downstream to transect 2 - full of spider monkeys – in the afternoon we counted 29. There were also brown and white capuchins. At 4.40pm Andres, Hamish and Delford picked us up – together with a big catfish and 2 piranhas they had caught. They had had a good close up of a big herd of white lipped peccaries on transect 3.

It was good to cool down and get clean in the river. The fish was prepared for the evening meal by Marcia who had made cocona (yellow vegetable) jam with the help of Karen and Ernesto. Saul, Bjorn and Hannes had seen 2 great anteaters and the rare red-billed pied manager (bird). It was Saturday evening – cardgames turned into drinking games and people into fools. The sky was full of stars uninterrupted by disturbing city lights and joined by illuminous insects! I went to bed looking forward to being able to wake slowly the next morning.

20/07/03 Delford aka Puma

Today, Sunday, we all got up late. Marcia had prepared breakfast for 8.30am and only Ernesto was sleeping until 1pm.

At around 2pm we all went to swim and wash clothes in the river – except Andres and Saul who had continued drinking into the morning as we woke up. Andres fell into the river from the boat as he was on his way to swim. Later Saul prepared banana and fish soup for lunch Thank you friendo!

21/07/03 Javier

Again part of the Project with my 2 friends from last year, Bjorn and Helfrid, this year I´m getting to know new friends: Karen, Joanna, Hannes, Hamish, Ernesto and Delford. I am sharing their customs, stories from their life and country. The new things that Bjorn is teaching us this year seem good and I am happy to share this interesting experience with everyone. I hope the students will get to know and like the good things of our forest.

It makes me very happy when I can point out the animals to the students and they for the first time see a spider monkey or a white capuchin etc. It makes me even more happy when a student actually spots an animal before I do – like when we were in transect 2, Bjorn was the one to see the jaguar. I was also a bit jealous that he had the luck and I wish that everyone in the project family will have such luck. Bye, friends, until the next diary entry!

23/07/03 Hannes

My last day at the camp. I already feel quite sad about leaving the next day. There are so many things I will miss. The really good friends I have made, the jungle with all its potential adventure, danger but also beauty and grace. This month went by so incredible quickly. But I suppose it is a good thing to leaf in the moment of most joy. – These are the thoughts which run through my head while I walk on transect 2. Saul guides us with great confidence and is aware of every single movement in the forest. Although this is in terms of data collection not the most successful day – for me it is my last day out in the forest and therefore I try to absorb as much as possible with every step I take.
In the evening we all sit together and I receive a wonderful good-bye card from the whole team. Everybody writes a few lines to the people they care most about, so I can take them with me to Puerto and ensure they reach their final des Tinations.
At last I want to say a big thank you to the whole team. You all made my time here so enjoyable. And a special thank you to our guides: Saul, Andres and Javier. We all know without them, there would be no project and we would remain clueless Europeans lost in this great wilderness… - IT WAS A GREAT TIME!

24/07/03 Karen

Today, in the jungla journal…the task of listening for boats was more crucial than usual as we hoped to get one for Hannes. A fleet of boats and balsas (with a hifi playing 80s pop!) heading downstream to Puerto were happy to take a “gringo” with them. Sad goodbyes as Hannes successfully left the jungle at 10am.

Meanwhile on the transects Bjorn, Javier and Helfrid were chasing a JAGUAR on transect 2. Emperor tamarins on transect 1 and 3. I spent the day entering data, practising spanish and later joined Jo and Ernesto on my 2nd fishing attempt – live bait was enough to churn the stomach! The day ended with a brief swim to the backdrop of a stunning sunset. So now we are one less in number, the first set of data is nearly complete. Some are working late to prepare for the next, others are able to relax in the jungle.

25/07/03 Ernesto

Today we left a bit later than usual. On the way to Transect 2 we visited some loggers who were cutting an “ishpingo”. We took data of the impact from felling this 30m tall tree, and left Bjorn with the loggers to take more data while the rest of us went to collect plant data on Transect 2. I went with Javier and Delford to measure the 10 by 10 plots. Rain interrupted the work so we went back to the camp.

26/07/03 Harnish

Aaahhh the 26th! The last day of data collection and the 2nd last day in the camp. We made the familiar trip down the river – minus Helfrid and Bjorn who left to take photos and do an interview at a logging camp for the day! Checking the overnight fishing lines on the way – poisonous sting ray was found – nice!

An uneventful day of plant data collection followed. Relief at the end at the thought of the Saturday night fiesta and following recovery day!

After dinner Delford and I taught Casino to the others for a couple of hours…then the drinkers returned. For me bed was needed around 12 o´clock so despite the insults I received, I went to bd – leaving them to their fun and games.

27/07/03 Jo

The final day at Camp Aurorita and I was too enthusiastic with the lemon rum last night and felt hazily hungover. Most people went to bed quite early last night but Andres, Ernesto and I decided to stay up discussing the finer arguments for and agianst gringos in the jungle and the strengths and weaknesses of the Project. Andres and Ernesto forget how to speak English when they are drunk and I think that I can speak perfect Spanish so it was good fun!

Andres, Hamish, Marcia and I went fishing today and dropped in on a campamento further upstream to swap bait. Hamish and I had a go with their shotgun and our aim was dead on (although obviously mine was better)!

We packed up our stuff ready for tommorrow. I feel both a little sad to leave a camp that we have definitely made our own and excited at the prospect of a journey furher into the unknown…

28/07/03 Saul

Today we left early from Camp Aurorita, all of us on the boat. I drove first and it was so misty that I could hardly see. Javier sat at the very front and indicated the direction in which I should be go to avoid the sandbanks. We stopped to spend the night at a beach at 5pm, where I talked to Hamish in the evening.

29/07/03 Bjorn

We are on our journey to a timber concession six days upstream from Puerto Maldonado. Suddenly I am confronted with free time in which to read books and watch animals from the boat!

We arrived at the native community of Montesalvado at 12 o’clock and were welcomed by its president Theodor. We were shown 2 houses where we could spend the night, then conversed with the people who were clebrating Perus independence day. We had a successful meeting with the community members in the evening where it was decided that, if our work upstream permitted it, we would set up a transect by the community, providing them with data needed for a management plan, and in return we would receive accomodation, food for 2 investigators, and help clearing the transect. An interesting day with surprises and new friends.

Back to Top  

06/08/03 Jo

At last the transects are ready to begin our mammal census at the new camp. Saul, Helfrid and I tackled transect 3 – only 2.9km but winds up and down like a rollercoaster, making you incredibly hot and sweaty. The forest is more beautiful here and you get to see it from a great height – breathtaking views. We didn´t see as many animals as we´d hoped – maybe because the heavens opened on the way back and we got absolutely soaked. I have never been in such rain before, not even on the west coast of Scotland! We waited 20 minutes but the rain got harder so we cut our losses and headed back to camp, slipping and sliding metres at a time. Helfrid and I were grateful to have Saul there because the transect was quite dangerous.

We celebrated this evening by drinking and playing cards into the wee hours.