Upis Elena Rivero

This concluded our Amazon adventure, and it was time to move on, first by boat to Puerto Maldonado, then by plane back to Lima. (Check out Puerto Maldonado’s ‘Golden Gate Bridge’ in the background of our photo!)

Tourism is just beginning to return to this part of the Amazon. For our first two nights there was a group of about six other guests—there to make a video about the Amazon rainforest. They were friends of the owner. After that, we were the only guests—a bit strange.

While the pandemic has impacted tourism, something more immediately destructive created a severe challenge to the area this year. In mid-February, the Madre de Dios river overflowed its banks following heavy rain. Puerto Maldonado recorded 6 inches of rain in 24 hours. Over the course of a week, the river level rose some 50 feet, and didn’t recede for at least a month. At our lodge, the cabins and main house were flooded and much of their demonstration agricultural plot was washed away. Much of

At the Taricaya Wildlife Center, there was a mad scramble to get the caged animals to safer ground. Fernando’s mahogany woodworking shop where he held community workshops, was badly damaged. Many of the signs in the area show evidence of the muddy floodwaters.Read more