Madre de Dios / Gallery

: 01.My faithful paraffin stove and machete on the only map I could find of the Madre de Dios region, which was very poor. The length of the machete blade represents about 400 km !!

: 02. Cesar, Viktoria and two of their children with some of the newly bought chickens at Itahuania.

: 03. Cesar and Pedro, the owner of the neighbouring homestead in the jungle clearing.

: 04. The main house at Cesar and Viktoria’s homestead. The yard in front was a busy place with drying crops.

: 05. About to set off from Itahuania on the Alto Madre de Dios river on my raft after having spent 3 days building it

: 06. Heading off from Cesar’s homestead near Itahuania on the Alto Madre de Dios on my balsa wood raft

: 07. Sitting on the raft looking down a quiet wide section of the river on Day 1.

: 08. First nights camp while descending the Alto Madre de Dios was on a sandbank on an island in the middle of the river

: 09. Sitting on the seat watching the jungle drift by on a gentle section of the river on Day 2.

: 10. Looking at the bank where the sluggish tributary entered and the caiman rushed into the water on Day 2.

: 11. Heading into a palisade section on the wide river trying to figure out a passage through them on Day 3.

: 12. Approaching the hamlet of Diamante, hungry for human contact on Day 4.

: 13. Setting off down the river from Boca Manu on Day 5 after a night in Manu National Park’s rustic information centre.

: 14. After Boca Manu I spent more time sitting on the raft paddling it with the awkward oar as drifting was so slow.

: 15. Near my camp spot at the end of Day 5 where I camped on an island in the large lazy river.

: 16. I had to start mooring my raft in the river after getting stuck in the mud on Day 6.

: 17. The lazy meanders on the calm river below Boca Manu on Day 7.

: 18. Drifting down in the morning sun my tobacco is in the plastic bag above the paddle. Day 8.

: 19. Looking down the river to a gauntlet of palisades similar to the ones which I hit and nearly ensnared me on Day 8.

: 20. Day 8. Camping beside the river after the traumatic encounter with the palisade which capsized the raft.

: 21. Day 9. One of the many slow, sluggish bends in the lazy river hemmed in by the thick tangled jungle.

: 22. The thick impenetrable jungle along the river bank on Day 9 where the river barely flowed.

: 23. I spent my last days on the Madre de Dios river reclining on the raft, paddling occasionally to stay in the flow.

: 24. The three Quechua brothers upstream from Colorado who had set up camp to mine for gold where I spent night 10.

: 25. Filling the scoop with the river bank which would flow down the hessian covered chute where gold fleck would lodge

: 26. Day 11. Heading down the river below the 3 brothers mine project I spent much of the time reclining.

: 27. Despite wearing trousers and a shirt for virtually the whole trip my body was covered in thousands of insect bites.