Peter and Charles Gerstrom reflect on their Amazon trip, specially ...

...on foot...The <strong>Gerstrom</strong>s travel bycanoe with guide Jose......meet Natutama'seducation team......<strong>and</strong> follow Luisthrough rainforestfor the whole journey. Theitinerary was to spend sixdays in the Amazon <strong>and</strong> fourdays in the Orinoco.We witnessed a goodexample of a modernconservation project – a newventure sponsored byOmacha to get fishermens’wives to recover the value offish caught by the fishermenbut damaged by predatorssuch as dolphins. At theirAMAPROPEZ co-operativethey process the meat intofish burgers. The fishermenget better value for the fish,they have less reason to killdolphins <strong>and</strong> the indigenousfamily incomes are enhanced.My <strong>reflect</strong>ion? Well, theenvironment is challenging,accommodation basic, bitinginsects plentiful, electricityintermittent, thunderstormstorrential... but you just can’tbeat the experience.The son’s taleCanoeing through a floodedrainforest is slow work,adds <strong>Charles</strong> <strong>Gerstrom</strong>.Navigating around theroots <strong>and</strong> logs that bob justunder the surface of themud-brown water requiresa gentle pace. Luckily, thisleaves lots of time forquestions.‘With the water so dark,how can they see to fish?’ Iasked, as our local pilot Josecasually steered us aroundanother invisible danger.‘The locals have a story,’began Sarita, a uniquelyinformed guide. ‘They saythat when a baby is born, youmust smear the fat of an eagleonto his eyes, so that he willbe blessed with its keen sight.’‘Ah,’ I pronounced, ‘so ifyou want your son to be thebest fisherman, you must givehim the most fat!’The <strong>Gerstrom</strong>s <strong>and</strong> AliMy <strong>reflect</strong>ion?A challengingenvironment, basicaccommodation...but you just can’tbeat the experience‘No, not at all,’ she replied.‘They say you must be carefulto only use a little, for if hiseyes are too good, then hewill see too much – all thehundreds of creatures thatlive in the river, suddenlyrevealed, teeming together,will terrify him so much hewill never be able to fish.’The story is a metaphor forhuman nature, for our needto focus on one thing at atime. If he is to eat, afisherman must block outeverything but the fish hewants. But the story also hasa sad irony, for this attitudealso endangers the riverdolphins, manatees <strong>and</strong> otherthreatened species of theAmazon. When fishermenfocus on their next mealrather than the wholepicture, they don’t see howover-fishing, trapping or treefellingtoday can affect theAutumn 2010 | WHALE&DOLPHIN | 33

SiteGuideAmazonSotalia – one of thetwo species of riverdolphin that live inthe Amazonentire ecosystem tomorrow.This is something the WDCSfundedprojects, Natutama<strong>and</strong> Omacha, are trying tochange.The alternative view theyoffer is presented in one oftheir educational exhibits.Back at the NatutamaInterpretation Centre weentered a room transformedinto the underwater world,with beautiful carvings offish, dolphins, turtles,manatees, otters <strong>and</strong> caimanhanging from the walls <strong>and</strong>ceilings. It explained foodchains, predator/preyrelationships, the role of trees<strong>and</strong> plants extremely well,but I did not really get thepoint until we turned to leave;then from the corner of myeye I saw everything together,the animals no longer boundto the ceiling but to eachother, an impossible sculptureheld together only by its owntensions <strong>and</strong> bonds.My eyes had been opened. Iunderstood why people hiredto protect dolphins were alsoworking on seed dispersal,fish stocks, puppet shows forschools. I saw local peopletaught <strong>and</strong> encouraged tosee all this themselves, <strong>and</strong> totake on the task of fixing,adjusting <strong>and</strong> maintainingall the bonds that keep thenatural world around themfrom falling apart.Create your own tripIf you are able to commit tosubstantial support for oneof our projects, we can giveyou the opportunity to visit<strong>and</strong> see first-h<strong>and</strong> how yourcontribution is protectingwhales <strong>and</strong> dolphins. Pleasecontact Andy Bool, ourMajor Giving Manager, forfurther information on01249 449508 or at<strong>and</strong>y.bool@wdcs.org.You can support theNatutama <strong>and</strong> Omachaprojects that <strong>Peter</strong> <strong>and</strong><strong>Charles</strong> visited throughWhale & Dolphin People inany of four ways:➽ With a one-off donation tothe project➽ By setting up a direct debitwhich will go straight tothe project you choose➽ By giving a gift ofdesperately-neededequipment such ascamera or computer items➽ By buying a Virtual Giftas a unique present for afriend or family memberTo find out more <strong>and</strong> to get involved with directly supportingour crucial conservation projects just visitwww.whale<strong>and</strong>dolphinpeople.org34 | WHALE&DOLPHIN | Autumn 2010