Bound for Ixiamas


Abstract:
If you go here, and look at the satellite image, you can see Rurrenabaque. This is where we will fly into on our way to Ixiamas next May.

Body:
If you go here, and look at the satellite image, you can see Rurrenabaque. This is where we will fly into on our way to Ixiamas next May.


The town on the south side of the river is Rurre. On the north side is another town, the name of which I forget. Anyway, if you follow the thin line north west, you eventually come to Ixiamas. If you follow the link, you will have to scroll south and east a bit to see the town. Three tick marks on the zoom control is about as close in as you can get. But you can see the wide finger that points north on the west side of the town, which is the new airstrip. This airstrip is apparently a pork project, but there is a booming eco-tourism business in Rurre, and Ixiamas might get a piece of that action if it continues.

From the satellite image, you can look along the road and see the impact of deforestation and farming on the Amazon. It's pretty impressive. We saw logging trucks carrying mahogany trees the size of small houses. But along the road, there is little growth that's over a decade old. Don't get me wrong, it looks properly jungle-fied from the ground, and from the satellite all you can see is dense green. But compared to some of the ancient giants we saw, the trees are scrawny.



Here I am standing in what one year before was a clear field:

It isn't surprising that they have to burn the stuff to clear it.

But here is a REAL tree. I have a distance shot of it, but it doesn't begin to capture the height. I can only imagine the canopy if these giants were all around:


Anyway, I can't wait to see the Internado again. When we left it, it looked like this:

Now I understand they are working on the third story, which may make it the tallest building in Ixiamas. and they have nearly 60 students (they had 20 when we were there) living in the dorm and attending the local high school. I hope their home villages will be able to reap some of the rewards of their education.

We have a lot of fundraising to do over the next several months. We need ten people to go, and we have six so far. Anyone want to come along?

Posted: Thu - November 10, 2005 at 02:25 PM           |

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