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Starting in the high Andes and weaving our way down to the Apurimac and Ene Valleys, the first phase of our trip (which will probably make the basis of programme one) has an interesting central theme to it: cocaine. And what a story it has turned out to be. Looking back at it all now I can say that I’m glad I’m still in South America and not in the edit room back in Cardiff trying to put it all together as there was a lot to take in.
Posted from: San Lorenzo
We stopped for a couple of hours during the night for Gerson to rest after we collided with another log and he had to maneuver to get it off the point of the boat. I was lying down with my barrel and the kicking kid listening to the sounds of the jungle and somebody snoring.
Posted from: near Wijint
We left the Achuar village of Wijint with not the greatest of send offs, just two small boys waving at us - and they were there to take a pee.
Posted from: San Lorenzo
I'm in the little jungle town of San Lorenzo. The electric light is coming on and off after a storm so I hope I won't lose what I write. I've just shown the website to a lovely girl called Frida who works in this tiny wooden internet cafe and I was going to call this town a 'horrible little place in the middle of the jungle' but I don't want to offend Frida if she ever reads this blog!
Posted from: Wijint
At the moment I am sitting in our camp in the Achuar village of Wijint, we have been given the use of one of the thatched open-sided houses that are typical here. The roof is about 20 feet high and made of palm leaves with a raised floor made of tree bark, we are in the centre of the village next to the ever present football pitch, which seems to be the centre of most of the communities we have seen here in Peru.
Posted from: Wjint
We are making progress. Bruce is living in a house, not with Saris, but with an inscrutable hunter called Mantu and his family, Saris (Silas Marner) had second thoughts after his daughters told him they were scared of Bruce and didn't want him there. Poor guy, he looked dreadfully embarrassed.
Posted from: Wijint
Following Matt's return home it was time to regroup and carry on with the filming. Steve Robinson, his boss, came out to replace him and we recommenced our journey down the river. Morale was obviously quite low at this point but following an amazing three-day boat journey through spectacular landscapes we all perked up and continued with the job at hand.
Posted from: Wijint
I've just emerged from my sick bed after 36 hours of sweating, stomach cramps and violent diarrhoea! Some nasty little beast got into my gut and wreaked havoc. Unfortunately this is not a great place nor time to be ill.
Continue reading "Huge Catfish, Barbed Stingray and The Black Hole"
Posted from: Wijint
We got up pretty early to trek to the fishing spot. It was a bit of an epic trek! There was loads to carry: I had a basket full of leaves weighing about 20kg, which I’d strapped to my head and we had the massive Z1 camera.
Bruce prepares to take Ayahuasca
Bruce didn’t experience Ayahuasca visions this time. Find out more about the Ayahuasca vine, which has a ritual use for healing and is used by the Achuar to give visions that provide understanding and power over the self and the external world.
Watch Bruce preparing for a fishing trip with the Achuar people and attempting to spear a fish for his dinner.
Posted from: Wijint
Today we have been invited by Manto to go fishing with him and some other Achuar from the community. Zubin is so looking forward to this. He’s been wanting to catch a fish on the Amazon since we started this adventure and at every opportunity we have either been too busy filming or the boat has been travelling too fast. This scene should be great as we will be experiencing one of the Achuar’s traditional methods of community fishing so Zubin has promised us that he will be supplying the much needed food for us to eat tonight.
Today is my big day for searching for a vision. I can’t express how important it is for me to get this right. I’ve done a lot of research on this subject and I’m facing the day with mixed feelings.
Posted from: Wijint
We are here in Wijint and contacting the office is really difficult so we'll have to send all our website content when we're back in San Lorenzo...it seems impossible to send things with the transmission kit here - it takes 45 minutes for one file, which is just impossible when we're running it from a generator.
Posted from: Wijint
Well, we got here at last, but haven't had the smoothest of rides so far. The Achuar seem pretty underwhelmed to see us and so far we're having some trouble working out how to make this film.
Posted from: Wijint
We're in Wijint and having a bit of a hard time again. It took us nearly three days on boats to get here, on smaller and smaller rivers, travelling 15 hours a day and leaving before dawn to arrive after dark. We did travel through the most amazing jungle though, and I sometimes had to pinch myself to remember where I was and how lucky we all are.
Bruce meets the elders of the Achuar village to discuss the team's stay
Posted from: On the way to Wijint
I never want to see a boat again in my life. We've been on this bloody boat for three days now and still haven't got there. The river is low and strewn with fallen trees. And we damaged the propeller on the first day so progress is painfully slow.
Posted from: San Lorenzo
We're on our way to visit the Achuar people, way up near the border with Ecuador. We left Pucallpa today on a charter flight, with a very efficient Swiss gentleman called Rudolph at the controls. He wore long socks with his shorts and had a neatly shaven head, which we thought was a good sign. A lot of small planes come down in remote regions of the Amazon, so Rudolph's brisk Swiss efficiency put us at ease as we loaded up the plane.
Posted from: San Lorenzo
Aliya Ryan studied anthropology and has been working with the Achuar in the Pastaza basin for three years, as part of the Peruvian NGO Shinai. Their work focuses upon indigenous rights and capacity building, particularly on territorial rights issues. Here she describes her experience of working with the crew during their time with the Achuar in Wijint.
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Bruce Parry, presenter of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Tribe, travelled the length of the Amazon to film a major new series for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two, shown in autumn 2008. You can relive his journey online through exclusive blogs, video and much more.
