Amazon Updates
25 September 2001
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This morning we visited the largest saw mill in the town
of Jutai. Although the manager of the mill said that the wood
comes from their forest management plan area, it is not possible
since the area is another 200 kilometres down river, so all
of the wood is probably illegal. |
Most of the sawn wood they produce is consumed locally and a
small portion is sent down river to Manaus.
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The coordinators of the reserve we visited yesterday said
they saw two large log rafts go down river past their villages
this year. Most likely these rafts ended up in saw mills
like this one in Jutai. Marcelo, our Amazon campaigner on
board, talked with the mill manager and told him that it
is important to work with the communities on the reserve
who can supply wood that is harvested in an ecological manner.
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The mill manager said that he wants only to work and he is not
a bad guy. He said that it is very difficult to run a completely
legal operation. It is a small operation, but it is typical of
the small operations in the Amazon. Some of the illegal wood may
come from the reserve area or indigineous lands near by, and is
but one more reason in support of the need for a protected reserve.
We also had an open boat all day for people of Jutai to
visit the ship, find out more about Greenpeace and the Amazon
campaign. Our visitors were mostly children, with classes
from the school arriving every half an hour. Some children
came to visit a few times, others didn't leave all day. |
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They were all over the ship like ants on a floating leaf in the
flooded forest. Many children paddled out in dug out canoes, I
think some even swam out to the ship. They climbed over every
inch of the ship, from stem to stern, up the painting lines and
on top of the bridge, peeking in every window along the way.
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By afternoon they were diving off of zodiacs, even off the
bow. This made some of us very nervous, but the children here
are like fish. The river is part of their lives, and swimming
is as natural to them as walking. |
One young girl from one of the classes tried to speak with me
and we quickly established that I don't speak very much Portuguese
and she doesn't speak very much English. Then she said a few words
to me in English and I replied with a few words of Portuguese.
She was very excited that I had understood her. She tried to speak
a few more words of English and again when I understood, her and
her friend were very excited. The next thing I knew she had out
her notebook and I was helping her with her English homework.
A few hundred children came through the ship during the
day and their curiosity and playfulness was completely contagious.
Luca, Sandra and Luciana borrowed one of the dug out canoes
from the children and paddled around the harbour, Wally swam
to shore and Sandra was diving off the zodiac backwards with
the rest of the children. |
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As the last boats of children were leaving, many grey and
pink river dolphins appeared around the boat, some jumping
out of the water. I still can't help but laugh when I see
a pink river dolphin. They really are very pink, and it is
no wonder we don't often see them jumping from the water,
they must be slightly embarrassed about their appearance.
Even pink, they are an incredible sight to see, but very difficult
to get a photo of. |
By late in the afternoon, after all of the children went back
to shore, the temptation was too much and almost all of the crew
was in the water, swinging off the painting ropes, diving off
the bow, doing all the things we had nervously watched the children
doing earlier in the day.
Some of the children on shore saw us swimming and came out in
their canoe. I few of us grabbed onto the canoe when it appeared,
and we quickly learnt it wouldn't take much more weight than the
children as it filled up with water. Luckily it would still float
and the children have a very simple method of rocking the boat
back and forth to get the water out.
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The children stayed and swam with us for a little while
before heading back to shore. The water temperature was
perfect and we played like children in the water until sunset
and it was time to go in for dinner.
Tracy
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Photograph
by Captain Pete of some of his motley crew. |
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