Visiting a local community provided us with a chance to experience the great work Minga Perú (a nonprofit organization working to protect the environment by helping people) has been doing for over 20 years. To hear stories from women that turned their lives around and became supporters of their families and communities was very touching, and demonstrative of how far drive and access to some previously unavailable training could take you.

In the afternoon we took to our skiffs for exploring the margins of the Ucayali River, where we could readily see this is the wildest part of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. The massive trees that were all around, and less evidence of human presence, were clear signs of where we were and what we should expect in the second part of our expedition!