El Rio Napo - Cargo

The section of the Napo river between Iquitos and Pantoja is serviced by 3 lanchas which each make one trip per month. Because the lanchas only depart when they are loaded with cargo this means that it is entirely possible for a communitY to see 3 lanchas in a week and no others for the remainder of the month. Therefore when the lancha does visit a community almost everyone comes out to watch the action and help offload.















Our boat had a government official onboard who carried a clipboard with a list of numbers of mothers and children in each community along the Peruvian Napo. This list determined the amount of Gloria evaporated milk rations to be offloaded at each stop.








The boy in the yellow accidently brushed up against these precariously stacked cases of beer and... dominoes. Nobody said a word but instead came over and started picking up the pieces.

Offloading bricks