River Trip on Rio Marañon in Peru

grahamfitter

Expedition Leader
Hi all,

I haven't been around here in a while but I figured some of you might be interested in seeing some pictures from a recent kayak and raft trip down the Rio Marañon in Peru. This is, by flow anyway, the primary tributary of the Amazon and is in a canyon deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon of the Colorado in the USA.

My pictures are on Picasa.

With all that going for it surprisingly this river isn't commonly paddled. We were only the sixth party to ever paddle the Marañon and our group of 20 in rafts and kayaks probably doubled the total number of people. Not surprisingly whenever we arrived at a small village in five large inflatable rafts and a swarm of kayaks we were the local curiosity. No we didn't leave any shrunken heads on poles, the folks living down there are friendly and generous and when we turned up the chicha came out!

This trip was run by the nonprofit organization Sierra Rios to bring attention to the fact that the Peruvian Government is considering damming the Marañon river in multiple places for hydroelectric plants. If this happens the consequences to the local environment and people who live downstream and depend on it will be tragic. If you're interested on finding out more about this, maybe signing a petition to voice your opposition or even joining a future trip to see this wonderful part of the world, see the Sierra Rios Marañon Page.

Cheers,
Graham
 

grahamfitter

Expedition Leader
So you probably got the message by now that I was in a group that paddled the Rio Marañon in Peru last year, to try to get some publicity about the catastrophic consequences faced by damming the river that feeds the most water into the Amazon. Paul Chapman, one of the kayakers on my trip, shot some video and published it here: http://youtu.be/cZzzBsfqQmM

If you believe, as I do, that damming this river is a bad idea, please sign a petition here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/857/771/803/stop-20-dams-planned-for-ro-maraon-the-upper-amazon/

Another thing you can do to help is to paddle the river yourself and see exactly what's at stake. You can also sign up for a future trip at the Sierra Rios web site here: http://www.sierrarios.org/

Thanks for reading and enjoy the video!

Cheers,
Graham
 

empty_set

New member
I know this is an old thread but just came across it in doing some research on the Rio maranon. We're slated for June and July. Going to view those pics. Thanks.
 

empty_set

New member
Lacey Anderson is putting the trip together and it looks like we're being outfitted by Rocky with Sierra Rios. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
 

grahamfitter

Expedition Leader
Lacey Anderson is putting the trip together and it looks like we're being outfitted by Rocky with Sierra Rios. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

You'll be in good hands and I'm sure you'll have a great time. Give Lacey a big hug from me!
 

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