It´s still a Backwater...

This is my third morning in Pto. Maldonado, and was supposed to have been the day that I started my trip upriver towards the macaws. It´s not like I hadn´t been warned that things like this could happen here. Jerome, the volunteer from France who just came down from Tambopata to renew his visa, imparted some sage advice, ¨Don´t believe them when they say yes¨ and ¨Don´t believe them when they say no either.¨ Turned out that though there was a boat leaving for Posada Amazonas today, I would still have to have waited till Sunday to get to Tambopata Research Center, where I need to be. Secondly, the permit for which I sent completed applications at least 3 months ago was not issued yet. And I can´t get up the river without the permit.

I guess it was also to have been the day that I uploaded photos from the external card reader Dave lent me. Hmmm...guess I forgot that such a thing might need some software! Not having brought it, this may turn out to be a bit of a problem unless I can find an appropriate cable for the camera.

I got confirmation that sometimes things in Peru don´t go exactly as planned when, last night, I was able to meet Don Brightsmith, the chief of this project, as he also came downriver yesterday. His comment: ¨sounds normal.¨ If the permit is issued by tomorrow, Saturday, I can go upriver on Sunday. Otherwise, I might not go up till Wednesday, or maybe later Anyhow, it´s becoming clear that six weeks of volunteering is quickly turning into five!

Oh, and at least I was able to watch a DVD of the Tambopata macaws narrated by David Attenborough.