Final Paper

 

Edge vs. Center: A Balancing Act

Chesapeake Semester 2011

Capt. Zachary T. Hall

 

 

 

Throughout the semester I have taken a strong interest in the idea of connectedness. It has been manifested in many different ways from realizing full context, holistic outlooks, ones investment in the environment to removal from nature itself.  It seems to be a very important theme on the Chesapeake because of its broad applicability. People’s connection to their environment determines how they interact with, manipulate and respect their landscape. For our final project we have chosen to focus on “Edges” and idea that, like connectedness, it can be applied to many different things around the bay. We not only see literal edges such as the edge of a town or the edge of a river but going along with connectedness we see that an edge is the premier metaphor for disconnection. By definition it could be “the furthest point from the center”. If we look at the bay as the center, through the lens of connectedness, the edge is not a good place to be. Herein lays a problem. There are plenty of things that make our bay special; one that is particularly special is the traditional watermen’s culture. These men (and women) devote their lives to the bay. It gives them their livelihood. But we see that many aspects of this way of life are on the edge of extinction. Choices that people make, due to their connection, or lack thereof, to the bay affect these people and their way of life. They are pushing them closer to the edge. It’s paradoxical to think about. People who are on the edge, due to their decisions and investment in the bay, are pulling people who are very much in the center, connected to the bay, drawing life from it, to the edge.   This sets up the stage for my focus in the final project and that is the destruction of these traditional cultures because of sea level rise.

Sea level rise is a very real problem that we face not only in the Chesapeake Bay, but all over the world. This like many other problems in our world today is directly attributable to global warming. As the our climate rises various things happen to affect the seas, such as mountain glaciers and polar ice caps melting  causing more water to enter the ocean and the expansion of water currently in the ocean. Climate change is attributed to a much larger global problem that is pollution and high CO2 emissions from things such as cars and factories. Problems that we face on the Chesapeake are inundation, or sea levels rising so high that land is subsiding.  As previously mentioned many people make their living on the bay and live in small coastal communities throughout the area. These communities some of which have been around for centuries, are places where our traditional watermen/bay culture survive to this day. Smith and Tangier islands are excellent examples of two very small communities that still live and work on and around the water all while preserving what we and thousands of tourists consider “traditional bay culture” . These islands are also in a great amount of danger of being consumed by the rising sea levels. In fact, it would take only a one meter rise in sea level to completely wipe out these two islands. Considering that we are expecting a two foot (and growing) rise in sea levels in the next one hundred years, we are not looking at a lot of time. The main problem we see with this land subsiding, aside from the obvious loss of land, is that these people are going to have to move. While this sounds like a fairly “normal” problem we must not forget about the culture and the ties these people have to their landscape. If these people must move off of their island there would be a chance that they might not work on the water anymore and that could ultimately lead to a loss of this traditional culture. These people have an enormous “sense of place” on these islands and without them they would not be the same. When we spoke to Mrs. Dora Corbin at the Smith Island Crab Co-Op, she mentioned that even now, when the island is still in relative safety, people are already making the move to the main land and getting other jobs.  This being considered, we can only imagine what would happen if the whole island went under water. I would bet that we would see a huge lapse in watermen and their culture.

But it all comes full circle; this focus on sea level rise and extinction of culture can be broadened back out to the large concept of edges and connectedness.  The problem is caused by pollution; pollution is caused by those people who are removed from the environment. But with that being said, these people who are on the edge, removed for the environment, are not being malicious necessarily. They aren’t trying to hurt the environment directly, but their removal from, their disconnection, allows them to “put the blinders on” and they may not directly see the impact of their decisions. Their disconnection is a poor excuse for their wrong doing but none the less since they do not see the direct impacts of the problems they keep doing it. These people are on the edge and they are driving the people and their cultures, which are in the center, closer to the edge, closer to the edge of extinction.

While these people on the edge are most certainly impacting the bay, since having visited Smith Island I am also now aware of some of the other problems at work. People on Smith Island don’t seem to be too concerned with sea level rise, land loss and problems of that sort. They all agree that the island is in danger but they see the most immediate cause of loss of culture, loss of sense of place, being that the younger generations are moving to the main land in search of jobs. They argue that life as a waterman is hard these bays and that is the biggest threat to their culture.

Where do the solutions lie? Obviously things such as proper planning and management of the issues that are causing the pollution could curb the climate change problem. Or something like a dyking system or wall to combat the sea level rise. I think the answer lies in the notion of connectedness. People who are living on the edge of their environment need to make an attempt to find the center. In that I mean realize that their actions might people outside of their scope.  Connectedness and this edge notion have deeper roots than just living on or working around the bay. Sure, something like that would definitely allow you to be more connected to your landscape, but it also means having an understanding of your impact on an area regardless of distance. If people who are polluting the bay realized, or better yet witnessed, the damage they are doing they might have more of an investment in the area and stop doing it. The actions of those on the edge are pulling traditional watermen cultures closer to the edge of extinction. We need to work on having everyone move towards the center to have a better, healthier, more sustainable, persevered bay. While moving towards the center is a goal that I think we need to start moving towards, Thoreau brings an interesting perspective on the edge/center confliction. In his essay, “Walking” , he discusses the “relationship between civilization and wilderness”. This parallels the edge and center. He says that man should not fully reject civilization or fully embrace nature, instead find a middle ground or “the pastoral realm that integrates both nature and civilization” (Thoreau). This to me defines what I have personally learned and experienced during the semester.  I have learned that nothing about the bay is black or white, nothing is stand alone. You won’t get anywhere without seeing the whole picture.  This idea of being able to integrate both nature and civilization is the ultimate form of being in the center. It means that a person has successfully been able to understand the complexity of bay from multiple angles and is able to see how their actions affect not only the water quality or the people but also the culture and the ecosystems.  The notion of being in the center can be tricky to interpret. Up until this point, it would seem that a person in the center would have to be completely immersed in nature. But as Thoreau suggests this could lead to inflexibility.  I have seen, particularly with some people’s political views, that when you are too immersed in something whether it be an idea, belief culture or anything that you become very set in your ways and you vision and insight may become clouded. If someone was completely “centered” they may not be able to see some of the good things that these “edge” people do like provide power (that everyone needs) or gives us the ability to flush toilets. In this day and age it would be impossible or highly irrational to live out in the wilderness because you hate civilization. It’s just not that simple. We depend on a lot of these necessary evils in the world that are provided by the “edge” people.  I think the answer to a lot of problems lie within these thoughts. We need to be able to bridge the gap between edge and centers not destroy it. It’s taken me a while to come to this conclusion but in hindsight it seems so simple. We are at a point where the bay isn’t very healthy. It used to be better, and we know that, and a lot of talk is how we can restore the bay back to how it was. This is a great goal but at the same time I think it is a bit unrealistic. We need to understand the problems at hand and start working towards living with them. I think it was agreed throughout my interviews that I conducted that solutions lie in learning how to adapt to sea level rise, or how to live with the problem, I think this holds true for the whole bay. Living with these issues is exactly what Thoreau would want to see. He would not want us to be completely on one side of the problem, but rather in the middle using our knowledge of both to achieve our end goal. This is what it means to be in the center.

Chesapeake Semester has opened me up many new things. It has allowed me to see the bay from both sides as an edge person and a center person. Someone in the forum asked if after it was all said and done if we are more or less optimistic that the bay will be ok. I told him that there is definitely some good in “ignorance is bliss” but I am glad that I am seeing the “errors of my ways”. I’ve learned that acting one way, in regards to the bay, can be both a good thing and a bad thing depending on who is looking at it. Wendell Berry saw this in his “Marginal Farm” essay. He discussed how that even though you love something, like a piece of land or the bay, things you do may be “problematic.” (Berry)  You love the bay, but you have to drive to work. You’re polluting the bay but you have to go to work.  Here lies a problem.  This is where the balance comes into play. You need to have balance. Think about our intersections, they all work together with balance. But again, it comes full circle. The balancing act we see between the center and edge is connectedness. Being connected to the bay on all levels is the ultimate goal, and I think that with an inquisitive mind, discerning ear, critical eye and of course a clairvoyant nose this goal is very achievable.

  

 

Berry, Wendell. The Gift Of Good Land, Further Essays Cultural And Agricultural. Counterpoint Press, 2011. Print.

Thoreau, Henry David. “The Art of Walking.” Henry David Thoreau Online. N.p., 2011. Web. 14 Dec 2011. <http://www.thoreau-online.org/walking.html>.

 

Stalking 4

Zach Hall

Stalking 4 – Final Project Rough Draft

 

Throughout the semester I have taken a strong interest in the idea of connectedness. It has been manifested in many different ways from realizing full context, holistic outlooks, ones investment in the environment to removal from nature itself.  It seems to be a very important theme on the Chesapeake because of its broad applicability. People’s connection to their environment determines how they interact with, manipulate and respect their landscape. For our final project we have chosen to focus on Edges and idea that like connectedness can be applied to many different things in the bay. We not only see literal edges such as the edge of a town or the edge of a river bur going along with connectedness we see that an edge is the premier metaphor for disconnection. By definition it could be “the furthest point from the center”. If we look at the bay as the center, through the lens of connectedness the edge is not a good place to be. Herein lays a problem. There are plenty of things that make our bay special; one that is particularly special is the traditional waterman’s culture. These men devote their lives to the bay. It gives them their livelihood. But we see that many aspects of this way of life are on the edge of extinction. Choices that people make, due to their connection, or lack thereof, to the bay affect these people and their way of life. They are pushing them closer to the edge. It’s paradoxical to think about. People who are on the edge, due to their decisions and investment in the bay, are pulling people who are very much in the center, connected to the bay, drawing life from it, to the edge.   This sets up the stage for my focus in the final project and that is the destruction of these traditional cultures because of sea level rise.

Sea level rise is a very real problem that we face not only in the Chesapeake Bay, but all over the world. This like many other problems in our world today is directly attributable to global warming. As the our climate rises various things happen to affect the seas, such as mountain glaciers and polar ice caps melting  causing more water to enter the ocean and the expansion of water currently in the ocean. Climate change is attributed to a much larger global problem that is pollution and high CO2 emissions from things such as cars and factories. Problems that we face on the Chesapeake are inundation, or sea levels rising so high that land is subsiding.  As previously mentioned many people make their living on the bay and live in small coastal communities throughout the area. These communities some of which have been around for centuries, are places where our traditional watermen/bay culture survive to this day. Smith and Tangier island(s) are excellent examples of two very small communities that still live and work on and around their water all while preserving what we and thousands of tourists consider “traditional bay culture” . These islands are also in a great amount of danger of being consumed by the rising sea levels. In fact, it would take only a one meter rise in sea level to completely wipe out these two islands. Considering that we are expecting a two foot (and growing) rise in sea levels in the next one hundred years, we are not looking at a lot of time. The main problem we see with this land subsiding, aside from the obvious loss of land, is that these people are going to have to move. While this sounds like a fairly “normal” problem we must not forget about the culture and the ties these people have to their landscape. If these people must move off of their island there would be a chance that they might not work on the water anymore and that could ultimately lead to a loss of this traditional culture. When we spoke to Mrs. Dora Corbin at the Smith Island Crab Co-Op, she mentioned that even now, when the island is still in relative safety, people are already making the move to the main land and getting other jobs.  This being considered we can only imagine what would happen if the whole island went under water. I would bet that we would see a huge lapse in watermen and their culture.

But it all comes full circle; this focus on sea level rise and extinction of culture can be broadened back out to the large concept of edges and connectedness.  The problem is caused by pollution; pollution is caused by those people who are removed from the environment. But with that being said, these people who are on the edge, removed for the environment are not being malicious necessarily, that is they aren’t trying to hurt the environment directly, but their removal from, their disconnection allows them to “put the blinders on” and they may not directly see the impact of their decisions. Their disconnection is a poor excuse for their wrong doing but none the less since they do not see the direct impacts of the problems they keep doing it. These people are on the edge and they are driving the people and their cultures, which are in the center, closer to the edge, closer to the edge of extinction.

Where do the solutions lie? Obviously things such as proper planning and management of the issues that are causing the pollution could curb the climate change problem. Or something like a dyking system or wall to combat the sea level rise. I think the answer lies in the notion of connectedness. People who are living on the edge of their environment need to make an attempt to find the center. In that I mean realize that their actions might people outside of their scope.  Connectedness and this edge notion have deeper roots than just living on or working around the bay. Sure, something like that would definitely allow you to be more connected to your landscape, but it also means having an understanding of your impact on an area regardless of distance. If people who are polluting the bay realized, or better yet witnessed, the damage they are doing they might have more of an investment in the area and stop doing it. The actions of those on the edge are pulling traditional watermen cultures closer to the edge of extinction. We need to work on having everyone move towards the center to have a better, healthier, more sustainable, persevered bay.

Soundscape 4 Lima

Soundscape 4 Lima

Up on the roof we are being hit with a multitude of sounds. These consist of mostly running diesel engines, car horns and the duff ing of people. The mix of idle engines and that of revving engines demonstrates to us that we have a varying degree of traffic movement in front of our hotel this evening. Every so often the mechanical constant drone of the evening is interrupted by screeching tires. Someone is in a hurry. Or the sounds of the elevator bringing people up and down. Or an ambulance, the bane of natural selection. These are the sounds that define our urban world. Our developed world. These sounds are perhaps the most different form those others we have heard. These are the sounds of people who have already acted on their environment and who, seemingly, live on the edge of what we think and value as natural.

Machu Picchu blog science/belief

Machu Picchu blog Science/Belief

Machu Picchu is considered one of the most amazing places in the world, in fact it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is a massive expanse of ruins that demonstrates the Incans power, control and understanding of this land. We discussed that this place was once possibly a residence for some kind of nobility and a place where supernatural reciprocal worship toke place. The architecture was evidence to this, we saw that the amazing craftsmanship was top shelf and only fit for a king or perhaps the divine. Many of the features we saw at Machu Picchu had a direct correlation and purpose concerning astronomy and the local geology, both of which the Incan’s revered as highly sacred. Through the use of what was at the time revolutionary science, the Incans were able to incorporate their spirituality into their architecture and their everyday lives.

The Incans at Machu Picchu, and Incans in general had scared places they called apus. An apu could be anything that they deemed scared and they would in a sense worship these places and viewed them as a divine…

At this point in my blog I had stopped to ask Dr. Lampman and Dr. Seidel about my views as Machu Picchu as a spiritual place and I apparently had warped it a bit. They explained that concerning science and belief Machu Picchu can be though more of as a summer home for the Inca, or the ruler of the Incan people and the important take away is the interaction the Incans had with and how they viewed their landscape. They saw it as something that gave them life and something to which they owed a great deal. This is why they went through such great measures to include this landscape into their architecture, so that they are in constant connection with their world around them. A term that keeps coming up is reciprocity. The landscape gave them life and they gave back to it in the form of sacrifice and reverence.

I think that this outlook on a persons local landscape is not only important but very goo to have. Obviously the Incans saw that the world around them had the resources for them to live and for that they respected their landscape very much. This is not to say they didn’t change or alter the landscape by not developing on it, but they held it in high esteem and I think that is something we are missing on the Chesapeake. People who live and work on the water and land around the bay generally do not have this type of reverence for the landscape. A big example for us in overfishing, people see that a resource is being depleted but they still are harvesting. Where is the reciprocity in that. What are we giving back? The Incans had the ability to live in harmony and use some science to create a civilization that is one with their landscape. You would think that with all the science we have around the bay we could be able to do the same. #lessonsfromthepast

Connection with Chesapeake 2 Preservation of Knowledge and Resources from Extiction

Connection to Chesapeake 2 Preservation of Knowledge and Resources from Extiction

Throughout this journey I have seen many examples of local cultures and areas making great attempts to preserve their traditional Knowledge, cultures and resources from extinction. I think that these are not only to persevere these local ways for personal or economic gain, or tourism but out of fear of permanent loss and allowing subsequent generations to carry on these traditions. I have previously spoken of people’s investment in a particular area, culture or resource. By this I meant that people depending on their connection or relation to something have a certain amount of mental investment in it, wether it be sentimental, intrinsic, visual etc. Generally speaking the closer you are to or the more experience you have with something, the more invested you would be in it’s preservation.

In Peru I have seen several examples of this and how that people in traditional cultures or areas of land in the Amazon, or even types of potatoes ,all on the edge of extinction, are sharing their ways and knowledge with others in attempt to demonstrate the importance of the subject and the need for respect and preservation. Allowing people to experience these things first hand through tours, demonstrations and in some cases participation we tend to see more investment in the subject. I think we see this somewhat on the Chesapeake. Immediately I think of places like the maritime museums. The se organizations work hard to show people multiple facets of life on the bay and hopefully demonstrate and educate them on the importance of saving the bay and bay life.

Two things I have notice that are different about this type of preservation education here in Peru compared to the bay boil down the people involved. That is, both the educators and the “investors”. The first major difference I have seen is who the information is targeted to. I feel that on the bay a great deal of the save the save bay stuff is directed at or at least digestible by children. I think that this is a smart move, children are the future and if anyone is going to make a difference chances are that it will not come overnight, but in subsequent generations. Children also, get excited easily about things so they will immediately have a very high investment. From what I have seen Peru had geared most of its presentations toward adults. I only say this because I think that they are more concerned up front about educating visitors. But it should be note that many of the children in traditional cultures start participating in said cultures at a very young age, but they may not be taught the importance of what their learning from a cultural preservation standpoint.

The other major contrast I saw was who was involved in the education of people. In the Chesapeake I think that we use many vessels of information to share our knowledge and culture as well as the message saying we need to save the bay. These vessels are organizations such as the river keepers or Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The work they do is good but I think in peru the messages are stronger coming from the people who are actively participating and sometimes dependent on these subjects. It again makes for a bigger investment. It’s is almost similar to those commercials on tv that have starving children in Africa, by putting a face to the problem you are more inclined to help. But concerning this, I think it goes back to an earlier subject of connectedness, majority of people who live on the bay are somewhat removed from it because not all of us are actively dependent or participating on the bay. So regarding that the vessel organizations are necessary.

In both cases we see the need for this kind of preservation education to prevent the knowledge and cultures we love and depend on from going extinct and living on to subsequent generations.

Connection to Chesapeake 1 Climate change

Connection to Chesapeake 1 climate change

My final project focuses on how climate change effects cultural loss on the Chesapeake bay. As the climate changes and gets warmer we are seeking that the se level are rising which could potentially inundate some traditional waterman communities which could lead to a loss of this way of life. Climate change is a problem that the whole world has to face, not only just the Chesapeake. This fact has been particularly relevant in Peru where we have seen several examples of how climate change could potentially bring about similar problems.

One example of these problem lies in the fact that Peru is a coastal country and much like the Chesapeake need to take sea level rise into account. Jorge Bentin gave us a lecture in Lima about climate change and mentioned that se level rise could potentially affect the lands fertility by changing the areas of land that are fertile and visa versa. He said that while some areas will become less fertile others will become more fertile, while this is rational and the amount of crops yielded will be the same it must be remembered that these changes may affect people very greatly and completely disrupt their ways of life. This parallels the Chesapeake very well, we too see that people are having to adapt and change to meet their needs in the rising tide. and in doing so may lead to the loss of their previous way of life, eventually leading to loss of our traditional waterman culture.

Another example we came across was how the potato crop was being shifted upwards,to higher altitudes, because the rise in temperature do to climate change. These potatoes historically grown at a certain altitude are moving upwards and taking the people who harvest them with them. These people are again being displaces and having to adapt to a completely new way of life all because the climate is changing. I am hard pressed to think of. A situation this currently parallels in the Chesapeake but, I think it goes without saying that it could definitely be a problem in our future given the great number of resources we have and how the change in climate may affect their world and then as result maybe ours.

I think it is important to take a global perspective on this issue because climate change is a problem that we are facing on a a global scale. It is going to take cooperation and understanding of other places in order to think about ways of abating this problem.

Parque de la papa blog modern/traditional

Parque de la papa blog modern/traditional

Like many aspects of this trip we have seen an exchange of knowledge and preservation of culture through local people or organizations sharing with the public. In Parque de la papa or potato valley, we saw an interesting mix of traditional people, harvesting traditionally grown potatoes , using traditional methods. The not only do this to educate the world on their ways of life but also to promote the preservation of these types of potatoes for subsequent generations as well as how they are harvested.

People from all over can now come and experience first hand the type of work being done here through various tours and even staying and “being adopted” by a family and with them in the field growing and harvesting potatoes. This type of approach in cultural preservation is very fresh and I think holds alot of potential for gaining peoples respect and willing to become involved. I keep bringing up the fact that people need to experience something first hand in order to really be invested into it and I think that the work being done at potato valley is just that. The most reinforcing aspect of it for ke was seeing the workers in the fields then being treated to got a snack and a full lunch made up of traditional foods , mostly potatoes, from the area.

The work being done here, in the sense that traditional cultures are being brought to the attention of modern minds, with hopes of preservation is very similar to the work that the waterman are doing with their ecotourism and taking out people on their boats explaining the work they do. People in this instance are able to get a feel for the work and see it’s cultural importance and hear it from the mouth of one of the practitioners. It is a great fusion of the old ways and how,they are attempting to make a transition to the modern world without changing too much.

At the time of writing this I am really starting to see a theme in this trip in that understanding and need for preservation of something cannot be truly realized without experiencing it first hand. I can honestly say that I am going to look at things that affect these people’s and these cultures differently now, having since been here.

Cuzco and it’s environs local/global

Cuzco blog local/global

Cuzco has by far been my favorite place we have visited so far. Eve from the air it looked amazing. I am completely astonished by the look and feel of this ancient city, despite it’s great tourist attraction it still has it’s characteristic look that is built on Incan foundation (some of which are visible under current building’s foundations).

I am very interested in how Cuzco caters to both local Andean people and the world who come and visit. It must be said that historically this place has a lot to offer. Cuzco houses some of the finest examples of Incan ruins in the world. They are both technically amazing, and beautiful. This can be a major attraction for tourists and is but what does this global market for tourism do for the local population. I think it does both some good and some bad.

Firstly, I think that without the tourism here in Cuzco we would not see nearly as much modernity, the industry has helped to create stable economic base that I am sure many people depend on. I think that without this we would see a landscape and social network like that of the Andean villages outside of town. These villages are not bad but I am tempted to question the quality of life these people have.

The local people here are amazing they are wise in local ways and have adapted very well to life in the Andes. The are also immensely spiritual. While they are mostly catholic they still believe very heavily in the local spirits just as the Incans did hundreds of years before. This could potentially bring forth a conflict. The local people here have deep ties to their landscape, the same landscape that brings forth tourism. I am curious to what weighs for heavily on the people, their faith and devotion to the landscape and it’s preservation or the economic gains they see from the tourism. Hypothesizing, I think that the local people are accepting of the tourists but mostly go to great lengths to preserve their local culture. Tourism does not have to be a bad thing, as I have said before, it can be a good thing that brings certain things to people’s attention and perhaps gives them an investment in the area or thing they’re visiting. I think that the tourism, overall, is a good thing and I know that I have learned and since being here and seeing it have now have an investment in this land and it’s preservation.

Soundscape 3 amazon

Soundscape 3 amazon

Perhaps my most intriguing soundscape yet. I listened closely around 8 am at the parrot clay lick or a popular feeding place for parrots. Not only was I surrounded by beautiful scenery but I head able to hear a great deal. We had several species of birds calling in the morning almost in perfect harmony. I am sure this was unintentional, but the sounds sounds I encountered were the most musical yet. The consent drone of the insects added an interesting percussive background fill throughout the jungle. At time there was great dissonance between all species. But contrary to, perhaps, contemporary ears this was not a bad dissonance and if anything made the soundscape even better. The massive amounts of different sounds really helped to reinforce the our notions of the jungle as a place with a great deal of diversity .

Amazon Tombopota bridges/barrier

Amazon/tambopata blog bridges and barriers

Upon spending 3 incredible days in the Tambopata reserve and the amazon basin I have both learned and experienced a lot. We spent our days exploring the jungle or la selva under the guidance of And care of the people with expedition amazon. Expedition amazon and it’s concepts having a saying that nature is their passion and people are their commitment. I really felt that this was true. The amazon, as we discussed, is sometimes thought of as a scary place, a distant place that to some in our culture is incomprehensible. The amazon is also thought of a place as a place that is in great turmoil and is being destroyed. A place in constant need of rescue.

The people who we worked with during our time there have done an amazing job of bridging the gap between everyday people and the amazon experience. People from all over come and get to learn and experience how naturally beautiful the area is and how that the reserve at tambopota is helping to keep it that way.

I think that more work like this should be done as it is important for people to have some kind of, even if it is a 3 day vacation, connection to the natal world around them. This is especially true in the Chesapeake. I have periously talked about the disconnection some people have from the bay they affect and how that if they could only experience it, as we have the amazon, they might be more invested in trying to do their part. We often view these ecosystem as barriers or things hard to overcome or conceive. Maybe do to with volume or removal from, but we need remember that they are every bit as important as you’re own backyard, and for some it may be your own backyard, even if you don’t know it. We need to seek out these bridge, like amazon expeditions, and break down the barriers in front of us so that these natural resources will be around for many years to come.

In closing, I had an amazing time in the jungle. I learned a lot, saw aloft, and tried new things. I strongly urge anyone who had the power to seek out a service like this one and learn about our natural world. Keep it up amazon expeditions.