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The captain of the boat we had come in on took me to the local Ashaninka community in Puerto Ocopa in order to look for a new guide. I was looking for one that spoke the local language. After about 5 houses of “No”s we arrived at a house with a middle-aged couple and a young boy sitting outside. Ruben, the boat captain, explained what I was looking for and immediately the young boy said “I’ll do it!”. “Fantastic!” I said, amazed that I had found someone to guide me. “How old are you?”

“16.” said Elias.

Elias and I left on the boat a couple of hours later and headed back upriver. On the boat I asked Elias about his family. He explained that the couple were his uncle and aunt and that he was staying with them because his mother had been killed. “I am sorry” I said, “when was that?”

“On Wednesday.” said Elias.

I just didn’t have the fluency in Spanish to talk to Elias about this as much as I would have liked as its such a delicate subject – but it would appear that his mother had died less than a week before I met him. With a nail through the throat.

We returned to Pichari and walked well for 5 days. We passed through the main drugs area no problem (actually 4 shot guns pointed at me at one point but I never thought that they would be used) and then we started to hit Ashaninka communities. I found this quite overwhelming at first as I was the first gringo that some of them had ever seen and it took a while in each settlement to explain myself through Elias.

Eventually we got to a community, Pamakiari, that said “No”. I could not pass. The local people there were visibly frightened of my arrival.

There have been huge problems with horrendous violence in this area in the past and the Ashaninkas on the Ene suffered terribly in the hands of the Shining Path. The government at the time armed the Ashaninka with modern weapons and they fought back violently. A new threat is petrol companies that want to come and extract oil - this is already happening on other rivers in the area. On top of that the Coca invasions (colonial Peruvians taking over Indigenous lands by force or trickery) are closely linked with illegal logging and its no surprise the Ashaninkas look upon every outsider as a threat.

Elias and I had buckets of water thrown over us and I had my face painted red and we were told we had to go to the river, catch the passenger boat, and leave the community. The water was a way of turning a serious subject into a lighthearted one – the people were genuinely scared of us but they were kind and didn’t want any trouble. The only way to pass was by having a permit from CARE, an organization that I am ashamed to admit I had never heard of, that looks after the indigenous communities on the Ene.

In Pamakiari one of the Ashanikas stuck out. She was tall, about six foot, slim and white but her face was painted the same as the others and she has the local jewelry on. “Hi I’m Emily”, said Emily, the only anthropologist to be working in this area, in a plumby accent “Are you English?” she asked.

To cut a long story short Emily has helped me HUGELY and I cannot thank her enough for her help, accompanying me to the CARE offices, and filling in the gaping holes in my knowledge of the history of the Ashaninkas on the River Ene.

Today CARE and CART (the organizations that looks after the interests of Ashaninkas on the Rivers Ene and Tambo respectively) both granted me permission to continue my walk. CARE have been incredibly kind and understanding and have also given me an Ashaninka guide, Oscar, to walk with who knows the local paths and all the communities.

Tomorrow I return to where I was doused with water and continue the walk with Oscar. I am far more prepared this time and am taking gifts of medications, fishing items, and sweets for the kids.

I think, looking back, that I need to be careful to read between the lines when I ask about potential dangers downstream. The fear I felt for many days was largely unfounded I think now in the drugs areas. Perhaps the locals upstream just didn’t want me to continue as they had a vested interest in keeping the area as closed off as possible.

I am no longer scared (and I’m not just saying that!). I am officially authorised by the Ashaninkas to walk thorough and I come with gifts. I can’t wait.