On the 28th of February 2001, Buck and Luciene moved to the Amazon Basin of Brazil. We lived in Macapá, right on the equator. Why would a web designer give up his career and take his family from their comfortable life in Columbus, Ohio, USA, to live on the Amazon River? We came with a vision to save the Amazon, to tell people about Jesus, and plant a Vineyard church. We have planted a church, and we are turning it over to the national leaders, heading back to the States in Sept. 2009.

 
Macapá just received a tour ship called the Astor, I believe it is German owned and operated. I worked as a tour guide, and I found it fun and challenging. I was very impressed by the level of competence and how smoothly everything went. My friend Inacio, who really put it all together and was the driving force in even getting the ship to stop here, really did a great job. He of course had lots of help from his wife, and from other tour operators from Belém and even from Rio.

Inacio has been working on getting tour ships here for two years, and we have worked together on various projects, like bird watching guides, and information on the area around here. It is nice to see it all coming together, all of his hard work is finally paying off.

There were seven busses of tourists in the morning, each with between forty and forty five people. The busses were nice and air conditioned, there was more than ample security both in uniform and out of uniform, and everything went smoothly, especially considering that this is the first time in years that we have had a tour ship stop here. As I said, I was much encouraged, and hope to see more of this in the future.

I really see tourism as a necessary step in saving the Amazon. Here in the state of Amapá, we have like 75% of our area as protected jungle, and if we can show to the government and to the people that this is a good thing for the economy, perhaps we can change the mentality of a quick profit by cutting down and selling the trees, to investing in eco hotels and areas of preservation that tourists can come and spend time in the mighty Amazon jungle.

Labels: amazon jungle, Macapa, tour guide, tourism

posted by Eduardo Buck at Tuesday, October 30, 2007