The Agersten Missionary Story
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    • Chapters 1-15 The Ministry begins: Tarma >
      • Chapter 1: Farewell to Norway
      • Chapter 2: The First Journey to Peru - 1
      • Chapter 3: The First Journey to Peru, - 2
      • Chapter 4: The Arrival in Lima
      • Chapter 5: Welcome to Tarma
      • Chapter 6: 3000 meters above sea-level - Travels around Tarma
      • Chapter 7: A New Home and Goodbye to the Lindgrens
      • Chapter 8: Daily Life - Part 1
      • Chapter 9: The Church: Casa de Oracion - part 1
      • Chapter 10: Visits to Huancayo
      • Chapter 11: Visiting new places
      • Chapter 12: The Church: Casa de Oracion Part 2
      • Chapter 13: North to Bagua
      • Chapter 14: Daily Life - Part 2
      • Chapter 15: Farewell to Tarma
    • Chapters 16-26: Exploring the Jungle from Bagua Chica >
      • Chapter 16: The Move to Bagua Chica
      • Chapter 17 Early Days in Bagua Chica
      • Chapter 18: Exploring the jungle - part 1
      • Chapter 19: Exploring the Jungle, Part 2
      • Chapter 20: Exploring the jungle - part 3
      • Chapter 21: Exploring the Jungle - Part 4
      • Chapter 22: Considering our Next Steps
      • Chapter 23: Preparing to Leave Bagua Chica
      • Chapter 24: Building a boat in Yurimaguas
      • Chapter 25: The first trip in El Sembrador
      • Chapter 26: The Last Day in Bagua
    • Chapters 27 - 35: The Work in the Jungle Begins >
      • Chapter 27: Traveling down the river to Borja
      • Chapter 28: The first mission trip in El Sembrador
      • Chapter 29: From Shoroya Cocha to the Border of Ecuador
      • Chapter 30 : Traveling the Marañon and Pataza Rivers
      • Chapter 31: Christmas in Yurimaguas
      • Chapter 32: Settling in Tigre Playa
      • Chapter 33: Building the Ministry and Building a House
      • Chapter 34: We are invited to an Awajun Tribal Village
      • Chapter 35: Returning to Norway for a Time of Rest
    • Ch 36 -49: Returning to the Jungle >
      • Chapter 36: Returning for a second season to Peru
      • Chapter 37: Raising a new church building and a miracle
      • Chapter 38: A Family Trip up the Morona River with the New Houseboat
      • Chapter 39: the Village of San Juan
      • Chapter 40: Bible Weeks and a Fishing Miracle
      • Chapter 41: Visiting some of the Awajun Tribe on the Cahuapanas River
      • Chapter 42: Unexpected Events in the Midst of Everyday Life
      • Chapter 43: Visiting Villages in Morona with the Wilhelms
      • Chapter 44: A Surprising Helicopter Landing:A sign of changes to come
      • Chapter 45: A Generator Brings Exciting Changes to our Lives in Tigre Playa
      • Chapter 46 : Another Visit to the Cahuapanas River
      • Chapter 47: Establishing Contact with Wycliffe/JAARS
      • Chapter 48: A Suspensful Visit to a Chapra Village
      • Chapter 49: Communication by Ham Radio - A Great Blessing
    • Chapters 50 - :The ministry continues >
      • Chapter 50:A Visit to the Achuar people near the Ecuador Border

Chapter 19: Exploring the Jungle, Part 2
       Through the “Pongo de Manseriche”          
AS TOLD BY JOHN AGERSTEN

DEPARTURE

The next morning after breakfast we started early on the trip that would take us further down the Marañon River to the Pinglo military base.
A large area of the jungle south of Ecuador's border is military territory due to border disputes between Ecuador and Peru. Pinglo is located on a hill where the river Santiago feeds into the Marañon. Both the Santiago river and the Morona river flow southward from Ecuador and are tributaries to the Marañon. The missionaries in Cheim were already working among the Wampis tribe that live along the Santiago and its tributaries, so I wanted to explore the areas further down the Marañon River.

It took a couple of hours to travel downstream to reach Pinglo. At the military base there, all personal documents were checked, and after a little waiting time, I was given written permission to continue on my journey. There was a lot of activity outside the military camp as well. The oil company Mobil had one of its bases for oil exploration in the district there. They were particularly interested in the area along the Santiago River. They also had a base in Borja at the bottom of the rapids, and that is where I was headed next. I was offered a ride in the oil company’s helicopter, but I declined. I had heard so much about Pongo de Manseriche rapids that I wanted to see them for myself. So instead of the helicopter ride, it was arranged by a radio message to the Borja base that the teacher I rode with to Pinglo, would take me downriver to a place just above the strongest rapids. There  he would drop me off on the bank of the river. It would be too dangerous for him to navigate through the rapids with his little boat and motor when the river was as high as it was now. From there I would walk on the banks of the river to where the rapids started calming down again, and someone from Borja would come and pick me up from there. 
Picture
. Pongo de Manseriche
​

Where the Santiago river flows into the Marañon, a small lake forms before the river continues and passes through a narrow valley. The river rushes straight towards a deep and narrow gorge formed by the water over many years. It is an impressive and awe-inspiring sight. Steep rock walls rise on either side of the gorge. Trees, shrubs, and a multitude of vines hang from shelves and ledges over the river. Up to a certain height, the rocks and mountainsides look polished by the violent water masses. The water looks like it is boiling in the river. Suddenly there is a huge uprising of water where it Is being pushed up by the uneven riverbed. Then it swirls into a large whirlpool that can pull boats, cargo, and passengers to the bottom in an instant, I have heard many stories of people being lost in these rapids. There is not much danger when the water level is low, but when it is high, it is impossible to pass by boat. In fact, the military personnel in Pinglo do not allow boats to attempt the trip if the water level is above a certain level marked in the rock by the base. Today the water level was just a bit below this mark.
I was dropped off at a backwater just before the rapids. I climbed up the huge boulders, grabbed my bag and sleeping bag, and said goodbye to the teacher who had brought me this far. I continued to climb down the ridge on the large rocks along the river. When I arrived at the bottom of the rapids, there was no boat there waiting for me as I had expected! I sat down on a  large rock and looked around. It was a fantastic sight! Even though it is not a long stretch of rapids, watching the violence of the water was fascinating and the noise was almost deafening. Looking up at the sides of the mountain above me, I remembered hearing about a big avalanche that had happened here a few years before. To me, it looked like it could happen again at any time. My eyes went back to the boulders at the edge of the river. I had seen something moving in the water! It was a “sungaro”, a type of huge catfish. This one looked to be close to 5 feet long and probably weighing between 100 - 120 lbs. I crawled up to a bush, cut a branch, and started whittling a spear. By the time I was finished though, the fish was gone. I sat back down on my big rock. All in all, I waited 4 hours feeling alone and a bit anxious, before finally, as it was starting to get dark, I spotted a small boat coming from downriver to pick me up. What a relief! I was very excited as I boarded and continued my journey down the river.

Picture
BORJA
We left the dark, narrow gorge behind, and watched the landscape open back up. We were now entering the county Loreto. Loreto is a huge, flat county and goes all the way to the border with Brasil. It is characterized by miles of jungles, intersected by rivers, but no roads. It is sparsely populated, and you can travel long distances without seeing a single house. There are small villages along the rivers, many populated by “mestizos” that are mostly descendants of the Quechua people who moved down from the mountains in times past. They primarily spoke Spanish now, although some of the elders still remembered their original language. There are also many tribal groups scattered in the jungles. Many of these groups live along the smaller tributaries and small lakes. We had not gone far when I could see a number of houses along the left bank and the small military base at the top of a hill. It was the village of Borja. There were no hotels or inns here, but arrangements were made for me to bed down in a warehouse behind a store.

Picture
Borja had 40-50 houses and was an older village. Most of the inhabitants were, and still are mestizos, but I was told there was an Awajun village at the mouth of a small tributary a little further down the river. A Catholic Jesuit mission settled in Borja in the century after Peru was invaded by the Spaniards. But they had been gone many years. Until 1945, there had also been a large military base here. The base was pretty much in ruins now. It was a little weird to see a great bronze statue of a general standing in the middle of the forest, overgrown with greenery and surrounded by large trees as a testimony to past glories. The statue stood where the town square used to be. 

Many of those I talked to, asked me to stay in Borja when they heard I was a missionary.The townspeople needed to hear the gospel, they said. I witnessed to several and felt that there was an open door here. There had been Catholic priests here for a few years, but they had left many years ago. Only the elders remembered the time when Mass was held regularly in the church. The church itself was in a miserable condition. The roof had collapsed and two walls were missing. The only thing left was a leaning statue of Christ without hands and a small Maria figure in a niche. I was told that someone tried to fix up the falling Christ statue a few years ago, but he was attacked by a swarm of wasps that had their nests inside one arm of the statue, so he had to flee. After that, no one else tried, and the jungle had grown over most of what was left. For a while, Borja had enjoyed a time of prosperity when the Mobil oil company constructed a base and storage areas here. Unfortunately, the alcohol vendors took advantage of the new prosperity, and the village was plagued by alcoholism. Now it was rumored that Mobil was moving out, so the inhabitants were worried about the future of their village.

Picture
From Borja to Puerto America

The next morning I got a ride on a small boat going further down the river to continue my exploration. The owner didn’t have any fuel, so we just floated with the current. The water level had dropped and the river flowed calmer, but It still went fast enough. In some places, we went past large logs that had gotten stuck to the bottom. The man skillfully steered away from the logs and stone banks with a paddle. Just before dark, we arrived at his house, and I was invited to spend the night there. The people here are very hospitable. Having a foreigner in the house was a rare treat. There were no newspapers, and only a few people had a radio, so they enjoyed the opportunity to hear news from other places. His wife served us food, and while we ate, the family gathered around us to hear what had led me to this part of the world.

Picture
Around 6:30, a loud buzzing started all around us. The mosquitos had arrived! There is an amazing amount of mosquitos here. Of course, I had brought mosquito oil to put on me, but the mosquitos bit right through our clothes. There was only one sensible thing to do; hang up the mosquito net and get in it! After hunting for some mosquitoes that had sneaked in with me, I felt victorious as I lay there well protected and listened to the buzzing of the mosquitoes outside the net. By eight o'clock, most disappear but come back at dawn. Fortunately, there are few mosquitoes out on the river during the day, but in the shade inside the forest, they thrive around the clock! There were many other strange sounds around me as I lay in this house with almost no walls. Grasshopper and insects of all kinds made their different sounds, the frogs tuned in with an incredible volume, and a number of mammals barked in the banana field behind the house. They didn’t bother me though and surrounded by these jungle sounds and the sound of the river rushing by, I fell asleep.
    I wanted to get going the next day, but the whole morning passed without a single boat passing by. Hitching a ride with passing boats is how you got around if you didn’t have your own boat. When a boat passed by you would wave from the bank with a piece of cloth, and usually, the boat would stop. If there was room, you could ride along for a small fee. Finally, at three o'clock in the afternoon, a boat came downriver and the owner responded to our waving. It was a sergeant from Pinglo who was on his way to Iquitos just over four days' journey downriver. It was an open boat, so I was glad I was not going that far. He did, however, give me a ride to the village of Puerto America which lies where the river Morona empties into the Marañon. As we got further down, the river calmed down even more and widened. The landscape was flat as a pancake. The stone banks disappeared, and here they were replaced by large sandbanks in the inner turns of the river and lots of mud. The water level was obviously fast on the way down. Puerto America seemed to be a bigger place. The name was even listed on my World Map. As darkness fell around us, I looked forward to arriving at my next destination.


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  • Home
  • About
  • Maps
  • Sections
    • Chapters 1-15 The Ministry begins: Tarma >
      • Chapter 1: Farewell to Norway
      • Chapter 2: The First Journey to Peru - 1
      • Chapter 3: The First Journey to Peru, - 2
      • Chapter 4: The Arrival in Lima
      • Chapter 5: Welcome to Tarma
      • Chapter 6: 3000 meters above sea-level - Travels around Tarma
      • Chapter 7: A New Home and Goodbye to the Lindgrens
      • Chapter 8: Daily Life - Part 1
      • Chapter 9: The Church: Casa de Oracion - part 1
      • Chapter 10: Visits to Huancayo
      • Chapter 11: Visiting new places
      • Chapter 12: The Church: Casa de Oracion Part 2
      • Chapter 13: North to Bagua
      • Chapter 14: Daily Life - Part 2
      • Chapter 15: Farewell to Tarma
    • Chapters 16-26: Exploring the Jungle from Bagua Chica >
      • Chapter 16: The Move to Bagua Chica
      • Chapter 17 Early Days in Bagua Chica
      • Chapter 18: Exploring the jungle - part 1
      • Chapter 19: Exploring the Jungle, Part 2
      • Chapter 20: Exploring the jungle - part 3
      • Chapter 21: Exploring the Jungle - Part 4
      • Chapter 22: Considering our Next Steps
      • Chapter 23: Preparing to Leave Bagua Chica
      • Chapter 24: Building a boat in Yurimaguas
      • Chapter 25: The first trip in El Sembrador
      • Chapter 26: The Last Day in Bagua
    • Chapters 27 - 35: The Work in the Jungle Begins >
      • Chapter 27: Traveling down the river to Borja
      • Chapter 28: The first mission trip in El Sembrador
      • Chapter 29: From Shoroya Cocha to the Border of Ecuador
      • Chapter 30 : Traveling the Marañon and Pataza Rivers
      • Chapter 31: Christmas in Yurimaguas
      • Chapter 32: Settling in Tigre Playa
      • Chapter 33: Building the Ministry and Building a House
      • Chapter 34: We are invited to an Awajun Tribal Village
      • Chapter 35: Returning to Norway for a Time of Rest
    • Ch 36 -49: Returning to the Jungle >
      • Chapter 36: Returning for a second season to Peru
      • Chapter 37: Raising a new church building and a miracle
      • Chapter 38: A Family Trip up the Morona River with the New Houseboat
      • Chapter 39: the Village of San Juan
      • Chapter 40: Bible Weeks and a Fishing Miracle
      • Chapter 41: Visiting some of the Awajun Tribe on the Cahuapanas River
      • Chapter 42: Unexpected Events in the Midst of Everyday Life
      • Chapter 43: Visiting Villages in Morona with the Wilhelms
      • Chapter 44: A Surprising Helicopter Landing:A sign of changes to come
      • Chapter 45: A Generator Brings Exciting Changes to our Lives in Tigre Playa
      • Chapter 46 : Another Visit to the Cahuapanas River
      • Chapter 47: Establishing Contact with Wycliffe/JAARS
      • Chapter 48: A Suspensful Visit to a Chapra Village
      • Chapter 49: Communication by Ham Radio - A Great Blessing
    • Chapters 50 - :The ministry continues >
      • Chapter 50:A Visit to the Achuar people near the Ecuador Border