How the Amazonian Pink river dolphin inspired the creation of Tierravida, on yarina cocha lake.

In 2003 I organized my first guided river trip on the amazon river. After apprenticing with a Master maine guide, helping him on the Allgash river, Saint John river and remote lakes, I was inspired to begin guiding on the amazon river. I visited many areas of the amazon region of peru, meeting many different jungle guides. The maine guide i apprenticed with was part of a lineage and teachings of the micmac native americans, so i was called to areas that had alot of native american culture. This school was called Earthways school of wildneress living. i participated in not only river guiding trips, but philosophy and shamanism. so when i came to the amazon to see who to help me guide trips, i chose a guide that would take us deep into native shipibo territory on the ucayali river in his homemade riverboat. On our expedition we would sleep in a huge mosquito net, open to the moon and starts on the beaches of the ucayali. it was septmeber and the beaches were large, but the river was growing. As the river was growing, the pink river dolphins were very happy. Jumping our of the water, and coming close to our beach where our mosquito net was. Along our journey we cooked our own ayahuasca from plants we harvested along the way. one night we had ceremony in our mosquito net on the big beautiful beach of the ucayali river. it was a full moon and the mosquito net was open to the moon and stars. all throughout the ceremony the pink river dolphins were beaching themselves on the sand, and then throwing themselves back onto the water again, so very close to us. it was like they were coming out of the water to walk on the land and speak to us. As the ceremony was ending, i entered into a space where the moon was at the center of my heart, and he dolphins began to swim there,accross the moon that was inside my heart, i could feel them physically. they began to speak so many things through feelings. In the morning it seems others had also heard the dolphins speaking. and heard them so close to us. in the morning i was talking to our guide with the other visitors, about land i wanted to buy in maine, but now i couldnt afford it. he then mentioned this land for sale near his house on yarina cocha lake. when we arrived at our destination in iquitos, after our retreat at kapitari, i returned to nueva luz to continue with this vision of purchasing land in the amazon. one freind joined me for a while. Later on another year, with 4 of us, 3 from maine and my shipiba girlfreind, soon to be mother of my children, we thought of the name, the earth is alive. Tierravida. Inspired from the organic farming movement in maine, the abundance of the land along the banks of yarina cocha lake, and the Amazonian pink river dolphin.