A real story based on the four official Bolivian expeditions (2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005) organized and completed by Pablo Cingolani with objective to find the source of the Heath River and to discover the existence of the Toromonas. The story continues the search in an unexplored region at the borders of Bolivia and Peru to locate the source of the Heath River, a duty that was left incomplete by the legendary British explorer Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett during his boundary delimitation work in the territory between 1906 and 1920. The members of the expedition also continued the search for the lost Norwegian biologist Lars who mysteriously disappeared in the Colorado territory while he was in search of the tribe of Toromonas that is still one of the Bolivia's ethnographic enigmas.

Expedition Madidi-Apolobamba 2000-Tras los pasos de Percy Harrison Fawcett

Searching the western source of the Heath River

Expedition Madidi XXI-In the footsteps of Colonel Fawcett (2001)

Second expedition - Run from August 1^st to August 20 of 2001

The success of the expedition Madidi XXI

The story of the health team - An urgent health campaign

The mystery of Lars's disappearance

Expedition Madidi III-Santos Pariamo/Rap Mosojhuaico (2003)

Objectives of this Expedition

Expedition Madidi IV (2005)

Pablo Cingolani, Executive director and leader of the official Bolivian expeditions

Pablo Cingolani at Apacheta of Sanchez (Expedition Madidi 2004)

The main objectives of the expedition (EAM2000) was to reach the western source of the Heath River located to the southwest of the Iturralde Province in the Department of La Paz, to follow the course of the Heath River in its totality and complete it with the arrival to its sources and to constitute the boundary with Peru according to the Treaty on Borders signed between the two countries on the 17^th of September of 1909.

This geographic objective was connected with the historic one to recreate the route made in 1911 by the British Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, distinguished Fellow and gold Medallist of the Royal Geographical Society, who worked for the Bolivian Government in demarcation of the borders with Peru.

The entire story of the Bolivian Expeditions was dramatized in the same territories and brings back into our memory those first two decades of our last century when the country’s borders on the Peruvian and Brazilian sides were undefined or when great Bolivian families were joining their powers with the Europeans to build their empires more successfully and powerfully. Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett combined at the same period his explorations with the country’s rubber industry since he had visited the house of the Zaballa’s family, referred to his book "Exploration Fawcett" as the Swiss-German, when he was in Riberalta.

Carlos Franck’s house as it exists today in down Queara's community. The house, whose proprietor Carlos Franck lodged the British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett during his trips by the zone in 1910-11 was included in their plan and they had visited it during their stay in Pelechuco and Queara.                                                                     Photo by Jose Miranda

The first expedition’s name was “Apolobamba - Madidi 2000, Tras Los Pasos de Percy Harrison Fawcett” and was organized by the Ministry of the Sustainable Development Department of the Republic of Bolivia, the Government of La Paz's State, and the office in charge of the National Parks with intention to inform the people about the biodiversity, protection of the environment, environmental education and also to cover

-          Geographically the Heath River from its fountains to the top (Puerto Heath),

-          Historically to recreate Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett's Fifth Expedition routing in 1911 to the Roof of the World in remembrance of his actions and

-          Scientifically to recognize and register the animals and the plants of this territory (species of flora and fauna of the region included within the two National Parks of Bolivia, the Madidi National Park and the Parque Nacional Apolobamba).

The expedition followed the exact routing of Colonel Fawcett's Fifth Expedition with the purpose to continue further along the Heath River up to Puerto Heath near the Bolivian-Peruvian frontiers with intention to localize its source. However, the EAM2000 approached the central objective arriving at Puerto San Fermin, the Bolivian community located near the western frontiers with Peru and the most isolated area of the National Territory fulfilling two of the four anticipated stages of the initial plan.

Expedition Madidi XXI – In the footsteps of Colonel Fawcett

Second expedition - Run from August 1^st to August 20 of 2001

The second expedition “Madidi XXI”, sponsored by the National Service of Protected Areas (SERNAP) and coordinated by the Ministry of Health and Social Forecast, the Vice-Ministry of Micro Company, and the Foundation II Centennial, had been originally divided into three sub-stories resulted from the clues and evidences that came up from the first expedition. These sub-stories were

-          The disappearance of the Norwegian biologist Lars Hafskjold in the Rio Colorado region while he was in search of the ethnic group of Toromonas,

-          The Bolivian Health Campaign to help saving the lives of natives who live in some villages in an unexplored territory within the Madidi National Park and

-          The continuation of the first expedition in localizing the west fountain of the Heath River, a duty that was left incomplete by Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett during his explorations and boundary delimitation work in Bolivia.

Although Colonel Fawcett had made plans in 1910 and in 1911 to arrive at the source of the Heath River, he could not reach that objective and since then none expedition had ever gone there. As for the authorities of the National Park, the region between ‘Landmark 27’ (Rio Colorado) to the opening of Enagewa River in the Heath is considered as “Not Known Sector” and presumes the existence in the zone of ethnic groups in natural state. Topography roughness and the closed rainforest make the access very difficult.

Guzman Jove while rafting in the mighty Tambopata

The Expedition Madidi XXI did set out to fulfill that forgotten objective and they counted on it with the aid of GPS (Geographical Position System) to find the course of their steps since the forest has devoured all vestiges of footpaths and with a satellite telephone to inform the world of their progress. Their original plan was to accede the Peruvian territory, to arrive at the Bolivian community of San Fermin, and sailing down the Tambopata, to look for the sources of the Heath River following the course of the stream to San Carlos by a very rough land with summits that surpass the 1700 meters of altitude and plenty of lush vegetation.

Left to right: Rolando Ala, Sixto Tito, Pedro Aramayo and Guzman Jove. This team arrived 40 kilometers from the west fountain of the Heath River.

After reaching that landmark, they would sail all along the Colorado River, from its confluence with the Tambopata to its eastern part, towards the course of the Tuichi River, looking for indications of the Toromonas tribe and the lost agronomist and Norwegian biologist Lars and finally to arrive at the community of Asariamas and continue to the town of Apolo where they should close the passage.

The success of the expedition Madidi XXI

They faced some difficulties near the Tambopata River with an accident in one of their boats which was about to be sunk and Pedro Aramayo, their GPS operator and Fernando Arispe, their cameraman were lucky to escape death of drowning.

Recognizing a place in the forest on the way to the west fountain of the Heath River

During their search for the lost Norwegian biologist Lars in the Colorado River they managed to locate his boatman who’s name was Rene Ortiz. They joined him following the routing throughout the river and they managed to collect all the necessary information about Lars and his intentions before his disappearance.

They also managed to gather satisfactory information about the existence of the Toromonas, a nomadic tribe that lives in the Colorado River. As it is also mentioned in the under-mentioned article of Fernando Arispe, they were informed about the destruction of Madidi National Park by a group of Peruvian peasants who entered illegally the Bolivian territory. For this reason, they are ready to protest by making an international campaign to stop such a situation.

Senor Fernando Arispe who was in charge of the video and photography of the expedition sent the following report on the 4th of September 2001.

-          Although we didn’t manage to locate the source of the Heath River, we undoubtedly have found a correct and ‘easier’ way to get there next year. We didn’t reach that point due to lack of money but we needed eight more days of walking to get there from the last camp “tacuara” on the Colorado River.

From our side, we believe that the expedition was as much successful as the first one that took place last year with the title ‘Apolobamba-Madidi 2000-Tras Los Pasos de Percy Harrison Fawcett’. We also faced a dangerous situation in different places and sometimes we were lucky to escape of been drowned in the Tambopata River although we lost some valuable equipments and a video camera but definitely the expedition Madidi XXI was successful.”

Left to right: Pedro Aramayo, Pablo Cingolani, Fernando Arispe and Badín Mejía, medical doctor of the expedition while having their lunch in front of Rolando Sevillano’s house at Puerto San Fermin

The story of the health team - An urgent health campaign

This Health Campaign is being worked out by Pablo Cingolani both in La Paz and Buenos Aires and also by Beatriz Garcia from the "II Centenary Foundation" and by Rosario Paz Zamora, the sister of the past Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora. The "II Centenary Foundation" was the financial supporter of this campaign and the team covered the zone of San Fermin having as base the village of Putina Punco postponing in that way the original medical plan, which was to supply medicines with the team based in Pelechuco to the villages of Queara (Keara) and Puina and with the team based in Apolo to the villages of Mojos, Virgen del Rosario, Pata, Santa Cruz del Valle Ameno, Unapa, Sipia and Asariamas.

The situation of the zone is as deplorable as the one of many other regions of the Amazonia. Endemic like the leishmaniasis, the yellow fever, all type of cutaneous, gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases attacking most of the people in the area including the children and composed a dramatic panel that mobilized us. It is therefore a situation that forced them to proceed with this health campaign as San Fermin depends entirely, in the matter of health, on the Hospital located in Apolo, the provincial capital, a place that is located in a distance of 5 days long walk. When the nearby Rio Cocos grows, San Fermin becomes an island. In order to evaluate the serious situation of the entire province, it is enough to say that the Hospital of Apolo does not even has electricity. Whenever the people of San Fermin’s community do have sanitary problems as they must cross a river to enter into the Peruvian territory and from there to be transferred to the hospitable center of Juliaca or Puno, something that takes several days of travel in long distance.

The mystery of Lars's disappearance

On the 17th of October 1997, a "trudge born traveler" arrived at the local office of Peru International Conservation in Port Maldonado and he was welcomed there by the biologist Caesar Ascorra. They talked about projects on trips from Peru to Bolivia, via the department of Puno, and saw maps in company of a geographer. The traveler started off without taking leave. The following day, he visited an organization called FADEMAD and he showed his intention to go into the Bolivian forest by the Pampas of the Heath River. 

Rene Ortiz, Lars’s ‘balsero’ in the Colorado River during the Expedition Madidi XXI of 2001.                                                                                      Photo by Fernando Arispe

Later, according to the registration of the harbor authorities of Puerto Maldonado, he took a boat to sail along the Tambopata River, presumably to arrive at the Tambopata Research Center. He walked that way until the 22nd of October. Four days later, that man took a flight of the Peruvian airline Aero Continente to the city of Cuzco. From there, he left towards the Amazonian forest descending towards Puno, then he continued to the borders of the Lake Titicaca, entering into the plateau through Juliaca and Azángaro. 

In continuation he crossed the barrow of Sayaco, the mountain range of Carabaya, reaching almost the altitude of 5000 meters, crossed the population of Sandia in the head of the valley of the Inambary River, San Juan del Oro - in the valley of the Tambopata River and he visited the parish priest, the R. P. Gabriel Horn -, then he descended to the humid forest and back to those villages that were called Putina Punco, Chocal, Punco Arc, San Ignacio, Curva Alegre and, finally by a footpath he arrived at the borders of the Great Tambopata River, the limit between the republics of Peru and Bolivia. He must have arrived there the last days of October or the first of November.

He crossed the river and he arrived at Bolivia. More indeed to a community called Linen where their inhabitants were, at those days, constructing a chapel. He helped them and, with one of them, a young person 23 years of age called René Ortiz, took with him a day course to the north, sailing the Tambopata in a raft. Jumping on its waters, that man was leaving back the village of San Fermín in Bolivia and the Great Pampas population that he descried upwards on the other band, the mouth of the Azata River, the Cachimayu and Herrera streams, a pair of eddies, and when the Tambopata becomes an immense and moving river, he arrived at a site where its brave waters green and white were gentle with color brick. 

The site is called ‘Encounter’ and it was at the mouth of the Colorado River in the Tambopata. At about 300-400 meters from the mouth of the Colorado, in the right margin, there was a fine sandy beach:  there they mounted the camping and they spent the night. They fished pacúes, had their dinner, took many photographs, particularly including the man who had led him here René Ortiz. The next day, the traveler requested from Rene Ortiz to return to San Fermin by himself and explained to him that he wanted to proceed, further all by himself. René told him that he will be back soon with more people to help him.  

Objectives of this Expedition

-          To establish a direct route of access between Puina and San Fermin that will enable a better control of the frontier and the western region of the Madidi National Park for the preservation of its environment.

-         To carry out a similar cartography basic

-         To value its potentiality for the eco-tourist utilization and

-         To register documentary its landscape values of flora and fauna, especially the presence of Andean bears or “Jucumaris”

Left to right: Ing. Ricardo Solís, Pere Comas, Pablo Cingolani, Leoncio Navi, Raúl Navi, Gilder Macuapa. Leoncio, Raúl & Gilder are members of the San José de Uchupiamonas community, where Lars Hafskjold lived.                                                   Pere Comas, Expedition Madidi 4

In Apacheta of  Sayaco, Cordillera de Carabaya, Departamento de Puno, Perú.

Pere Comas, Expedition Madidi 4

In Putina Punco, where we coordinate actions with Fredy Espinoza from the Bahuaja Sonene Park.                                                                                  Pere Comas, Expedition Madidi 4

In Sandia, Puno-Perú, coordinated actions with Professor Juvenal Mercado Vilca, ex Mayor of Sandia.                                                                         Pere Comas, Expedition Madidi 4