Quillabamba to Iquitos Part 4

I am on the river Sepahua, where there are Piros and Machiguengas living and there is a boat Jiban which will be departing to Atalaya. Okay so that looks like it could be the next boat. I go out to explore the town of Sepahua its quite big and really in the middle of nowhere, there are many families that live along the river, fishermen and farmers. 

I spend a few days here in this strange town that has the chicken places and Chinese food. It is also home to a lodge which I travel across the airstrip on a mototaxi to get to, its all closed up but it may be the time of year. 

I go and check out the local football match, now thats a weird one as you look at the trees and there are lots of sheets hung up, turns out they are actually babies hanging in the trees. 

In the evening I watch a bit of TV turns out it is the priests choice as he controls the cable tv for the entire town. 

The music starts at 5.30am again, I get up about 6.30 for my next boat trip theory says I should be in Atalaya in a day. El Jiban is boat of choice its like a barge that is loaded up with 8 cows, this should be interesting. 

So basically this is a boat that collects animals and takes them to slaughter, these poor animals they are pulled down the high sand banks with 10 men and ropes and put on the boat they go past all the small farms picking up 2 or 3 cows at each, it takes ages I can see that this trip may take longer than expected. 

I am on day 2 of collecting cows and this boat is disgusting, it smells bad can you imagine a floating herd of cows, pigs and chickens, I have to get a pig removed from the bathroom to be able to use it, wow this is all a bit crazy. 

As we continue travelling we hit the penal de Sepa, until 1991 was a prison in the jungle. It was basically open as they flew the worst prisoners in from Lima and dropped them in the jungle, 2 sides are river and 2 sides thick jungle, not much escaping going on there then, there is talk of possibly reopening but with the costs involved maybe not. 

We now have 40 cows on this boat you can just imagine, or maybe better not to, one more nights sleep on the floating farm.