Exploring the Amazon


One of my earliest jobs after university was with Massey University's Distance Education programme in New Zealand. I was tasked with the set-up and administration of Internet-based technologies to support the delivery of the university's distance education programme for students across NZ and internationally. A spin-off from this was the Telecom Amazon Adventure which I started in 1996. This was aimed at NZ primary schools to demonstrate the potential for bringing distant locations such as the Amazon rainforest right into the classroom. The project had a website, blogs, and weekly telephone audio conferences with students in about 800 schools. Back then, before everyone was on the Internet, the world seemed much bigger - and hugely exciting for a recent university graduate.

Since we didn't have (good) digital cameras for instant publishing back then, I ended up doing the trip twice - once in January 1997 to take the photos, reconnoiter the area, and prepare the website. The second (live) journey, with schools in tow, ran from July to September. Photos shown here are a selection from those trips. I'll repost the original archived site here in future.
 
Santarém waterfront
Riverboats, Santarém
Waterfront, Santarém
Lunchtime cooking on the street in Santarém. The fish is Pacu (known in the Amazon as Tambaqui) - a vegetarian and fruit eating version of the notorious piranha - which has been seasoned with Annatto spice.
Laundry day in Alter do chão
Traveling by riverboat
Rainforest floor, Peru
Butterflies, Cloud Forest, Peru
Riverside dwellings along the Amazon
Blue and Gold Macaw
Riverside favela, Manaus
Palacio Rio Negro, Manaus
Manaus waterfront
Manaus Opera House
Brasília Cathedral
Inside view of Cathedral
Street scene, Cusco
Inka stonework
Market in Cusco, Peru
Plaza in Cusco, Peru
Remains of the ancient Inca fortress, Sachsayhuaman, near Cusco
This Russian Mi-8 was formerly operated by HeliCusco to reach Machu Picchu and offered a great view of the mountains.
Inka houses, Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Taxi cab in Cusco

Banner image: Shutterstock/JaySi

Andrew Mercer (Bald White Guy)
Andrew Mercer
I'm a Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing consultant based in Brisbane, Australia. I've consulted on or managed several large BI systems in New Zealand, Australia and Latin America.
Stacks Image 24
Contact Info
Please use the contact form on this site.
Or phone 04 5704 1640 (Australia)
Latest Photo

Baby scaly-breasted lorikeet looking out from it's nest.

Stacks Image 68
Stacks Image 71
Stacks Image 74

© 2025 Andrew Mercer