It feels like a lifetime but it has only been 3 years that I have been planning my latest volunteering trip and this time it’s to the Amazon River and Jungle in Peru to RAREC – a Wildlife Rescue and Rehab center. With Covid, Covid still and alot of political unrest in Peru, the trip had to be postponed multiple times, but I am thrilled that I didn’t give up on it and just had the time of my life.
Alil about RAREC first. Their mission is to rescue and rehabilitate threatened specimens of Amazonian wildlife, as well as to provide community education and to further expand on scientific knowledge that will help preserve the Amazon Rainforest. It is vitally important work they are doing and I was honored to be there for even a short time to help in whatever capacity I could.
The following is a very very brief scope of the trip and my adventures but without your support here at Vancouver Gift Baskets, my deep passion projects like this would never be possible, so thank you again for being the passionate gifters that you are. I hope you know that I am grateful every single day for YOU!!
My very first morning duties involved feeding baby Newt, the most adorable baby manatee I have ever been in the presence of… ok, so he doesn’t have much competition but look at that sweet face. He’s still under a year so needs to drink from a bottle – usually they are still with their moms until the age of 2. Then we went outside to feed the jaguar cubs and give them some exercise, which of course, I am so happy to help with.
Allowing the animals to play, burn up some energy and just ‘be wildlife’ is a very important part to helping with their rehabilitation and possible release. And just like in Africa, I was thrilled to just sit back and watch them ‘do their thing’ for as long as I could. Sadly though it wasn’t for very long as there was real work to do.
Next I was off to help out in the kitchen, where we prepare meals for all the current rescues and residents from a huge amount and varieties of monkeys, to two toed sloths (Baby Hope & Big Daddy) to Giant Anteaters to Ocelots (in the Jaguar family but much smaller – equally as playful and sweet though) to parrots and more. Everyone needs to eat and they all have very very specific requirements and every tiny bit of food is measured and accounted for. The center is super strict about all the food – even their enrichment (treats) are measured. Thank goodness, my treats aren’t accounted for like that :Op
After getting everyone fed, we started to clean out the enclosures which I will save you the gross pics of because monkeys are messy; lol but you never heard me complain – I was so simply humbled daily just to be around these caring & gracious people, who are doing so much good in the world, that it was honestly my honour to be scrubbing monkey poop and anteater vomit off of more surfaces than I could count 🙂
It’s usually then time for a quick lunch before you are back at it, preparing evening meals for everyone incl the late night meals for the nocturnal cats that are only fed at night to mimic their usual behaviors’, cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen and prep area, preparing enrichments for all the animals which could be raw meat wrapped up and hidden in leaves then stuffed inside all kinds of contraptions to stimulate their brains and keep them guessing or fresh fruit tucked into plastic jugs for the monkeys to figure out and again, it was all amazing to witness.
While this all sounds incredible, remember you are in the Amazon Jungle so the
temps are well over 30 degrees daily and the humidity is off the chart over 95% every day… I have never sweated that much in my life; and even though it was my least favourite thing – you do get used to it (sort of).
Cute Visitors
One thing about being in the rainforest and jungle, you never know who is gonna fly in to say hello while you are outside scrubbing the laundry and animal bedding. In this case, it was a sweet green parakeet who was enamored by my magnetic click on glasses. He hung out with me for awhile.
Before heading to Rarec for my volunteer time, I spent a few days on the Amazon River on a tour to see more wildlife and adventure around some, who knows when I will be back.
I went to Monkey Island, another rescue sanctuary with over 230 residents that have all been saved from illegal trade or their parent’s were poaching victims that left them orphaned… it was all very sad. Until I met Benito, the most precious and playful spider monkey, who showered me w/ tons of kisses, sat on my shoulder and head and then was content to just hung around with me for over 30mins as I ventured around the island. It was so fun and I LOVED it!!
The next day, we went UP, WAY UP to walk the treetop canopy of the rainforest – it is the 2nd longest canopy walk in the world – and oohh my legs would argue that it should be considered for the #1 spot…LOL it was breathtakingly beautiful though when we finally got up to the top.
Thankfully the afternoon was less strenuous and we went to a traditional Amazon Village, met some delightfully kind and gracious people, where I got to learn how to use a blow dart gun, which I was surprisingly good at one little girl let me hold (and hug) her three toed sloth. I did not want to give her back!! All in all a few fabulous days before heading off to volunteer.
Each day magical day in the Amazon ended with a magnificent sunset, ‘slightly’ cooler weather also a HUGE amount of bugs, insects and flying critters but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Planning my next adventure – any ideas??
Carole
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