Conservation - PERU Volunteer stories

Conservation in Peru - Marcus Brent-Smith

I had decided that I wanted to visit the Amazon rainforest by the time I was 10, so when it came to choosing a destination for my gap year trip, my attention was somewhat focused on South America. Peru jumped out at me as an incredibly diverse country with some obvious benefits. Firstly, my GCSE in Spanish would help break the language barrier (how wrong I was!), apart from this Peru contains just about every ecosystem this planet has to offer and, most importantly, it has a rather large area of pristine Amazon rainforest.

After much research I came across Teaching and Projects Abroad, initially fooled into thinking they only offered "teaching" projects mentioned in the company name, on closer inspection, I found the conservation project in Peru hard to resist. I had previously looked into the Madre de Dios region and my heart was already set on that area. The small lodge set-up, built by previous volunteers; living over an hour down river from the nearest town; the projects on offer; the more I read about Taricaya, the more excited I got. I was fairly late in booking, so by the time my trip was finalised it was a mad few weeks to get everything together for 3 months in the jungle and 2 months of travel afterwards. I couldn't quite believe that I could get the mound of stuff on my bed into the measly 60 litres my sister's rucksack had to offer, but it somehow happened and the day of my departure grew ever closer. After a ridiculous farewell to England - enormous queues and gross ineptitude by ground staff at Heathrow nearly making me miss my flight - I set off for Peru and the jungle.

Little did I know that more ineptitude was to follow: my luggage was left behind at Madrid so my arrival in Puerto Maldonado was a day late and completely unexpected. Thankfully I only had to wait one day until two other volunteers arrived and Fernando came and collected us. My first trip down river was more magical than I could ever have expected. Everything was as I had imagined, except bigger and better. On the banks 30 foot reeds gave way to 100 foot trees, turtles lazed on logs while butterflies fluttered around them, monkeys leapt from branch to branch just out of sight and kingfishers the size of crows swooped overhead. This turned out to be one of the most wildlife-packed boat rides that I took, but nonetheless, it whetted my appetite for more jungle experiences to come.

At the lodge, the heat, the humidity, the new faces and the new surroundings were all too much and the first few days passed in a blur. However I soon settled into the routine and grew accustomed to the ferocious heat, filthy water and the noise (as a friend of mine said "whoever says the city is loud at night has never slept in the jungle"). It was only then that I realised what an amazing situation I was in. Several times a day I would stop and think, "I'm in the middle of the rainforest in Peru" and every time it would blow my mind.

One of the nicest things about the lodge is in fact the routine. You never have to worry about planning your day or what you are going to do, and this takes the pressure off and means that everyone relaxes. In my 3 months there I was never angry and I never raised my voice to anybody, in fact, I don't think anyone did. The friends I made during those months are now some of the people to whom I feel closest. The fact that you are with them twenty four hours a day, seven days a week with only mosquito nets as walls, means that there is no room for petty arguments or squabbles.

The hard work definitely facilitates the rapid peer bonding that goes on. When you get back from 2 or 3 hours of trail clearing or wood carrying, you are so hot and tired that all you want to do is jump into the creek and cool off. I really got the feeling that what I had just done may not have saved a monkey or helped a local farmer directly, but through the effort that I had made, and every other volunteer continues to make, Taricaya continues to make a real difference to the area.

I know that for some people with whom I shared my time in the jungle, observations were the low point. Certainly when I describe the activity of getting up at 5.30am and going to watch birds for 2 hours to my friends back home, they give me pretty funny looks! However when you mention that you are 45 metres up a tree and the birds you are watching are toucans, vultures and endless varieties of parrot, most people understand how that could be fun. For me, "obs" were one of my favourite parts of my time at Taricaya.

Other highlights were to be found a little further afield, the trip to Sandoval Lake being undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. When topped off with a truly stunning sunset, well, the memories I have are mind-blowing. The four day trip up the Tambopata River into the reserve of the same name, gave the opportunity to see capybara, follow puma prints along a beach and to see the massive Colpa Colorado, although, unfortunately, no birds saw fit to land that day. Nonetheless, camping in tents in the jungle, thousands of miles from the nearest parking meter, was experience enough.

From only three months (I wish I could have had longer), I have too many memories to remember, let alone put to paper. I can honestly say that they were some of the happiest months of my life. My heartfelt thanks go out to the staff at the lodge whose tireless efforts kept us housed, fed, busy and in some cases, alive! My time at Taricaya will never be forgotten, instead it will be cherished as a moment in my life where the usual day to day stresses and worries that face us all were completely lost, replaced by the roar of the jungle.

Back to Volunteer Stories