Fire Fighting

The protest was a huge sucess.  A bunch of people stayed an extra night to talk to the press the next morning and Evo (the president of Bolivia) declared his support for stopping the building of the road.  This is a great acomplishment but the campesinos are determined to continue so right now the volunteers at Machia are literally sitting in front of the machines so they cant move forward.  There is a lot going on at Ambue Ari too. The fires have started, which means that everday we are working on  lengthening the fire trail (lots of raking and macheting). The farmers here start fires to burn land for crops and last year a huge section of the park burned because they dont control the fires once they start them.  They arent huge forest fires like we have in the US but they are still dangerous even thought they are slow burning and close to the ground.  Apparently the fire trail should create a break in the land and prevent any more of the park from burning.  I went out to see Ru (one of the jauguars) the other day here is one of the photos I took.  He´s awesome!

Surprise visit to Santa Cruz

Today 12 of us volunteers decided to accompany Noemi (the park coordinator) to Santa Cruz to help out with a demonstration to bring attention to the road being built through Parque Machia. The parade marched through Plaza 24 de Septiembre (named after today´s holiday - the anniversary of the founding of the Department of Santa Cruz) and it was very exciting. We had signs publicizing what Inti Wara Yassi is about and everyone was clapping when we walked by. There was also a short speech given about the situation at the other park. This is great for the organization because there were a lot of important people in attendance in addition to the large crowds of locals. The procession is also going to be on TV in a few days! Tonight we will all head back to the park. Im exhausted from sleeping on the bus last night, Santa Cruz is about 6 hours away from Ambue Ari.

A lot of stuff has been going on at the park in the past week. I worked on cutting Engine a new trail, which wasn't quite as easy as I had expected but it is completed now and he is (hopefully) going to walk it for the first time tomorrow! A past volunteer had cut him some unauthorized trails that went very close to other cats trails and when we had to stop using them he was not a happy camper. He would try to go down the old trails for hours and get himself very agitated. So I decided it would be much better to just make a new trail as a diversion. Its taken all week because we have also been working on the Fire Trail. It is a large band around the park that ideally will prevent the neighboring fires from spreading into our land. Also, a lot of people have been asking about cats they used to work with so here is an update on Ru. He was getting quite playful and Parque Machia made a decision to take his collar off and discontinue walking him, permanently. But Noemi came up with the idea of letting him out on the runner an extending it to the river so he could swim. I went out to see him one day and it is really sad to see such a beautiful and amazing animal imprisoned in his cage. They haven't tried the new routine yet but personally I think its a great compromise that will keep volunteers safe and is good for Ru. I was in such a rush to pack for our day trip that I completely forgot to pack my camera cord :( so I will have to attempt to upload pictures on the slow connection in Guarayos next time I'm there. Until then ... I miss everyone back in the states!

Letter from CIWI

Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) is the largest conservation NGO in Bolivia and is run entirely by volunteers. This organisation provides a safe haven for 1,000’s of abused animals (including pumas, jaguars, ocelots, spider and capuchin monkeys and even a brown speckled bear) and has saved over a 1,000 hectares of rain forest. However, Inti Wara Yassi is currently in crisis. The mayor of the town in which a large part of the refuge is based is building a road directly through the park where the animals live and are re-released into the wild. Without this park there will come a point where Inti Wara Yassi will find it very difficult to continue saving animals from the cruelty they face at the hands of people. This story is a plea for publicity for this struggling park. It is also a story of hope. The dedicated volunteers at the park are currently trying to raise $10,000 to buy 300 hectares of new land which will be a safe haven for these animals and also conserve precious rainforest. The refuge is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization and relies on donations and volunteer fees to survive.

A letter from Juan Carlos, founder of CIWY

The President of Bolivia - Evo Morales - has been called "Worldwide Hero of the Earth" by locals; yet how then can it be that the forest in Bolivia is being destroyed and millions of animals are being left without a home. Are we to just sit back and watch while Parque Machia (a wild animal refuge and biopark) is being destroyed in order to make way for a new road, and while Parque Isiboro Secure (one of the richest centres of biodiversity) and other national parks in Bolivia are also being destroyed? No, we cannot and for this reason we are calling out to the people of the world to join together in solidarity with the trees and the animals - the life source of the planet. We all know that a country's wealth should be measured by its biodiversity and not by its fragile and fluctuating economy.

Parque Machia is a wild animal sanctuary and part of the Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (a Bolivian grass-roots organisation dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating wild animals held in captivity). The very future of Parque Machia and the animals it houses is currently under threat as local coca-growing farmers fight to push ahead with the construction of a road that will run right through the park's land and the habitat of many of its animals. The newspaper Opinion published a story on the 5th September 2009 about a puma - Quirqui - who recently passed away. It is presumed that one of the factors that brought about his death was the stress from the noise of the machinery that are clearing the park's land to make way for the road. Quirqui was rescued by the Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi from a zoo where he was suffering and was very ill. The volunteers and vets of the Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi managed to stabilize him, make him happy and also greatly improved his quality of life; that its until the bulldozers arrived. His health then started to deteriorate and sadly the puma Quirqui passed away at the beginning of this month. The construction of the road also affects and causes great stress for all the animals that live in this refuge, animals that have been given a second chance in life after being rescued form the torture of chains and small cages.

According to the newspaper Los Tiempos from the 4th September 2009, the front page describes how the
"park is being destroyed to make way for a route to transport coca", "they are cutting down trees that are 100 years old and are destroying the natural habitat of hundreds of animals". The coca-growing farmers of the community Copacabana del Chapare are demanding this route so that they can transport out their principal crop - coca. The road will pass directly through the habitat of many of the rescued animals. The Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi has been saving this park from destruction since 1996 and has been zealously looking after it for all these years. They managed to reach an agreement with the previous mayor, Felipe Caceres, who rejected the farmers' request for a road, understanding the repercussions such construction would mean for the park. However, the new mayor, Feliciano Mamani (a supporter of Evo Morales) says that the road will be built, no matter what.

The national park Isiboro Secure is also under threat, with plans to build a road straight through it, thus linking the towns of Villa Tunari and San Igancio. Parque Isiboro Secure is the third richest park in terms of biodiversity, containing a number of endemic species and it will be destroyed by the Villa Tunari-San Ignacio road. The President of Brazil - Lula de Silva - is financing the construction of this road, which will benefit his country by opening up a route to the Pacific Ocean. This construction will cause many species of animals and plants to disappear, it will pollute the water and bring about the end of this biodiversity and of the Parque Isiboro Secure. The other Bolivian national parks, which were created to be the lungs for Bolivia and for the world, are also affected by mining and agriculture. It is of great importance that agriculture be guided and controlled by policies that are dedicated to the preservation of the environment and biodiversity, otherwise we will be condemning all sources of life to a death sentence.

If you would like to find out more information, help us in our struggle to save these animals and the rainforest by donating (a donation of £40 will buy one hectare of rainforest), or volunteer some of your time, check out the website or join the facebook group CIWY EMERGENCY NOW! The Jacuzzi Donators Group

Into the Wild

I arrived at the park last Sunday, so I have been here for almost 1 week. Im glad to be here, travelling was getting starting to become exhausting. The weather here is quite different than the other parts of Bolivia and Brazil I had been in. Its normally between 80-90 degrees during the day and 70-80 at night so its pretty hot! But there are practically no mosquitoes - a miracle. You dont even need long sleeves when you're out in the jungle and its no longer neccesary to wear three pairs of pants :) I started working with Engine, a male ocelot a few days ago. Working with Engine is definatly a challenge, he is completely different than Vanesso (the ocelot I worked with last time I was here). He is one of the few cats who would have been a great canidate for releasing but the zoo who gave him to the park forced them to sign legal documents promising they would never release him :( so for his first few years at the park no one could get close enough to him to walk him and he never left his cage. Now, after a few long term volunteers worked really hard on getting a collar and carabiner on him he is able to walk his trails. When I got here I found out that Vanesso had escaped for almost 2 weeks and was still missing. So for the first few days we set traps and luckilly he returned to his volunteer when she was sleeping out in the jungle by his cage. I also got to go and visit one of the jaguars one afternoon and it still amazes me how beautiful they are. I took pictures but its impossible to capture what it is like to see one up close in its natural habitat. I didnt bring my camera to town this week because the internet is quite slow but next week I will try to upload a few pictures. Miss you all!

3 days of trekking

After staying at Ginger´s for a week I decided to go on a trek. Practically everyone that comes to South America does one at some point so I figured I shouldnt be missing out! I was planning on going to Machu Picchu during my last trip but it didnt happen. (It´s my excuse to keep coming back :) Chris and Sol know a guide that has been highly recommended by a lot of travellers so I decided on a three day, two night, trip to a great fishing spot. And the best part was we were going to take horses there! Horseback riding is one of my favorite actvites and at home it is prohibitivly expensive and you horse is usually retricted to walking, what fun is that? Well, here in Bolivia of course no one is worried about anything so you can basically do whatever you want on your horse! Good for me, bad for the couple that decided to go on the trek as well. Many people fail to realize that if you are not an experienced rider you will probably not enjoy being on a horse for more than an hour or two. Definately not for 6 hours. So, after about an hour they decided to get off the horses and walk, but it would have taken 10 hours instead of 7 to get there without riding. The rain was a deal breaker and they decided to head back to the farm. It all worked out because there wasnt too much more rain and the tent would have never fit all 3 of us. So I had blast cantering with Galla and Vicente (my guide) couldnt believe I didnt fall off when she took off :D


So the first day we took the horses as far as we could and then hiked for about 2 hours along the river. Unfourtunately my camera case and extra battery are floating downa rive in Bolivia somwhere not because when I was jumping onto a rock in an attempt not to get my feel wet my backpack unzipped and they fell out. I wasnt happy but they´re not the worst things I could have lost. :/ We camped on the beach of the river the first night and at about 3am I opted to abamdon the tent (I was pretty cold) and sleep by the fire. Of course, on the coldest night since Ive been here I didnt have my brand new 20° sleeping bag! I had left it at the farm because I didnt want it to get dirty haha little did I know it was going to be freezing the next 2 nights! Well, I survived anyways. The fish tasted great, we made a soup for dinner and then ate them cooked on the fire for lunch the next day. I also managed to fall into the river and somehow not break my camera. It went something like this ... Vicente mira! Mucho pescado! And then he thought I jumped in to catch them. Not exactly. But shortly after we arrived at our next destination which was the house of a family living in this area. They are the only people for miles but it was pretty cool. They fish and grow everything they need and make the two day trip to town if they need something.
The next day we headed back to Ginger´s with the horses. I was a little sad to leave the farm. Being in transit all the time gets difficult after awhile, and Im starting to get bored of travelling. I bet no one ever thought they would hear me say that! But its differnt when you feel like your missing out on stuff at home. So tomorrow I will go to the park and we´ll see how long I stay there.

Life on the farm

So, Ive been without internet for about 2 weeks and I have a lot to update! I spent a little under two weeks at an organic farm called Ginger´s Paradise. In exchange for 2 hours of work each day you can stay there and eat for about $10 a day. I learned so much in the little time I was there! I can now make peanut butter, jam, cheese, yougurt, dulce de leche, pesto, various kinds of bread, and empanadas from nothing but ingredients I gathered myself at the farm! :) I learned how to harvest tomatoes, beans, carrots, radishs, lettuce, oranges, papayas, and coutless herbs that they are growing there too. I took 2 days off work to go to nearby Samaipata which was about 2 hours from Ginger´s. I stayed at a little pousada there for one night. In the very early morning (about 5am) I was a little annoyed to be woken up by the chickens but when I got up to see what the ruckus was about I was able to get the best view Ive had here of the sun rising over the mountains. I was too tired to get out the camera for this one though :D Samiapata is pretty small but it has attracted a lot of foreingers that are now living there. I noticed this in Iquitos, Peru as well.

The next day I explored an archaeological site, El Fuerte. It is a unique place because it contains remains of three cultures, the Chanes (a pre Inca culture), the Incas and the Spaniards. Here Im hiking up to the site.