We have already begun our routine at Panthera as we were greeted with the same breakfast of bread strawberry jam, butter, and chocolate sauce. After a quick breakfast we started our first full day of volunteering. The groups are posted on a whiteboard in the “Comedor” for each day. Split up into “Mañana” (morning) and “Tarde” (afternoon) shifts. Even with the drop-in temperature, the sun is too strong during the middle of the day to do any work. So far, I have found the best way to spend midday is by lying in the hammock and trying to ignore the swarm of mosquitos when reading.
The volunteer activities today consisted of bird watching, exploring the new land recently purchased by Panthera, venturing out to “Lake 1”, mammal observation, platano clearing, trail clearing and stair construction (both of which I was a part of). Members of the bird watching, and mammal observation learned about the many animals that are indigenous to the jungle. Bird watching seemed to be more successful inseeing the wildlife than the mammal observation. Once we returned to the Comedor, we encountered a new regular within the camp of Panthera. A chimp named Cappuccino. Cappuccino was rescued up by the people at Panthera and was release back into the jungle. Cappuccino still likes to come back to the camp, especially if there is food or someone lying on the hammocks just outside the Comedor. For Cappuccino, whomever is laying in the hammock happens to be the perfect person to lay on, relax, and offer some time for grooming.
The end of the day consisted of another giant portion of spaghetti and hours of card games. We finally opened up the Spanish version of Monopoly that Mark purchased before we left Cusco. This ended up turning into a three-hour game with complicated deals involving profit sharing and free passes. Far more intense than the trades I remember making when I last played Monopoly. So far Panthera has been a great experience, exploring the jungle has been exciting and I have finally been able to channel my inner Indiana Jones and become an expert machete cutter.
-Richard Doktycz
Today was our first day volunteering. The morning began with a breakfast of bread with jam, butter, and a pudding-like chocolate sauce. We then broke up into small groups for a tour of the Panthera jungle. We started in the secondary forest which has lower canopies with more sparse trees. We learned about the trees surrounding us, common wildlife, and some hazards in the forest. Surprisingly, even with the venomous snakes and jaguars that are in the forest, the most likely cause of death is tree branches falling. We then made our way to the primary forest where we had the chance to use a machete to clear off some trees across the path. This part of the forest had much higher canopies with densely packed trees. Although it was pouring rain, we could barely feel it because of the canopies. Unfortunately, we returned to the secondary forest after and got completely drenched.
After the tour of the forest, we had lunch consisting of lentils and rice. In the afternoon session, we broke up into groups for different activities. There was one group that climbed up trees to observe mammals, another that explored the agro-forest, and the last got dirty with construction work. I was part of this last group and was (unsurprisingly) awful at any construction work. I failed at hammering in nails and spent roughly 10 minutes sawing off a tiny piece of wood. I think I set a new record for the number of nails bent while hammering. It’s surprising how someone as strong as me struggled so much with this heavy lifting construction work. There was one part of this work that really stood out to me though – no matter how rusted or worn out a piece looked, the workers at Panthera never threw it out. I was clearing off a shelf that looked like it was filled with unusable equipment, but the Panthera workers insisted that it could all be used for something. In areas where these resources are plentiful, this sort of resourcefulness can be easily overlooked.
After we got off the bus in Puerto Maldonado, we took these 3-wheeled dirt bikes (tuk-tuks) to a really nice hotel for a buffet breakfast. The breakfast was very refreshing after a 10-hour bus ride. We were able to charge our phones and I talked to my mom to check-in with my family and wish her a happy birthday. After breakfast, we walked to the local market and bought rainboots for everyone. Then we went back to the hotel and relaxed for a couple hours; we played billiards and foosball, and I jumped into the pool. Next, we took a 90 min boat ride to Panthera Conservation, where some people read while others played Contact and Catch Phrase. When we arrived at the site, Aaron (one of the people who live on the site) took us on a tour around the campus assigned our rooms; unfortunately, I was stuck in the dorm furthest from the Comedor (main meeting area).
The campus was incredible. Pierre (the main man in charge) has lived here for 10 years and built most of the furniture and buildings on site. We also met Armageddon (Pierre’s pet wart hog), who basically acts like a smelly, dirty dog. The rest of the day and night was a mixture between playing card games and eating. We had some fried potatoes with veggies inside for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. I played Euchre, Secret Hitler, President, and Code Names while others read or played Jungle Uno and Jenga. I had a ton of fun playing games with all my friends and the time seemed to stand still because the sun went down at 6 pm. It was very, very hot the entire day and night and I had a consistent layer of moisture on my body for the entire day and night. It took a while for me to fall asleep and was constantly woken up by the howling winds from the Friaje (winds from the mountains that bring cold air to the area). The sweat turned into chills as the temperature dropped.
I had bistec montaña, which was steak with potatoes and rice with a potato soup. After lunch, we took taxis back to our host family’s house, where we met Rahul who had just arrived after his travel ordeal. Several people decided to take naps while a couple people went to hike up to Cristo Blanco. Rahul and I went to explore more of Cusco, exchanging money and buying food. After everyone returned from their mini excursions, we played board games and rested until dinner. For dinner, we split between a pizza and a chicken place. Many Peruvian people tend to eat a heavy dinner and a light dinner, if they eat dinner at all. Therefore, we had to find restaurants that were still open. At the pizza place, we shared a “famial” pizza and a “gigante” pizza. After dinner, we returned to Josefina’s to grab our stuff and head to the bus station. There we boarded a bus to take us 10 hours towards the jungle.
With the Tauber project ending and a whirlwind of activities, the trip still didn’t feel real as my Uber arrived to take me to the Sea-Tac airport. It was as I boarded the Boeing 737, that the excitement of the upcoming trip hit me. From Seattle I flew to Los Angeles, whereI met Jason K, and from there we flew to Lima, where we met Chris. In Lima, Jason, Chris, and I played games and talked until we boarded flight and flew to Cusco. When Chris and I left the airport, we were greeted by a yellow smiley-face flag and an equally smiley driver from Maximo Nivel. As we drove to our host family’s house, we saw Cusco for the first time as we watched the sun rise over the city.
After getting to the house, Chris and I rested as we waited for the others to make their way over. When about half of us were there, we set out to explore the city. First, we went to the main plaza, where there is a blend of ancient, Spanish, and modern architecture. Next, we went to the alpaca store for souvenirs and then to lunch. After coming back, we all napped to recover from our travels. At seven o’clock, we all gathered downstairs for our first family dinner. Our host, Josefina made us a delicious meal, but we learned that she, like many Peruvians, eats a big lunch and doesn’t have a large dinner. After dinner, we all played games until bedtime.
EGL Family Abroad 