Blogs from Villa Tunari, Cochabamba Department, Bolivia, South America - page 3

It is not easy to know where to start with an adventure like this. To begin with this entry will cover a period of almost 4 weeks, so thats a lot to cram in! Please accept our apologies for the length, there is just so much to tell. Before we left we both discussed our desire to volunteer with animals or children in every country we were to visit if it was possible. Unfortunately we soon realised that the reality is "volunteering" is big business and often costs a lot to get involved with. It is also not easy to offer the time and commitment often necessary because of course we are travelling and have to keep moving, lest we fall behind and not manage to achieve all we set out to, a pit fall already ... read more

Hola a todos! I´m now on the homestretch of my Latin American adventure and reflecting on a series of amazing experiences. In retrospect, I must say that the last month has been one of the most unique and outstanding I have ever spent. I finally pulled myself out of the big city and made it to my intended destination of Villa Tunari, a small village in the Bolivian tropical rainforest and home to the animal refuge known as Inti Wara Yassi. Here in the Parque Machia situated in the thick Amazonian jungle I spent an incredible 30 days that is hard to put into words. First, a little background on the refuge: Inti Wara Yassi is a non-profit organization founded by two kind-hearted Bolivians concerned about the welfare of wild animals in the country´s diverse ... read more

Just a short note. Moraquin´s (the founder) trial was supposed to be this week in Cochabamba but eventually got rescheduled to the end of March. The school was closed for a few days because the teachers went to Cochabamba, so we had some time to paint walls and build toys. This coming Saturday we´ll have a fundraising event (some sort of party) with the Marque Machia people. Marque Machia is an animal refuge in Villa Tunari that attracts a large amount of volunteers (around 30-60). They have mainly monkeys and big cats that have been rescued from circuses and homes. Back to the Dengue issue. Apparently there have been some cases of Dengue in Villa Tunari as well as some of the surrounding villages. We´ll see how things develop. Also, and this might sound very crazy, ... read more

Inconveniences I´m just back from a candle light shower. We´ve been without electricity since yesterday when a snake got into the electricity box and got fried in the process. Hopefully it will be fixed soon. In the meantime we´re walking around with candles (should have brought a flash light!) and taking cold showers. Life definitely isn´t very comfortable here. Clean clothes are a luxary as well. We do our laundray by hand in a bucket with warm water from the shower or heated on the stove. Some times we get lucky and are able to hang the clothed out in the sun and have it dry within a day but more often we have to hang it up under a roofed area because it rains too much. It takes a few days for the clothes to ... read more

It´s Monday. I just finished my shift. It was a good day. At first I helped the nurse with measuring and weihing the children, then Justin (our new volunteer from Washtington DC) and I took over the 3-year-olds again. No teacher so far. I almost suspected it. It must be hard finding someone to work for you if you can´t tell them when they´ll get paid next. Now they´re saying next week the new teacher should be here. But actually things went pretty well. There was only one boy crying at first, since he was new and it was his first day. After a while he shily started to play with some legos. He was so cute! When I left after lunch he started crying again. Poor thing. The kids are starting to get used to ... read more