By Luke, on April 19, 2011, 11:39 pm
We have just spent two days working with dogs and cats in Amazonian communities near Iquitos. As a group we are shattered, the continual early mornings, working and wanting to make the most of the time we have in the jungle has begun to take it’s tole.
Based at ExplorNapo lodge we have travelled by boat to Sanpedro and Tamanco which are to small communities along the amazon river, each are around 20 minutes from the lodge.
This afternoon I successfully captured a dog in the village of Tamanco. The dog was in poor condition with severe mange. When I inquired as to how the dog had come to be freely roaming in such a remote village I was told that the original owners had decided they no longer wanted it a kicked it out. When asked if we could sterilise the dog originally they did not want Treating dogs in amazon communities
By Luke, on April 18, 2011, 9:43 pm
After being on the road for 3 months it’s really nice when things just happen, you don’t have to think about it and someone tells you when and where to go. I have just completed my first of two weeks volunteering with amazon cares in Iquitos and surrounding jungle. After 5 days working with pets and street dogs we had the chance to take a couple of days off.
After enjoying some live music and a few caprinias at a local night spot in Iquitos we departed early for ExplorNapo lodge, around a 2/3 hour boat ride down a wet and bumpy Rio Amazonas. After settling into our more than adequate lodgings and enjoying a tasty lunch we had a talk and demonstration from a local shaman on the medicinal plants of the jungle. Obviously a knowledgeable man, it was fascinating to hear how the local people use the Hanging out in the Amazon Jungle
By Luke, on April 16, 2011, 8:33 pm
Getting to Tarapoto is relatively easy from an towns north of Lima along the Peruvian coast. We went from Chachapoyas which which involved getting a shared taxi to Pedro Ruiz and then jumping on one of the busses that passed through. It took us around 6 hours by bus from Pedro Ruiz.
What you need to to know when getting the boat from Yurimaguas to Iquitos.
Once in Tarapoto you need to locate Gilmer tours, most moto taxi’s should be able to take you there. Alternatively head to the tourist office on the main plaza in Tarapoto and they will supply you with a map and a well placed x. They run hourly busses in the morning to Yurimaguas from Tarapoto for 12 soles. From Gilmer Tours office in Tarapoto you will be able to get departure times for the boats leaving from Yurimaguas to Iquitos. The boats that Catching the boat from Yurimaguas to Iquitos, Peru
By Luke, on April 15, 2011, 8:39 pm
After writing the last couple of posts I realised I should probably tell you a bit about the project we are volunteering for. I am intending to post about the boat trip from Yurimaguas to Iquitos in the near future too as we could find limited information about it, what we did find made it sound like it was difficult, this was not our experience. The reason I did not want to write about the volunteer project initially was that it was a little daunting trying to fit it all into one post, and i was excited about catching street dogs. I don’t find writing that easy and I just really wanted to get something onto the web. For this reason you may also come across hideous grammar and a few typing mistakes, I wish I could put this down to writing my posts on an iPod but in Helping dogs as a Volunteer in Iquitos, Peru
By Luke, on April 14, 2011, 2:25 pm
And I thought catching street dogs in Iquitos was going to be challenging. To a degree it is, catching any animal can be tricky, what makes it so much easier on the streets of Iquitos is that there are just so many animals to choose from. Myself and Kat are taking two weeks out of what feels like a busy travelling schedule to work for amazon cares in Iquitos, northern Peru. It’s something that kat is able to do easily due to her Veterinary experience and for a keen animal lover like me I was shore I would have no problem helping out, it’s also a great chance to take some time doing something a little different.
The main job of the 8 volunteers during our two week stay in the northern jungle is to de-sex and provide preventive medication for as many dogs and cats (primarily dogs) as Catching Dogs on the streets of Iquitos
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