Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you well. I thought it was time for an update, thank you for being patient, as you can imagine it’s been a full on couple of weeks (it’s also taken 3 days for there to be enough WiFi to upload this) This first letter will be a long one….

Before arriving in Lima I had read horror stories of the crime level and the tales of terrifying taxi drivers, so was wary of travelling on my own. But I got the airport express bus to my hotel (chosen specifically because it was next to the bus stop), and along the way I had my first experience of Lima roads. The noise was intense, cars honked persistently at other cars that couldn’t move any more than they could, but to also tell others they were overtaking. Because mirrors and indicators don’t exist here, only the horn. I had booked a tour a couple of hours after arrival, as I was wary of exploring on my own and as I really only had a day in Lima I wanted to see as much as I could. The tour was brilliant, we went to a local (non-tourist) market and tried the native fruits, drinks and delicious desserts. We then went to a view point in Lima next to what the locals describe as “disco Jesus”, a statue similar to the Christ statue in Rio, but 15 foot smaller and lit up at night with different coloured lights. I had watched videos of places to visit in Lima and had heard this place was in a run-down non-touristy area and not to go alone. So I was glad to see it on the tour, especially as the guide explained about the “slums” through which we’d driven to get there. They call them “new towns” rather than a derogatory term, and although the residents are poor, there is cunning behind the half finished houses without proper roofing or windows. If the house is not finished they don’t have to pay tax. They also leave it incomplete so the next generation can build the next storey on top. To claim their space on the cliff, they simply dig in, flatten it out and after 15 years claim squatters rights. We later explored Barranco, the bohemian artsy area of the city and Miraflores, the touristy area, in which I was staying, right next to Kennedy park. Aka the cat park. The park used to be overrun with rats, so logically people introduced cats.. now they are looked after and fed by a charity every night. I walked through the park, watching while cats slept on people laps and snoozed in the sun. Although lovely, the park has a distinct litter tray smell to it 😅

The next morning I had booked breakfast at 7am (it was a room service breakfast option) and a taxi at 7.30am. By 7.15am breakfast hadn’t arrived but the taxi had, so off I went to the visa office on an empty stomach. I arrived to less chaos than I expected and because I had been prepared and printed everything off that I had to, I got sorted with the dental exam, fingerprints, photo and awkwardly declining creepy Interpol workers fairly quickly, and had my piece of paper that stated I was allowed to work in Peru. However, I had no way of getting back to my hotel because without a Peruvian SIM to call a trusted taxi company, my only option was to risk a taxi outside. Luck was on my side though and I befriended a young English guy and asked if he had a phone with a Peruvian SIM I could borrow, he said no but that his Peruvian “fixer”, who worked for his uncle, did. I went to ask if he could call a taxi for me, and after realising he was dropping the English guy in the same place as where I needed to be, he said he would give me a lift. He got called in to pay the bribe in order to get the English guy his papers and then off I went into a car with 2 strangers, listening to viking death metal…

I survived and we decided that we’d meet up after a couple of hours (after I’d finally had breakfast) to do some sightseeing. We walked to Huaca Pucllana, a pre-inca pyramid in central Lima, used as a celebration site and burial ground (including human sacrifice). In the queue I recognised a woman from yesterday’s tour, who was travelling on her own as well. So we grouped up and after decided to grab some lunch (3 course set menu for £5, yes please), she had a private car booked to take her to the Larco Museum and invited us along. The Larco Museum was absolutely incredible. The artifacts were breathtaking, in their quality, quantity and detail. I felt a connection to the history and pieces as they all celebrated nature and its power and importance. Overall, I think Lima gets a worse reputation than it deserves.

Next morning was my flight to Iquitos. After a fair bit of turbulence and feeling quite sick on descent, I finally arrive to a shockwave of heat that hit me, a broken suitcase lock (nothing missing) and about 50 men touting for business for their motocar taxi (tuk tuks).

My boss met me, took me to a “bus” station and pops me on it, saying it’ll take about an hour. Buses here are minibuses, called combies, with luggage racks on the top (often full of bananas or yuca). After being stopped by the police on the way to check ID cards (or passport in my case, which happens quite often because we’re close to 2 boarders), I arrive at RAREC. My first impression was definitely clouded by hanger – by then it was 5pm, and I hadn’t eaten since 7am. Anyone who knows me knows I am controlled by food 😅 The first night was hot, the mosquito net annoyed me by rubbing on my face, the pillows were literally the worst thing I had ever felt, just lumpy bits of foam in a sack (they actually gave me severe jaw pain and muscle tightness after the second night… I thought I’d suddenly contracted tetanus), the toilets leave a lot to be desired and I’m not joking, but I am permanently sticky from repellent, soaking from sweat and even after a shower you can’t dry probably and are persistently damp. But within the first week I bought a new pillow, turned my bed around so the mosquito net didn’t drape on my face and found a vaguely working toilet on site. I actually don’t mind the cold showers (I look forward to them) or the heat, although sticking to toilet seats, furniture and everything I touch is frustrating 😅. I went to town and bought some decent breakfast supplies so I don’t have to eat scolding porridge in 30 degree heat. I now have overnight oats, chilled out the fridge. It’s the little things, but turns out all I need in the jungle is a decent pillow and a cold breakfast to be content. Dinner and lunch consist of lots of rice, yuca, plantain and eggs. Something I noticed immediately is how loud nature is here, despite later saying that there’s no wildlife, there are plenty of toads, frogs and, of course, insects. The first night they were almost deafening! During the day there are parakeets squawking in the trees and even the occasional hummingbird which you can hear before you see! The thunder is also on another level to what we experience in the UK, and the rain on the tin roof is so loud it’s almost scary.

So, I am situated 50km (hours drive) from Iquitos. Going “into town” consists of standing outside the gates of the centre for an undefined amount of time before a combi shows up, you hold out your fingers with how many seats you need and they either stop or drive by and you wait some more. There’s no Air-con, but as long as you’re next to an open window, it’s not bad. The smell of the jungle, apart from sweat and DEET, is sadly, smoke. There is constant burning. Either roadsides or swathes of forest. THE road, as there is only this one, for 100km from Iquitos to Nauta at the other end, was built about 10 years ago, straight through the forest, it split habitats and opened the jungle to poachers, burning, agriculture and more “b” roads splitting off from it. As a result there is no major wildlife in this area. I have seen birds, lizards, lots of butterflies and some stunning moths, and this morning I discovered a huntsman spider in my bedroom, but other than that, wildlife is very depleted. There is a big problem with the illegal pet trade here as well as poaching for meat, which I suppose is more forgivable. But the illegal pet trade is supplying demand not just from locals, but America and Europe. Any photo or video you like or share of a pet otter, red panda, monkey or someone cuddling a wild animal is fuelling the demand and depleting the forest. So be careful what you “like”. Back to the combi ride…. as soon as you get close to the city, the smell changes to exhaust fumes and dust, you will come back gritty and filthy with black fingernails. Iquitos is supposedly the noisiest city in Latin America. I disagree, compared to Lima anyway. Don’t get me wrong, it’s loud, with tuk tuk engines and Latin American music blasting from all the shop fronts, but the tooting isn’t too bad, they only do it to warn others when they’re overtaking (more on driving later). My first trip to the city was supposed to be in the van I will be driving but plans changed last minute and me, the head caretaker, the vet and one of the administration staff had to get a combi into town… with a monkey (who needed an x-ray). However, before a combi showed up, a car pulled up and the admin staff said we’d get that… so 4 of us and a monkey in a crate squeezed in to the back of a VW polo, and with the vet sitting on my lap, we spend the hour driving into the city, with no seat belts, like it was a completely normal thing to do. Another fun story is on my second day, I was due to take part in a river dolphin trip, as part of my role is to organise the tour for the interns and volunteers. We left at 6am and turn up to a completely plastered boat driver who hadn’t been told we were coming, he was so drunk he could hardly walk… and insisted he could take us out. After some insisting from our part he got his son to take us instead. It was a “boat” in the loosest term, they had to scoop the water out of first when we all sat in it the Amazon was level with the top of the boat and the driver was scooping out water with a hard hat as we were going along. But we did see some dolphins! And next time, because I had told him we were coming, I was pleased to see him looking sober.

I am now driving in the chaos that is Iquitos. No road markings, no signs, one way streets that you just have to guess with = much fun. I had done a couple of trips to the airport first before I had to brave the actual city. The airport is at km0 of the 100km road, which isn’t bad to drive until you get closer to civilisation. But a couple of days ago I had to city drive properly. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, the tuk tuks flow around you like water. But I have had to overcome my aversion to the horn because nobody uses mirrors and it also signals them to “move the heck over” so other vehicles can pass. After 4 hours driving, I needed a beer once I got back to the centre. You even can’t imagine the chaos, the video below doesn’t do it justice at all I’m not allowed to drive in the dark because it’s too dangerous. I came back from the city in the dark once on a combi and had the unfortunate luck of sitting in the front (no seatbelt) there are trucks with no lights, not just missing light bulbs, but the whole front section where the lights should be. Tuk tuks don’t have lights and sometimes it’s just the driver holding his phone torch!

I am settling in to my new role slowly, finding my feet with the team. It’s obviously all very different from Hidcote and the National Trust. I will explain more about my job, the rescued animals and exotic plants next time because this letter is becoming incredibly long 😅 I have done my first day out with the interns, translating and guiding them (blind leading the blind because I had never been where we were going or had to deal with the 2 hour journey including a combi, tuk tuk, boat and another tuk tuk. But all went well) we went to a local tribe called Maloca Kukama, and learnt about their traditions, language and culture. Which included as a bonus rubbing live termites on our arms as mosquito repellant (it smelt weirdly nice). They were so welcoming, taught us a dance, braided our hair and blessed a bracelet each for us and even invited us to take part in a family birthday party. I will no doubt visit them again and will give you a more in depth description. Until then, take care.

Love Joss xx