Archive for November, 2009
Bienvenidos a Iquitos!
I have arrived safely in Iquitos Peru and am settling in at the Amazon CARES headquarters. Molly Mednikow met me at the airport and the two house dogs, Blanca y Negra welcomed me at the front door.
I’ll be sleeping upstairs at the offices of the veterinary clinic tonight before heading to the animal shelter at Cabo Lopez tomorrow.
Now that I’ve showered and unpacked, Molly and I are heading to the Belén Street Market to pick up groceries for coming week. The Belén Market is located in the floating city of Belén near Iquitos and is well known for it’s chaotic jumble of stalls and vendors selling everything from medicinal herbs to wild animals.
I’ll be posting photos to my flickr account of market, the shelter at Cabo Lopez and the veterinary clinic when I am next online.
And we’re off!
After a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family in New York, I’m en route to Miami (hooray for in-flight WiFi!)
From Miami, I take an overnight flight to Lima and a third flight to Iquitos the following day. I’m thrilled, excited and nervous all at once!
For those of you just arriving, this is day one of a month long adventure volunteering in Iquitos with Amazon CARES. I will be twittering (CourtneyCARES) and updating this blog with posts, photos and videos of our work as often as I can.
Please comment, email and send questions or comments my way. I will have fairly regular access to the internet and am happy to answer reader mail.
Why volunteer?
When most animal lovers think of a ‘before and after’ photo, it’s usually something along the lines of their beloved pet as a puppy/kitten/pony compared to an adult photo.
For example, below is a ‘before and after’ my beloved pooch at 5 weeks and at 4 years. Isn’t she cute? Isabel was adopted from an animal rescue in 2005 and though she came home with kennel cough (Bordetella) and an intestinal parasite, she quickly grew into a strong, healthy puppy.
A gratuitous photo of Isabel.
However, not all animals are as lucky. More animal lovers should see the startling before and after photos taken by volunteers at shelters across the world. Below is Dana, who arrived at the Amazon CARES shelter with severe mange and malnutrition. Dana developed into a beautiful dog with a healthy, brilliant coat of fur who was quickly adopted.
Dana, one of the dogs rescued by Amazon CARES.
Amazingly, I choose the photo of Dana because so many of the other before and after photos were almost too much to stomach. Mange and malnutrition are common, but the shelter at Amazon CARES has received animals that have been lit on fire, poisoned and doused in bleach! For those with a strong stomach and a big heart, you can see more incredible before and after photos from Amazon CARES here.
Destination: Iquitos, Peru
Two weeks from today, I will be arriving in Iquitos, Peru to volunteer with Amazon CARES.
Iquitos is the Capital of the Peruvian Amazon and is a balmy 90F (32C) a far cry from the chilly weather I woke up to this morning in Washington DC.
I’ll be flying from New York to Lima on an overnight flight and then on to Iquitos the following day. Iquitos can only be reached only by airplane or boat, and trips to nearby towns often requires a river trip via llevo-llevo!
This will be my first trip to Peru, but my second trip to South America (In 2007, I spent eight months living and volunteering in Buenos Aires, Argentina through the Rotary Foundation). I’m nervous and excited about the month I’ll spend with Amazon CARES and I hope you’ll check back often!