On Monday, the Amazon CARES volunteers set up a sterilization clinic in the Secada Vignetta neighborhood in the municipality of San Juan Bautista. Unlike our week long sterilization campaign, this was a one day clinic because December 8 is a feriado or federal holiday in Peru. Because businesses would be closed Tuesday to celebrate the Dia de la Inmaculada Concepcion) it didn’t make sense to setup a full clinic for a single day.

We arrived at the site and began setting up the operating tables before realizing the local government has organized our spay and neuter clinic in a church!  In fact, we sterilized animals in a church a day before the Imaculate Conception. Despite the unusual environs (an altar here, a pew there) the team sterilized 16 animals and treated 3 dozen more.

Because of the holiday, we had Tuesday to relax and unwind. Some of the team took a jungle tour, while others spent the day relaxing on Monkey Island. In the afternoon, we all met up to relax poolside at La Casa Fitzcarraldo, a gorgeous resort in the heart of Iquitos. I will write more about Monkey Island and La Casa Fitzcarraldo later this week, as each deserves a post.

Today, we returned to Plaza Roja for a second week of sterilizations in San Juan. We had a small turnout, but our team of 5 veterinarians and 3 nurses sterilized 8 dogs and 2 cats before lunch so we were able to visit the Plaza’s artisan market before heading back to the clinic.