Brazil to Peru

Volunteer platform.

And just like that, I was gone. I packed up my things, said goodbye, and caught the bus to Ilhéus. The Ilhéus airport is a tiny airport with overpriced food and security that doesn't even ask you to empty your water bottle. From Ilhéus I flew to São Paulo, which is a giant, modern airport with even more overpriced food. I realized that all I wanted to eat was rice and beans, and had to walk all the way to the end of the terminal to finally find a restaurant that served something close to standard Brazilian food. My next flight was leaving to Lima at 3:50 in the morning, so I set up camp on some chairs and attempted sleep, semi-successfully. I sleepily boarded the plane, only to pass out again as soon as I was in my seat. I couldn't tell you if there even was a safety talk, because I was asleep until the moment the plane left the ground. I woke up an hour before we landed, just in time to see the sunrise over the rocky Peruvian coastline. Once in Lima, I found my way through customs and back through security. At 11:00, I took my last plane to Puerto Maldonado. There happened to be another volunteer named Larissa on the same plane, and Luis, one of LPAC's coordinators, picked us both up. LPAC stands for Las Piedras Amazon Center, which is where I am now. They have their headquarters in Puerto Maldonado, so we went there to drop off our stuff. Then we went out for lunch and too the market to buy last minute items like mosquito repellent and a poncho. In the evening, we had to leave the house for a while because a fumigation operation of the whole city was happening sue to a dengue fever outbreak. The whole city was filled with pesticide smoke which I'm sure can't have been healthy to inhale. That night, we went to bed early, as we were leaving for the field station at 7:00 the next morning. To get to LPAC, we had to drive for 2.5 hours, first on highways and then on a dirt road. At one point, a tree had fallen across the road, which our driver chopped up and we pushed to the side. Finally, we reached Lucerna, which is the name of the community near LPAC. It has grown from 5 to 40 families in the past few years, and now is more like a little town with a few stores. They even got Wi-Fi a few months ago. There, we met up with all the other volunteers, who were there to use the Wi-Fi. The last step was to take a boat 15 minutes upriver and walk the 200 meters to the center. Most of the buildings at the center are raised wooden platforms with roofs. The dining room has mosquito netting as walls, but the rest of the areas are all open. The sleeping platforms are the same, with mosquito nets provided for the beds. After lunch, Clemencia, one of the coordinators, gave Larissa and I the safety talk. It was pretty much what I was expecting, having already been in similar places in Brazil. However, there are quite a few more tropical diseases here including dengue, malaria (I'm taking anti-malarials), chikinguya, and leishmaniasis. Most of them are transmitted by biting insects, and wearing long sleeves, pants, and repellent is a necessary precaution. The afternoon was spent talking and relaxing. The group of people here is neat: Clemencia, Dylan, Dan, and Pat are the coordinators and head researchers. There are now 6 volunteers including me, all women between 19 and 26 (me being the youngest). All are very nice, and it is so refreshing to be around people my age and in my same situation. The group dynamics are very interesting to watch and be a part of. For example, the conversation changes pretty significantly when one or more of the three guys are present. I really enjoy the fact that there is no internet here, because I feel like people are a lot more involved with each other. When there is internet, it is so easy for someone to withdraw and seek entertainment or conversation via the internet. However, that means you don't get to know the people around you as well and don't have as many quality conversations. In the evening, we went on a dusk/night walk. There is a large trail system around LPAC, which is great because it means that you can walk for hours. On our walk we saw many frogs, a silver vine snake, a turtle, a lizard and an anole, a paca, a Norway rat, and a bat falcon. This area is primary forest, meaning it has never been cut down, although parts of it have been selectively logged. This forest feels so different: it feels right, it feels balanced and unhurried. There is a feeling of being unsettled in reforested forests, but you can immediately tell when you enter a primary forest. It feels at peace. That night, after dinner, we got beers from a case that had been brought up the river and played games together till midnight. The electricity here is on from 5 to 9, so we played by the light of a single candle, which added a whole other feeling. I went to bed tired but very happy. I'm so lucky and thankful to be here, and I've loved everything about it so far.