ARCAS Conservation Reserve

Tam:

Day One - It´s my first day as a volunteer for ARCAS an animal conservation reserve in the heart of the jungle in Peten Guatemala. The trip to Guatemala went without a hitch. The 4 hour bus ride to Flores from Belize city was quick and easy, if not bumpy when we got into Guatemala itself.

The ARCAS reserve is a short boat ride away from the picturesque island Flores a very tiny pueblo situated by a beautiful lake surrounded by jungle and small mountains.

ARCAS looks after endangered animals rescued from poachers or who have been sent in by nearyby villages. There are a vast array of animals here, from reptiles to big cats (there is one big jaguar), to all types of birds to howler and spider monkeys.

Our job is to be ready by 6.30am to clean and feed the animals 3 times a day. My duties are to looks after 51 parrots and 2 small spider monkeys. When we are not cleaning and feeding we help around the reserve. The work is hard - bloody hard. The site is set up from the lake and the walk up to the reserve is steep and rocky. After loafing around on the beaches and snorkelling, it feels good to use my muscles again but I won´t lie, after a while I ache.

There are other volunteers too, from around the world, America, Denmark, France and Germany and every week the organisation invites new volunteers in and sáys goodbye to old ones. Our comrades are friendly, intelligent and very enthusiatic , a really nice group of people to be working with, who have opened my eyes to voluntourism and actually taking an interest in things outside my own little world.

I am excited to be working here for a week and can´t wait to see what the week brings although am a little wary of the giant scorpion that I found in the toilet cubicle!

DAY FOUR: We had to get up extra early this morning to pack up 18 crocodiles, turtles and one margay ( a cross between a baby jaguar and a puma). Half the group were going further into the jungle to Lago Tigre to help with the release of these animals whilst Coxy and I and 3 others stayed behind to do the days work(usually done by twice as many helpers). I am tired, but the day went really well. I took over an extra cage of parrots and had only a minor incident with an escaped monkey to deal with ( I caught him walking down the hall into another room .. luckily he didnt put up much of a fight when I picked him up to bring him back to his quarters). It was a strange sight though, all legs and tail .. just tottering up the hall .. wasnt sure how I was to capture him but though I would treat him like Cuzco and it seemed to do the trick.

The early mornings havent been a problem, I actually enjoy getting up early when there is a purpose. I feel fitter after 4 days of hiking up and down the steep hill and rocky terrain and I hope am going to leave a little lighter too from all the manual labour I have been doing . I really would be happy never to pick up a broom again though! I feel fulfilled too that I have been able to contribute to such a good cause, the work they do here is amazing. To be around nature for a week, get woken up by howler monkeys literally screaming and howling like a serial killers in the middle of the night has been a real adventure and experience. I have enjoyed too learning about the different animals and even have a better appreciation for birds .. one of favourite animals at the reserve is a beautiful toucan .. his beak actually has a turquoise stripe .. so beautiful! And an appreciation for the common dog .. in fact a mangy, ginger, smelly one eyed dog called Stinky.

In our spare time Coxy and I were able to go for a hike around the reserve too and play with my new camera, its still taking some time to get used to, but the backdrops we have seen in the process are jawdropping, this one sunset on the lake with the reflections of the clouds above and the colours of blue, grey, green and pink against the last of the golden sun is something I wont forget.

Tomorrow we will leave the junlge and head towards the cobblestoned town of Antigua, nestled in between 3 volcanoes. We are told its a little colder there and this will be our home for the following week as volunteers of a different kind .. in an orphange. I highly recommend though to anyone interested in doing something a little different from the average backpacker trip to try volunteering, although it is hard work and you need to be fit and willing, its extremely rewards and fulfilling too and before you know it, those pesky birds biting and diving bombing are kissing and flying towards you instead! And that mangy flea bitten dog you were horrified to see had fleas and a stink, you are now feeding tortillas to under the table and calling to pat. What a week in the jungle does to you when you have little sleep and are worked to the bone each and every day!

Coxy:

What a fantastic week at ARCAS, Flores. I was responsible for Loros, Guacamayo, Currasows, Ducks and Doves. Starting at 6.30am we had to clean cages, prepare the food and water including the special foods for sick or malnourished birds and make sure they were not sick or acting up more than normal. We finished at 3pm each day and were well looked after with 3 square meals a day. What made it worth wild was the comradrie that all the volunteers had, such great attitudes by everyone helped get the work done speedily and without hassle. The sunsets were amazing across the lake and the water itself cool after a long days work.

My funniest moment was probably having a close encounter with an mature age Ocelot. We had just helped bundle several crocs and turtles into cages to be transported for release and we were cleaning out the turtle enclose when we needed a hose. So I opened the nearest cage (generally any dangerous cages have signs on them warning the volunteers not to go in) to look for a hose and this Ocelot was sitting in the corner sizing me up as its next meal!!!! Ha, I pretty much froze and slowly made my way out amid the shrieks of a volunteer who had just witnessed the near miss....

So we managed to dodge the scorpians (although we seen 2, one in our toilet on the 1st day), the poisonous snakes and howler monkeys and have made our way to the beautiful city of Antigua. This place has some serious mystery and romance to it, cobblestone streets, ancient churchs, scores of local and international students and a cool bar scene which we checked out last night. I am definitely looking forward to the weeks volunteering and stay with our host family, the friendly De Morales household.