“My experience with Global Nomadic was very good. I was a volunteer there for two months. In the beginning, I was skeptical about this trip, because I had never gone out of the country before to do volunteer work. Fortunately, I spoke with Jeremy a few times over Skype and received answers to a lot of questions before leaving. Overall, the Global Nomadic team was very supportive in both helping me prepare for the trip and facilitating my travel.
The most difficult part of Esperanza Verde for me was getting to the site. After getting to Pucallpa (the closest major city), you take a two hour taxi ride to the town of Curimana. This is where the volunteers can use the internet (very slow) and make international phone calls. When you get to Curimana, you get dropped off at the port and cross the river to the other side. From there it’s another 45 minute taxi ride to Bello Horizonte. From there, you have to get someone to cross you again to the other side of the river to get to Esperanza Verde. I also spoke very little Spanish before I left. This made it a little more difficult to communicate with taxi drivers. However, you should not have much trouble getting there if your Spanish is OK.
After you get there, things are much better. You work 5 days a week and get 2 days off. You get to learn how to feed and take care of the animals there. Apart from taking care of the animals, you work on construction or do other tasks around the site. One thing is for sure, you can always find something to do at Esperanza Verde. Some days, I would help in construction for the new house. Other days, I would be cutting grass with a machete, working on the plantations, or carrying 50 pound (23kg) sand bags from the river to make cement. Everything is done manually there since there is no electricity from the power grid. Therefore, we had to bring the tools and supplies ourselves.
Apart from working, you get a chance socialize with people from all over the world. You are around fresh air all the time and you can take all types of nature walks in the forest. If you like animals and the Amazon, then I believe you will benefit from spending at least a few weeks at Esperanza Verde.”
Wildlife Rehabilitation Project in Peru
