Mental Manuelita: My girls and I (three pumas, that is...)

Apologies for the lack of communication. I have been living in the Bolivian jungle for the last month, taking care of Three pumas...don´t worry, i´ll give you some time to digest that...No, I haven´t tried any of the hallucinagetic roots...ok, here goes.

The name of the Organization is Inti Warra Yassi, founded about 15 years ago by a man who wanted to combine his love for ecology with his concern for Bolivia´s impoverished youth. Over the years, he was able to fund and create parks spanning hectares upon hectares of now-protected primery forest lands, and brought various animals who had been mistreated by circuses, private homes and bars, in order to provide for them the best home possible. There is zero Government funding, and thus all costs and expenditures are derived from ´Gringo´volunteers (like me) who come to donate their time and money for this amazing cause. I arrived at Ambue Ari park, and was fortunate enough to join a team taking care of three amazing sister pumas named:

Inti (Sun in Quechua)

Warra (Star in Aymara)

Yassi (Moon in Guarani)

Needles to say these beautiful cats have become the mascots of the organization. The last month was spent with an ever-changing assortment of volunteers from around the world (Australia, Israel, USA, Chile, Slovenia, to name a few) who share the common denominator of an amazing personality and a love for the wildlife at the park. Amenities at the park are less than comfortable, but nothing to cry about. The Cold Showers are fantastically luxurious after a day of running with the cats. In addition, there are 5-6 Bolivian teens living and volunteering in the park as well, providing for a continuous exchange of culture and language.

The Volunteers putting on a play about the environment at the local school for Mother´s Day.

The daily schedule is as follows:

6:30 am wake-up: About %60-70 find this extremely hard due to cheap rum hangover (will explain later)

7:30 am: Breakfast after weekly and daily chores (general upkeep of park, feeding of house animals such as monkeys, tapirs, and parrots)

Its not always Shakshuka for breakfast, only when Israelis are the majority...

9:30 am: off to morning shift with cats. This part is different for every volunteer. With las chicas (the three pumas) this shift generally consists of giving a little love and taking them out for a walk. A walk can mean running the entire trail, swimming, and just lazying about and taking a nap with them.

Yassi and Inti are ready to get out of the Cage...

1:00 PM: Lunch

2:30 PM: Afternoon shift. Another walk if their still energetic. We then feed them (about 1.5 kilos for Warra and Yassi, 1 for Inti as she is on a diet) Clean up the cage a bit and hang with the girls.

The only place in the world where the animals eat better than the humans

6:15 PM: Dinner after washing up (not required)

Beats a cold shower any day!

7:00 PM: ride to nearest ¨town¨Santa Maria, which is made up of several thatched roof huts with generators and outhouses. ¨civilization¨is genrally good for cold drinks and lots of rum (12 bolivians a bottle) Pictures are provided for a better understanding of the life...you´ll get it.

All-girls boat race. Life is GOOD in the jungle...

to conclude: my experience at Ambue Ari Park cannot be done justice with words. I built relationships with three puimas to the point of recognition of their personalities and wants. I also built relationships with the volunteers at the park, ones I truly hope will develop into life-long friendships. Memories of running through the jungle as well as around the bars will definitely remain in my mind, (as well as on my hard-drive). I remain indebted to Inti, Warra and Yassi, and hope that the future volunteers will give them the love they deserve. As for now, I must get my mind back into travel mode. I have an 18 hour bus-ride to La Paz tonight, and the Sun Festival in Cuzco is coming up soon.

Yassi checking out the new Mezuzah on her door...One day she´ll marry nice doctor and settle in the Upper East Side...