I recently took part in the adventure of a lifetime, swapping my Macbook for a machete to take part in an eye-opening rainforest conservation project deep in the Peruvian Amazon. I am a freelance journalist who has always been fascinated with this majestic jungle, but sadly knew more about shopping on Amazon.com than Amazon deforestation and conservation. I regularly report on combating carbon and supporting green initiatives, so I decided to sign up as a rainforest conservation volunteer to practice what I preach.
With the support and sponsorship of 21 corporate partners, including Voltimum, I travelled to the Manu Biosphere Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon. Along with conservation work and donations, my project's aim was to increase awareness about
what is actually happening within the Amazon rainforest.
With a camcorder, notepad and dry bag on hand, I had the opportunity (in between grueling treks and hard manual labour)
to report on deforestation and its effects on the incredible biodiversity found within this unique and quickly disappearing
environment.

Things not to do the night before you are due to travel to the Amazon jungle

1) Google insects found in the particular region you are traveling to (unless you have a passion for mutant sized arthropods)
2) Alter all your trekking trousers with a new £26 sewing machine from Argos
3) Pack one month of clothes and camera equipment into a 35L backpack (patience and repacking time required)

I have just done all three.

I already had a deep-rooted fear of large creepy-crawlies (i.e. spiders and centipedes) and reading about the blue-fanged bird-eating spider did not put my mind at ease.  My only solace is knowing that it is too large to crawl into my boots and that it has a dinner preference of insects and small birds.  I now have a very comprehensive insect repellent plan (DEET spray/lotion for skin, DEET and citronella wristbands and permethrin clothing spray), so along with avoiding bites I will probably numb a few hundred neurons.

Being somewhat vertically challenged, my quick-drying trekking trousers needed to be taken up.  I thought I would be smart (and thrifty) and rather than spend £30 on alterations I decided to purchase a cheap sewing machine to do it myself.  There are two lessons to be learned here.  You get what you pay for (and £26 was not enough) and sewing on time constraints if you haven't sewn in ten years is not an enjoyable craft project.  After two hours of trying to thread the bobbin, I decided to hand my trousers over to the professionals.

Packing is never enjoyable, but it is even less so when you have a lot of things to cram into a very small space.  I am very limited with luggage space because I need to pack all my clothes/toiletries and camera kits into my carry-on (a 35L backpack), as my checked luggage is a small suitcase filled to the brim with solar light donations (thanks Philips!), my daypack and a tripod.  After trying out a few packing techniques (rolling vs. folding) I somehow managed to squish everything in.

Now it's time for one of my last hot cuppas for a month!

I'm looking forward to sharing more tales from the Amazon.  As I'm sure you've figured out, internet access is going to be very limited, so I will have to resort to pen and paper blogging until I can find the technology to upload my entries.

Hasta luego!

Frankie. :)
Posted by

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)