Blood, sweat, tears and parasites*

*Disclaimer: Before I offer up some embarrassing tales of injury and illness, I want to point out that this should by no means discourage anyone from visiting a jungle and getting involved with conservation work. Every trip and every job has its risks, whether it is being trampled by cruel rush hour commuters in London or being bitten by a snake in the Amazon.

Blood:

Wellies + extreme trekking + sweat drenched feet = nasty blisters

The conservation staff and volunteers wear welly boots in the jungle, as they are snakebite proof. There were a couple of instances where I nearly stood on a snake, so can appreciate the precaution. Wearing wellies might prevent death-by-snake-venom, but it also creates the perfect environment for foot hell. My once pampered tootsies very quickly became a podiatrist’s nightmare. Missing toenails, foot fungus and blisters the size of 50p coins. Extra large plasters couldn’t even cover these suckers, which led to some torn skin and bloody fluid in my socks (eeeew!)

Sweaty Frankie

Sweat:

When wasn’t I sweaty? When you are working long days of very physical work and are hiking for hours on end in extreme humidity, you are bound to be soaking wet with sweat. It was the amount of sweat that poured from every part my body that fascinated me though.

Tears:

People who know me well know that I have a tricky knee (known in the science world as a “subluxing patella”). This means that every-so-often if I slip or put too much force on it, it will quickly dislocate, and pop back, leading to an embarrassing fall. Now combine this with the damp and challenging trails in the Amazon and you have a recipe for disaster. Day three in the Amazon I slipped on a log, popped my knee, shed a few tears and made a complete a** out of myself. With the help of some resourceful volunteers and scientists, I had a selection of wooden walking sticks made for me throughout my stay (compliments of the rainforest ground debris).

Parasites:

Spotted Fever - Stage 1 (it gets worse!)

A few days before I left Peru I felt unwell with a terrible headache and slight fever. I also had a few spots, which I assumed were just bites from the various nibbling insects of the Amazon. Upon my return to London, these few spots exploded into a full on body rash similar to chicken pox with a splash of measles on top. Six doctors and a couple of misdiagnoses later, I tested positive to Spotted Fever. This is a tick-borne blood disease, where parasitic bacteria are transmitted from tick to human, where it then attacks the host’s blood cells. In some cases it can be fatal, but my superhuman immune system managed to fight the disease.

The elephant in the room…

I feel the need to write a few words about the obvious truth of travelling approximately 12,000 km from London to the Manu Biosphere Reserve. There is clearly a huge carbon footprint involved, so it might be seen as defeating the purpose of working as a rainforest conservation volunteer.

The point I want to make is that this is a trip that I had always wanted to do and would have done at some point in my life. Through this project, I chose to experience the Amazon via conservation work and reporting rather than through a tour group. This was not a holiday. I worked my little sweaty socks off whilst there and have spent many unpaid hours/days/weeks upon my return putting together all of my coverage. This incredibly challenging (and rewarding) experience has made me a better person and I can only hope that the awareness I raise will lead to more people getting involved with conservation and opting for ecotourism.