Step One: Live in jungle, shower with tarantula, ride tapir, save the rainforest.

Hello World...hope you are listening...


“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again” (Stephen Grellet). 


July 12th found me 18 and alone in the airport. Boarding ticket in hand, I embarked on the trip of my life.  


 My itinerary read: Peru, South Africa, Cambodia, Thailand, Mongolia, and England. My lifelong yearning to make a difference in this world shaped itself into a surreal reality that would take place over the course of an entire year.  Arriving in Peru at the Taricaya Ecological Reserve on the 13th of July marked the start of an incredible journey. Here, I volunteered on a conservation program that involved many aspects of saving the rainforest and the animals within it.
Taricaya  rescues and rehabilitates wildlife and releases them when the time comes. Spider monkeys, Jaguars, Macaws, Toucans, Howler Monkeys, Capuchins, Tapir, Parrots, Marguays, Jaguarundis, and Wild Dog all resided within Taricaya. There were 40 other volunteers when I arrived; each of us was given an activity each day that would contribute to the conservation efforts. The activities ranged from birdwatching to animal feeding to trail clearing(with machetes!) to butterfly catching(imagine prancing through the rainforest with nets like spongebob and that is what this activity was like:) There of course was the infamous tapir poo pool, which was so dreaded that even the staff would not do it... Turtle Beach was an exciting adventure that involved taking the boat to a nearby island and camping overnight. At 2am, we would awaken to search the island for turtle nests in order to save the eggs from the locals, who sell these eggs in the market. This activity was incredibly entertaining(to me) and rewarding because it was tangible conservation work.


Being a part of the conservation efforts at Taricaya were amazing...however, having the privilege of meeting people from all over the world made for a jolly good time in the jungle! Canads, Brits, Great Danes, French, Germans, Switzerlandians, Hollandites, and the token American every now and then filled the bungalows to create an Amazonian melting pot! I learned a great deal of American stereotypes and also had many of my stereotypes mythbusted. The extraordinary mixing of cultures in this remote location and sharing a similar passion for the environment and animals created a strong bond between my international homies and I!


 After 6 weeks of calling the Amazon Jungle my home, I had to depart for step two of my worldly expedition: South Africa! However, the night before I departed, I organized a goodbye paint party...where we would literally just throw paint at each other until our heart's content. Twas the best goodbye ever. ♥ (see pic!)

Chicken and rice wrapped in a banana leaf!

"Mossin" in the hammocks at Taricaya!

Turtle Beach!

El Gringos! (That is a real tree, btdubbs:)

Animal Feeding!

Paint Party! 

(Me=back row, with the yellow eye! ;)