The Blaus - South America and Europe

6 de Abril - Villa Tunari, Bolivia

One of the main reasons we came to Villa Tunari was to see Inti Wara Yassi, the animal shelter created about 15 years ago by Bolivians to rescue wildlife in hopes of returning them to their natural habitats. The idea of the shelter is to obtain monkeys, pumas, rare birds, and a few other animal species that have been captured and then sold as pets into black markets around South America. The wildlife rescue center is owned and run by Bolivians, but is mostly staffed by foriegn volunteers. To volunteer at the camp, you must dedicate a minimum of 15 days in order to get to know the animal that you are assigned to well enough so that the animal is comfortable with you. Most of the volunteers are European or Australian, and many have been there many months. We went to investigate volunteering oursleves, but decided it was too much of a time commitment, especially after talking to the locals about the wildlife reserve.

We think the idea of the refuge started very nobly, to return captured animals back to natural wildlife, but the reserve has basically turned into a zoo. The people in Villa Tunari think that the whole thing has become a bit of a joke, and the owners of the refuge have bought up 3 hotels, so they are apparently profiting greatly from their venture. In the end, not many of the animals ever leave the refuge, they seem to stay there for the free food, and the 25 acres of jungle provided to them.

We decided to visit just as tourists for the day, and we had a great time. When we walked into the refuge, a Capuchin monkey immediately jumped up on to Jen`s shoulders and remained there comfortably as we walked deeper into the reserve. The monkey had a litle leash around his neck, which means he is new to the refuge, and not totally free to mingle with the wilder monkeys until he is assimilated to his new environment. As we kept on down the path, we saw different types of monkeys everywhere. There were little multi colored squirrel monkeys jumping great distances from tree to tree, and larger all black spider monkeys swinging from branch to branch. We were still timid around them, and did not know if they would bite or be a nuisance, so we walked cautiously.

We traveled up a jungle path to a mirador (look out point), where a different capuchin monkey jumped between us and just lay spread eagle on our shoulders eating maracuya (passionfruit) as we walked up the path. Jen was his favorite, and he looked so happy on her shoulders. Every once in awhile a different monkey appeared from within the trees and scared the little guy, and he would run off and hide, but he would always come back and find us, and run and jump right back on Jen´s shoulders, each time with a different piece of food in his hand.

Ater we hiked around the grounds for about an hour and a half looking at the Parrots, Macaws and other tropical birds they were working with, we went back to the main monkey hangout where the volunteers feed them 3 times a day. We were there about an hour before feeding time, and the monkeys obviously knew the schedule, because they started appearing out of nowhere in great numbers. Then out of the forest came a large spider monkey mother who had its little one month old baby clinging to her stomach and they both went right into Billy`s lap. The mother wanted to cuddle and protect the baby, and would often wrap one arm around Billy´s neck and the other around Jen´s neck just like a mother would do to her two kids. The baby had almost no hair, and looked like a bald alien, but had these huge black eyes that would stare right at us as her mother sat in Billy´s lap. Then the father came over and sat on top of the mother while still on Billy´s lap. The whole family was there. It was really an incredible experience, as their tails, arms and legs wrapped around us for protection and comfort. We understood why the different volunteers became so attached to the monkeys they looked after. The monkeys would even groom us (especially Billy`s hairy legs). When they were eating in our arms, they would put pieces of their food in our mouths...that is how monkeys share. We were really happy with the experience, but happy we did not invest two weeks in the "project."

The next day we went to a place called Guacharos in Parque Nacional Carrasco that is just outside Villa Tunari. We drove past the coca fields, where farmers had coca leaves and rice drying out in the middle of the street, along with other spices and natural goods they grow in the region. We went on a 2 hour walk through the jungle, stopping in a dark, wet cave that was full of sleeping bats (Jen did not like that part at all), and learning about the natural habitat of the area from our guide. We were able to see and hear the birds that the park is named for (the guacharos), which are nocturnal and live in another cave within the park. The best part of the walk was crossing a river on this contraption that was like a caged platform that slid across two wires high over the river, all manuevered by hand.

We really enjoyed Villa Tunari overall. It is a quiet and sleepy little town in the center of Bolivia. It was warm and humid and we appreciated the change of atmospere and climate. We stayed at a very sweet family owned residencia and were treated like part of the family. Every afternoon the owner of the alojamiento greeted us with a cold glass of jugo de maracuya (passionfruit juice). We were sad to leave a town full of such friendly people.

After our hike we boarded another bus for Cochabamba, the third largest city in Bolivia. We are here until tomorrow when we head to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.

posted by The Blaus @ 8:53 PM