(Preto, means devil in monkey language)
(Natalie with Paulina and Patricio)
(Dave with his new best friend)
(water taxi crossing the río beni)
Well, officially, monkey non-profit.
Our trip hasn´t been all fun and games, as we spent the last week volunteering at a small animal sanctuary. Our work there included harvesting peanuts (mani), harvesting yucca, and hacking a path to the water well in the jungle. It was some tough work in the hot sun. But who are we kidding, it was mostly fun and games with the spider monkeys, China, Paulina, Preto, and Patricio.
Despite the four plus hour combi bus ride in each direction over some of the worst road conditions we´ve ever seen (or our rear ends have ever felt), we had an amazing experience. Run solely by seven-month-pregnant Franci on sixty hectares of land with no electricity or flushing toilets, Esperanza de Libertad is a wonderful little refuge for some fortunate rescue animals. The land is located about 15 km (half hour by said road) outsite of Ixamas, which is 3-5 hours outside of Rurrenabaque, which is an 18+ hour bus ride from La Laz. We were glad we could make a small contribution to the work that Franci is doing to help some animals in need of some friends.
