Flores and ARCAS

After crossing the river and arriving in a small border town called Bethel we were met by our connecting bus. Not quite a chicken bus, it was nevertheless a few steps down from the Mexican buses. Gemma and I were the last to board, which worked out well as we had the four backrow seats to ourselves, so we were able to snatch a little sleep as the old bus bounced it's way over the unpaved, uneven road. 

We arrived in Flores having managed to fend off the tour operators advances ("why you no book to go to Tikal, you no like ruins?" "I like ruins; I just don't like being ripped off!"). The bus crossed the causeway onto the small island town and as luck would have it we drove straight past our hostel, so we were able to jump off and save ourselves a taxi fare (and a lot of faffing). 

After checking in and throwing our bags down we decided to go for a walk, but in the attached cafe we spotted two friends from the previous hostel, a couple called Dan and Harriet. It's always nice to bump into a few people you know, even if you've only known them 48 hours, so we sat down. Dan read our minds and offered us a beer, and we recounted the previous days adventures down at the police station. 

After a short catch-up the hostel owner, Dietrich, gave a slide show presentation on the Tikal ruins. Gemma really enjoyed the presentation, and it wasn't too bad for me either, but by this point my concentration was severely depleted, in inverse proportion to my appetite! Dietrich explained the different temples, offered advice on the best route to tour the site, and what time to be at each. He also told us that the Palenque ruins are probably the most elegant of Mayan ruins, whilst the Tikal site is the most monumental. 

After another beer Gemma and I went out for dinner. The streets were packed, and we could see party going on up a hill towards the main plaza, but by this point I was too hungry to care, so we carried on to the nearest restaurant and ate our fill. The party was still going on when we retraced our steps, so we climbed the street and stood in the middle of the plaza. The new Christmas tree (sponsored by Gallo, the local lager manufacturer) had just been unveiled and a band stood on a platform to one side of the square belting out evidently popular, but indecipherable tunes. The plaza was packed, it was a little too much after such a long day of travel, so we returned to the hostel and crashed out. 

We spent a further two nights in Flores. In truth, whilst it's quite pretty (in a rundown way) there isn't much to do, which suited us just fine. We didn't go to tikal, figuring that we were coming back this way soon anyhow, so instead we spent our days relaxing, eating and catching up with a few chores - blogging, washing, lying under the fan! 

We had dinner with Dan and Harriet one evening, and afterwards took a few drinks back to their apartment and sat outside on deck chairs, chatting through the night. After two and a half months without a great deal of company, it was really nice to have other people to talk to. And they both had some interesting stories, having already travelled for some months, staying on Organic farms and working for their beds (something apparently known as WWOFING). We said our goodbyes, as they were heading off to another farm in Belize the next day, having written down the details for several good hostels on the route we are travelling.

After 3 nights we packed our bags and left the hostel early one morning. Heading down to the causeway we found the small dock area and waited for our ride to ARCAS. ARCAS is a small conservation organisation which rehabilitates animals so they can go back to the wild, something we found on the internet several months before we set off. Unfortunately the boat didn't show up, so I wandered over to the other side of the causeway to see a small craft loaded with bananas dashing away from us. Damn. The bananas were a pretty big clue eh!

Using our emergency phone we dialed the organisation's assistant director and he sent the boat back for us. Crossing the lake felt fantastic, although we weren't quite sure what we were in for. The sun was shining, the fresh air blew into our faces for the first time in a long while, it felt very adventurous. The boat headed for a small gap in the reeds, and the pilot had to cut the engine and punt with an oar. When we pulled through the reeds into a small expanse of water covered with lilies it looked every inch the tropical destination.

We were met by Ali, one of the volunteer coordinators, given fresh bedsheets and taken to our dorm, up a hillside covered by dense trees. We dumped our bags down and went for a short tour of our immediate environment. Right outside of the volunteer dorm there were three large cages full of birds, Scarlet Macaws and Parrots, and just behind us were two ponds with crocodiles, altogether a very effective intruder alarm system! 

We arrived during morning chores time, so we had an hour to ourselves before we started the 11am shift. The ARCAS site is decided up into several different stages: Quarantine; Post-Quarantine; Pre-Rehab; and Rehab. When an animal is confiscated by CONAP (Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas), an official organization which has been set up to protect the environment and wildlife of Guatemala, they are brought to ARCAS and given a check up by a vet. If they are healthy they can be released straight back into the wild, dependant on certain conditions. However, usually they cannot, especially if they are young (as many of the arrivals are). At this point they will go into quarantine, where they will be monitored for a period of time to assess if they are physically and mentally healthy. In practice this can mean many things, for example with parrots you must observe whether they can mimic human sounds, if they can they can never be released into the wild because they will be shunned by wild parrots. 

Once they have passed quarantine, they head to post-quarantine and then pre-rehab. As the creatures progress through the stages human contact is gradually withdrawn, the cages are moved further away from people. Depending upon the species this could take anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years. Assuming they pass this stage, they go to Rehab. Rehab is quite a long walk from anywhere in particular, because the animals have to get used to not seeing people at all. The enclosures are huge, and cover an area of unmanaged tropical forest. Very occasionally someone will go and take some pans to bang, to instill the idea that humans are scary and should be avoided. After this, they can be released. 

At any stage, if an animal fails, they can either drop back a level, or else they may end up in the education centre. The education centre was a 10 minute walk along a jungle path, near the lake. Built with funds supplied by Disney (who unfortunately pulled out after 3 years meaning ARCAS had to let their one PR person leave), the centre is a home for those animals who cannot be released back into the wild. For example there were two Ocelots, one blind and the other missing a leg (trapped in a hunters snare), several parrots who could mimic humans, and two Cayman, a non-native species. Here the occasional tour is given, sometimes to tourists from Flores and at other times to local schools, but since the PR person left this is less common. 

Gemma was assigned to one of the teams working in Quarantine, whilst I was sent to Pre-Rehab. My shifts consisted primarily of cleaning two large cages thoroughly and feeding the inhabitants (30 parrots in one cage and 12 scarlet macaws in the other). Byron and Alanna showed me the ropes on the first day, and by the end of the shift I was thoroughly sweaty, the heat and humidity making even the most basic task feel arduous. We would remove 3 large feeding platforms, which are hoisted from the air, take them to the ante-chamber and wash them with a hose, scrub them, spray with a little chlorine, remove any bits of food stuck in the platform, then wash again with the hose. We'd refill the platforms with food (usually chopped banana and corn) and fresh water, then hoist them back into the air. Meanwhile the other person would be sweeping up the debris from the cage to ensure there was no rotten food inside the enclosure.

All the while we had to dodge parrots, making sure we didn't tread on any and especially that we didn't talk to any - which might sound strange, but it is really hard not to say something when a parrot lands on your brush handle as you are sweeping and stares at you with curiosity in his eyes. In the other cage the process was largely the same, with a few exceptions. You really had to look carefully because the Macaws are massive birds, you don't want to be underneath one when they decide to empty their bowels! There were also a couple of other birds in with the Macaws, both about the size of a turkey, a crested Guam and a Faisan.

These shifts were repeated three times as day, at 6.30am, 11am and 2pm. In between we’d find time for breakfast and lunch, and there was a 2 hour window for “chore time”. This could be anything, one day Gemma had to go to the lake to catch some fish for the herons lunch, another day I got to clean out the crocodiles and snapping turtle enclosure, and on a different day we both had to rake leaves around the education centre (because the snakes like to hang out under dead leaves). 

Whilst I was busy working with my feathered friends a little way away from everyone, Gemma stayed down in pre-quarantine with Satcha, where she was taking care of 26 parrots and parakeets, 3 howler monkeys and a toucan (obviously in different cages). I know she was very happy to be assigned to the howler monkeys, and every mealtime I got an update on their mischievous antics - I did think I was going to have to go down to her cage to have a word with the monkeys about encroaching personal space. They graduated from the odd cheeky poke, through stealing brushes and hoses to full blown hair pulling during the time we spent at ARCAS. 

Occasionally due to volunteer illness (there was a lot of it going around) we would be removed from our normal routines to help provide cover. One day Byron and I got to clean out the spider monkeys, and we couldn't quite hide our delight. The spider monkeys are great fun, it seems like their limbs are made of plasticine as they stretch and swing about the cage. They were pretty nervous about us, hiding at the tops of the cage initially. We took it in turns to clean whilst the other would assume guard duty, keeping hold of the high pressure water hose (just in case). But as soon as we brought out their afternoon snack, a large bunch of leaves, they overcame their shyness and tried to snatch them from our hands. 

There were not many volunteers during our brief stay, about 12 in all, at peak times there can be over 50. On the one hand this was good because we got to experience a number of different tasks in a short time (e.g. Gemma got to feed a poorly heron), but equally it meant that good conversation was at a premium. The volunteer coordinators (Ali, Anna and Glen) were really nice, but looking a bit run down, and I really enjoyed working with Byron and Alanna. The accommodation wasn't great, just sufficient for a basic level of hygiene - I still think I can smell the bathroom from here. After 3 shifts and a chore, I would have loved a non-freezing shower, but at least we had water. The one thing that really got me down was the food. Suffice to say that on reaching Flores we went to Burger King and it felt like a flavour explosion in my mouth.

After 4 days of living in the jungle, fending off the mosquitos (largely unsuccessfully), trying not to cry when I saw beans on my plate, smelling of manure and finding parrot shit in the most unlikely and unforeseeable places, we decided to call it a day. It is better to leave with good memories of the animals and the people than come to resent it, and we've both had some amazing experiences in a very short period of time. We called a local boatman, Carlos, who picked us up from a nearby pier and sailed across the lake to Flores.

Gemma Adds:

We finished working at ARCAS a few days earlier than planned but still happy with our contribution. It was really hard work in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and both of us suffered from dehydration as well as numerous aches and pains. 

Arriving back in Flores was a delight, not only because it is such a stunning place, but also because we were back to relative comfort, luxury after the poor living conditions of the jungle. Food has never tasted so good (garlic butter on fresh, hot, homemade wholemeal bread and salad) and I had a glass of pretty rubbish cheap red wine - which was lovely! I savored every mouthful.

I have to say that I ache all over and while being with the animals was great, the heat and the low standard of living made the physically difficult work even harder. Food portions were small and served with a black mashed up bean sauce (frijoles) three times a day, but when I was given my breakfast on our final day it really took the biscuit. It was a bread roll. Just a bread roll! That was it. No butter or jam. Just the optional extra bean mush! I could laugh because it was our last day but I don't know how people stay there for several months (and pay for the privilege!)

Simple things could have made it better, like if my wellies didn't have holes in them (I have a mini version of trench foot!) and hot showers for example.

We finished on a high with both of us having our best day there so far. For me, the highlight was when a baby howler monkey called Issy climbed gently onto my shoulder and wrapped her tail around my neck. It broke my heart to have to brush her off but I knew it was the right thing to do if I ever want her to be released back into the wild. And I do want that for them all.

All in all it was a great experience, but I'm glad it is over and that I get to sleep in a proper bed that doesn't smell!