Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Despite what you all may think life at the park wasn't all fun parties and playing with over grown kittens in the beautiful Bolivian jungle sometimes it was very hard work. For Bec especially having to be out of bed each morning and at work by seven thirty mostly to listen other volunteers complain about how they didn't like the job they were doing. I had a few days hard work as well. It all started one afternoon when I was walking back from Luna's cage I noticed one of the monkey park girls struggling with poorly working cage door and asked Matt (the volunteer coordinator before Bec) who is in charge of maintenance in the park? Matt told me that if I could help then to go ahead! So I found some steel lying about in the scrap pile and dug out the old welder from under the bench in the tool shed and proceeded to build a new door for the cage. Now that sounds pretty simple but when you are in Bolivia nothing is as easy as it sounds It took me the best part of a week to complete the very easy task .you see To fit the door to the cage was the most trouble as there is no electricity out in the park so no welder or power drill or any power tools at all for that matter. Once you get into the swing of things though it becomes a little easier. Anyway, once Nina, Matt and Rob had seen the finished job, Rob mentioned that Nena wanted some new cages built for the monkey quarantine and I was happy to say yes because this was something I had wanted to do from the time we arrived Little did I know that the few cages Nena wanted would turn into five sets of cages each divided into between five and eight small sections for individual monkeys and four large cages complete with removable tin roofs and food tray holders! one of which had to hold the notorious Victor ( a very smart and very strong capuchin monkey who has escaped from ever cage he has ever lived in at one point or another even a transport cage built for the pumas that is built entirely from steel bars and takes six strong lads to carry). One afternoon when I had returned from working with Luna, Nena grabbed me by the arm and asked me to come and help, which often means lifting carrying or moving something. but this time was a little different .what I saw after being dragged rapidly into the monkey quarantine area was Johhny (one of the vets) wearing his Bolivian welding helmet(sun glasses) attempting to weld together a new cage for the baby monkeys (Johnny really had no idea what he was doing!) Nena grabbed the welder out of Johnny's hand and gave it to me and said ayuda por favor (please help!) Okay I said, then as turned to look around everyone disappeared and I was standing there welder in hand not sure where to start. We were very short staffed at the park at the time. Bec and I, as well as most of the other cat volunteers were arriving to work early in the mornings to help out in other areas( the monkey park or bird quarantine) as well as staying late in the afternoons when we had finished with our respective cats. This meant that any construction work I was going to do would have to be done even later in the in the afternoon until It got dark Building the first cage was a bit difficult. The biggest problem was finding time! Because the cage was to be built from four steel poles cemented into the ground in the middle of the monkey quarantine area with the rest of the frame to be constructed around it this meant it couldn't be moved, and because it was located in the middle of the area that about a hundred young capuchin monkeys spend the day destroying ever thing they can! All the tools I would use had to be set up and packed away each time (few times a monkey would chew through the power lead and get a good little zap) which was a little time consuming after about three week the baby monkey cage was finished (and ready to be decorated). After that we were able to turn the casa into a workshop! Where we could get stuck right into it this is when it became fun we had music blaring all day, we were right next to the cafe full of cool drinks and frozen pilfruit (kind of the same as a sunnyboy ice block from home) Now I don't want to go for too much longer but I did make a promise to nena that we would finish all the small cages before Jane Goodall came to visit .and with the help of many of the other volunteers at random times and a few early starts and late finishes (and loads of electric shocks from the dodgy welder and Bolivian wiring ) Rob and I succeeded in making the place look a little nicer. Nena went to travel with Jane to the other parks for a week or so. It was nice to get the other four cages I had promised to build finished before her return. These cages were much bigger but a lot more simple and rob and we had a pretty system going by now We built four new big cages with removable tin roofs and legs that keep them up off the ground so it is easy to clean underneath them to make things a little easier for the volunteers By the time we had finished at the park I had a real sense of satisfaction that we had made a difference to this amazing little place. Oh and so far Victor has not managed to escape from his new home.
- comments
Lorraine & Wallace Thanks Damien for such a wonderfully clear picture of life at the sanctuary. Knowing how you & Rebecca love to be active & engaged & your generosity, I can see how Nena would have thought that almost all of dreams had come true when you and Bec arrived at the park as part of your adventure. Keep up the good work it makes us feel very proud of both of you. Wal reckons that he is going to buy a set of welding gear and have it ready for your return. You see we have this dog that was left to us abouit the same time as you departed Australia and it escapes from its cage or from the steel cable leash she is often tied to. Soooooooooo, do we have job for you. Speaking of Monkeys I suppose that just about sums up the weather in Canada, real Brass Monkey Weather.
erin McGuyver is alive and well See all that practice when u were a kid has paid off good on u darling
Sdencka Distinguidos Tengo como 25 loritos de colores, los tenia un carpintero y bueno a la fecha cuentan con una jaula bastante grande pero ya se estan multiplicando mucho, favor contactarme para que pueda realizar el envio, correre con todos los gastos Saludos cordiales Sdencka