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Hi Everyone,
It´s been awhile I know and this isn´t much of an update just a bit i wrote for the park about Jane Goodall´s visit last week. We are going to be finishing up at the park in about a week or so and will have time to write in much more detail then.
Love you all
Bec
After weeks of nervous build up (would Rob and Bondy get the quarantine cages built?! Only just but well done boys) and a few days of crazy scrambling to clean the casa and quarantine areas (much thanks to KP who arrived only a few days before Jane and worked like a demon) the day of Jane´s visit finally arrived.
About 40 orphans from Cochabamba had arrived the night before (thanks to Pete, Kelly, Felix and Stef for vacating their rooms for the kids) and spent the morning doing paintings and drawings for Jane.
In typical Bolivian style, the plane from Santa Cruz was delayed, which heightened the suspense as everyone loitered around the casa waiting for their first glimpse of the world famous primatologist. Finally, word arrived that her plane had landed, and before we knew it, Jane was stepping out of the taxi at Parque Machia.
I have to say she also looked a wee bit tired, but considering she is on the road for more then 300 days a year, meeting politicians and children and everyone in between, giving lectures and seminars, promoting awareness for the plight of endangered animals and the environment all over the world, it is hardly surprising.
Most of us probably consider ourselves hardened travellers, but I doubt that many would be able to maintain our sanity if we tried to keep to a schedule similar to Jane's (not forgetting she is 75 years young).
Jane was introduced to the children (and a few lucky volunteers) before they all trooped off together to have lunch in town at Puma's. We all went back to our birds, cats and monkeys, and for those of us preparing dinner for approximately 80 people that night the intensity stepped up a just touch in the kitchen (Angela was fantastic all morning, thankyou).
At about 9 pm Jane arrived back in at the Machia and everyone seated themselves around the tables in the casa, which Luis and a small band of volunteers had decorated especially for the occasion.
Chaos reigned in the kitchen. Any of you who have worked in the hospitality industry will know what it is like in a kitchen the closer you get to crunch time. However with one or two cool heads and a host of volunteers to serve the food, we were able to pass of at least the semblance of being a well organised bunch.
The vegetarian feast was well received by all, congratulations to the chefs; Andres, Rob, Laurel, Anna and of course Benita. (A big thankyou to all who got involved in the preparation and serving of the delicious meal as well as the massive clean up at the end of the night.)
After dinner Jane spoke passionately about her ´Roots and Shoots´ programme, which aims at educating people, young and old, about the far reaching and often negative impact we humans have on the environment and what we can do to help change this situation.
Our fearless leader (Jaun Carlos), the heart and soul of Parque Machia (Nena) and Vladi (who, like Jane, has dedicated the majority of his life to the care of primates) all expressed how much it meant to them that Jane Goodall had given her support and praise to the park and what an honour it was for them to be able to show the cumulation of their life's work.
Throughout the evening Jane was very gracious and generous with her time, chatting to everyone who was not too shy to approach her, about experiences in the wilds of Africa with the chimps, as well as all her current projects and hopes for the future of the planet. Everyone came away from the evening inspired by her passion and commitment to our planet. The collective impression of Jane from the volunteers was one of a remarkable woman who emanated humility, calmness, serenity and a powerful conviction in her beliefs, which has obviously allowed her to carry on long after many of us would have given up and gone back to the jungle and the chimps, which it was evident she missed dearly.
The next day was one typical of Villa Tunari, the morning dawned clear and bright with dark ominous clouds gathering in the east. Jane, John and David arrived about 9:30am and we set off on a tour of the park. Fortunately for me, Nena´s camera wasn´t working and I was able to tag along all day, with my camera, as `park photographer´.
The weather held out only for a short while and while we were all crowding into the Clinic a huge gust of wind lifted several sheets of tin on the roof and ripped the shade cloth from the above the monkeys. It was a little exciting. Shortly after a light rain set in and everyone, except Jane who was quite composed, went scrambling for jackets and ponchos and I was reminded that she had probably seen many worse storms and was quite accustomed to spending hours if not days in a tropical downpour.
We managed to tour The Clinic, The Quarantine and Small Animals, where the baby monkeys (in their brand new cage) and Mamma, the tejion, were very excited to meet Jane, before the rain began again with renewed vigour and we all took shelter in the tourist office.
When the rain eased we continued the tour to The Monkey Park and then down to `Tao´s Island´ where Gato was out for an morning stroll (loving the downpour). Jane was very attentive as Nena and Jaun Carlos talked to her about the park and interested in the history of all the animals she encountered.
Next we were off to Spider Park where Negra climbed unceremoniously all over Jane (no hair pulling though luckily). In the Copa Aviary Sean was very excited to have a new friend and especially one with a watch he could chew on and hair he could pull (it was going to happen somewhere). Around this time it was discovered that the pilot who was to fly Jane, David and John to Santa Cruz that evening, was missing which caused a mild panic, but gave Jane a bit more time to visit the Tourist Aviary and join the volunteers for one of Benita´s delicious lunches (stuffed potatos if you were wondering, yum).
The pilot turned up in time for lunch, and Jane learned that in addition to her already busy schedule that she had been invited to give a lecture that night and meet some prominent politicians in Santa Cruz. She bore this news rather stoically, saying that if they had better leave now if they were to make it to Santa Cruz in time.
So with a final farewell from everyone and a chimpanzee call from Jane they climbed back into their taxi left.
Without sounding any cheesier then I have already (and I have run out of superlatives in any case) it was a great honour to have met Jane, and been here with Nena and Jaun Carlos and the vets, who have dedicated their lives to the animals here, and deserve but will probably never get the same recognition as Jane, but who were overjoyed that she came to visit.
Thanks again to everyone at Parque Machia who put in the extra hours to have the place looking fabulously, once-in-a-life-time-clean, especially during that period when we were so low on volunteers and everyone was doing double time anyway. You rock!!
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