Amazing Unforgettable Experience

We (my boyfriend and I) came to work for 6 weeks and ended up staying 3 months! We absolutely loved it at Tapiche Reserve. Tapiche Reserve is a really special place, and one of a kind in Iquitos that really puts the animals and environment first, only accessible by boat and in primary rainforest - you really feel like you are deep in the Amazon especially when you get given a satelite phone as the only means of communicating with the outside world! Amazing!

The owner Murilo also has a hostel in Iquitos and the majority of guests come in to the hostel to then go toTapiche Reserve. I (Kat) was able to spend time with the local guides at Tapiche and learn about the jungle, learn about all the animals there and learn all the different sounds the animals make so that I could act as a translator and guide for when guests came to stay. My boyfriend Matt is able to drive boats so he was able to ferry guests back and forth as well as patrol the Reserve making our presence known to animal poachers and loggers to deter them away.

Other duties at the Reserve include general maintenance of the property, be it cleaning, chopping fire wood, general repairs if needed either on the property or with the boats. You can even head out and catch your dinner - only seasonal fishing is allowed at the Reserve but Murilo will brief you on the fish that can be eaten or ones that need to be released.

Sometimes when at the property there will be a guide and a cook especially during high season where there are pretty much back to back groups of guests coming in, but for us the best time in the jungle was when it was just us alone at the lodge. Just you and the jungle - what an amazing experience that we will never forget. Because Tapiche is in primary rain forest and so deep in the jungle when there is just 2 of you out there being quiet, the animals get used to you there and swing by everyday. Every morning we saw the same group of Capuchins and Squirrel monkeys come in to feed right in the lodge. The baby caimans got quite comfortable with us as well and we were able to see them grow in size as they swam along below our hammock room.

Volunteering here plays a really important role - it's a small role in this small way you can help support a really important cause which is protecting the animals from poachers and protecting the rain forest from logging. Tapiche Reserve is the only reserve in primary rain forest in Iquitos which makes it even more important. What Murilo does is amazing, not many people are using their time to be the voice for animals / environment (especially in Iquitos) so any volunteer that can come and help is really helping a cause greater than them.

This will definitely not be our last time in Tapiche and we will most definitely return, thank you so much again for the amazing experience Murilo we will never forget it!