Jeff Bezos would definitely envy this Amazon adventure! It was the last day that many of the vet volunteers spent together and so we were off to see Pilpintuwasi, the Butterfly Farm and Wildlife Rescue on a nearby island sanctuary. I had earlier met Gudrun Sperrer at a restaurant in Iquitos, the Austrian transplant who founded this sanctuary, and I was anxious to see what she had done. We took a 25 minute boat ride and a moto-taxi to the footpath entrance. I was simply delighted and charmed by this jungle safe-haven.
This place is fascinating from the moment you enter down the pathways to the lodge. They preserve the flora indigenous to the Amazon and the pathways give room enough for one person going forward to a natural stairway lined with bags of flour (or maybe just the flour bags filled with something else) so you don’t slip, and a bridge over a ravine. I saw little black and white butterflies on the way in and bird of paradise plants and one I can’t identify that looks like a flowering ginger plant. If you know what it is, share please;)
Once you cross the bridge you’re not far from the lodge, and you can see monkeys jumping from tree to tree…quite wonderful! Pilpintuwasi is careful to tell visitors not to feed the animals both in writing and on the tour, and also not to come in if you are sick with something that is catching.
The monkeys are very curious and they do land on you or scamper onto your lap if you’re sitting near the pond. In fact we watched as one performed the friendly and familiar action of grooming Gudrun’s scalp for lice! One Huapo colorado Red Uakari tried to taste my purse – they have very sharp and long canines so I thought I might lose that argument, but I merely touched him to brush him away from chewing and I must have caught him off-guard as he half tumbled, half jumped off my lap and the purse. Then he gave me a look…I felt so bad that I had startled him!
But enough of words – take a walk with me as I remember this little piece of paradise. This is one stop on any trip that should not be missed!
Red Uakari Ring tailed Coati
Jaguar
two-toed sloth blue and yellow macaw
You can see the cocoons wrapped around the bottle here – and look at that stunning blue one! Read more about their story as an Amazon animal orphanage and butterfly farm! Hope you enjoyed this walk with me as much as I did =)
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