Day Ten - Punchana

Day ten we had our first day of work in the city of Iquitos. We headed to an area of town called Punchana. We once again headed to town by boat, seeing an authentic side of Peru along the way.

After five days of working together, our team was strong and worked well together. We quickly went to work setting up for the mobile clinic.

Justin setting up kennels.

Donna setting up one of the surgery tables.

In no time at all we had pet owners lining up.

Debby and Harri prepping our first patient of the day.

The local media even came out to help spread the word about our cause.

Bruno giving an interview.

Tattooing an ear.

It was already a hot day in the city, but adding all of those people under those tents made it even hotter!

Luckily, a hero came to our rescue...

...the shaved ice man!

Luis, Harri, and Justin enjoying a cold treat on a very hot day.

Every surgery gathered plenty of spectators.

The crew from Hayden Pet Medical Center shipped a box of supplies that ended up arriving during our second week in Peru. One of the supplies in that box were top spot flea treatments, which the Peru crew quickly fell in love with.

After wrapping up our first of three days at Punchana, it was time to head back to the Amazon CARES clinic to clean up.

At the clinic we had a visitor asking to be let in.

Then it was back to our home at Cabo Lopez. 

When you don't have cars to chase, you chase boats.

Kimberley with Sonia, taking her to the shelter.

Day Nine - La Isla de los Monos

Sleeping in at Cabo Lopez.

Our second day off from work we headed up river to a monkey sanctuary called La Isla de Los Monos, or Monkey Island. First we had to get to Iquitos in order to catch our boat.

Sidewalk? Nah, it's a road too!

The trip to Monkey Island was organized by Bill Grimes, the owner of the restaurant we had dined at the night before.

Bill and our boat, Dawn On The Amazon I.

After loading the boat we headed out of Iquitos and up the river.

Anthony, Debby, Shannon, and Justin

After a couple of hours leisurely making our way up the river, we arrived at Monkey Island.

La Isla de los Monos

Monkey Island shelters monkeys abandoned when their mothers are killed, along with those monkeys people try to keep as pets. The goal is to rehabilitate the monkeys so that they may return to the jungle.

We were greeted at the dock by one of the locals.

He then proceeded to board the boat!

An orphan had recently taken up residence at Monkey Island prior to our visit. His name is Benjamin, he was six months old when we visited him, and is a Common Woolly Monkey.

I instantly fell in love!

He was so sweet and adorable, we all wanted a chance to visit him. However, some of the other monkeys got a bit jealous.

There was another resident sweetheart, a Red Howler Monkey.

Debby with a new friend.

He ended up falling asleep in Justin's arms.

This guy may look scary, but he was only yawning.

Rolling around in the dirt.

Recently some Red Uakari monkeys had come to the island and were being kept in an enclosure while they adjusted to the new environment and while the other monkeys adjusted to them.

Monkey playtime.

After visiting with the monkeys, we learned more about the mission and the history of Monkey Island.

Anthony

A Peeping Tom outside of the bathroom.

After visiting Monkey Island, we headed back to the boat for lunch and some more river cruising.

Justin and Donna

Debby and I

We even got to soak up some sun on the front of the boat while enjoying a cold beer.

We arrived back in Iquitos just as the sun was beginning to set.

Back at Cabo Lopez we spotted some more 
creepy-crawlies before heading to bed.

Leaf Cutter Ants