Giving Back: ARCAS, Guatemala – A One in an Only!

For our second installment of Giving Back Travel the World and Make a Difference, we are certainly thrilled to have Marina Villatoro as a contributor. Travel Experta is one of our favorite blogs on the Internet and we visit it regularly to see what exciting destination in Central America she is going to feature each day.   Marina’s story of her time in ARCAS is touching and inspiring. To see what horrors people can inflict on poor helpless animals is heartbreaking, but to know that there are people out there willing to do whatever it takes to come to their aid gives me hope.

I know that you will enjoy Marina’s beautiful story as much as we did.

ARCAS, Guatemala -  A One in an Only!

Every move we make in our lives is based on a decision. That decision can be of minor importance, or like in my case the one that changes the path of my life forever.

When I hopped on a bus to take me from Belize to Tikal, Guatemala I had no idea what was awaiting me!

The ride was about three hours and quite uneventful. I arrived to Tikal, the Mayan ruins late in the afternoon and prepared myself for the trek into the ruins to catch the sunset. Since I was on a backpacking budget, I decided to sleep in the campground that was both for tents and little built wooden cabins.

While getting my key from the Guatemalan worker, some guy came out of the only tent in the whole place and started watching me. Finally, he made his way over. I thought I would be stuck hearing another Latino make stupid remarks at me, instead his conversation captured me immediately. He accompanied me through the one kilometer trail that takes you into the center of the ruin. Along the way, we not only got to know a little bit about each other, but we bumped into every possible form of wildlife native to the area.

We ended up talking into the wee hours and even went to check out the sunrise together.  As he said his goodbyes to me he invited me to visit him in a place called ARCAS where he was getting his veterinary practical to complete his studies. Since my agenda was WIDE open, and I really wanted to see him again, I said, why not!

The following day from Flores, Peten I caught the boat that takes you to the other side of Peten Lake to a dock which is the main entrance to ARCAS. At this point, I knew very little about the place only that they take care of endangered animals and that they rely on volunteers to keep afloat.

I never volunteered a day in my life, nor had any interest to. Yet, when I stepped off the boat something magical took hold. The pathway leading to the actual center was in through the thick of the rain forest, yet inviting and calm. I was greeted by my new friend and a bunch of backpackers that I have already met while traveling the Maya Route through Mexico.

I arrived in time for lunch and we all sat around a large round table eating homemade food.  Afterward, I joined them on their duties which was feeding and cleaning after the animals.

It turns out, these animals are rescued at the borders in the thick of the jungle where the black market for exotic birds (the Scarlet Macaw and Green Parrot) is alive and well. These poor animals, which come by the truckloads, here are found smashed to the bottom of suitcases, shoes, inside pants, map containers and a slew of other horrific, yet creative, ways. By the time they arrive to this center they are half dead yet are welcomed with open arms.

That is what my new Guatemalan friend did, he took care of the sick, trafficked animals. However,  they are not the only ones! The Peten jungle is notorious for poachers and hunting is just as much of an epidemic. The most popular animals to be saved are spider monkeys, ocelots, margays, coatis, and gray foxes which are just a few that find their way over here.

I had one afternoon in the company of these animals to know that I want to do more. I immediately signed up. You can do a week at a time, but no less. The week cost me $90 which included a comfy bed, three wholesome meals and the run of the beautiful grounds with others just like me. Plus, I got to hang out longer with my Guatemalan friend!

Every morning, we’d wake up at 6 am and go to feed the animals. We would each get a designated area, i.e. monkeys, cats, birds, or nocturnal animals. This would change for every shift so we would each experience the animals. Afterward, we’d all eat and exchange great backpacking stories before the cleaning of the cages shift began.

Let’s just say, that the cleaning was the least exciting part of the day. You first had to wash out their poop, and animals poop can really smell. Plus, you entered into these already traumatized animal’s territory. This has resulted in quite a few poo throwing contests and also some mild biting, but on a whole it wasn’t too painful.

The best part of the day, was definitely the feeding! With my big connection and the growing bond with the Guatemalan vet student, I got to feed the babies (very few people got to do this:). Some of the animals arrived with wounded mothers who couldn’t feed them or orphaned animals that were found and brought here. I had the rare opportunity of holding a teeny tiny spider monkey that still had its eyes closed, an ocelot who couldn’t have been older than 3 weeks and baby birds that still didn’t have their gorgeous feathers.

I ended up staying for two weeks. Not only did I fall in love with this unique establishment and the only one in all of Central America of its sort, but I ended up falling in love with the Guatemalan, who I have been married to for the past six years now. We are planning on taking our son back when he is a little older so he can enjoy this place as well.

If you are traveling through Central America and have an extra week to really get immersed in something special, please make sure to check out ARCAS.

Instead of giving you the full explanation of what they do and stand for, I figured I would use their words taken from their website:

What is ARCAS?

ARCAS is a non-profit Guatemalan NGO formed in 1989 by a group of Guatemalan citizens who became concerned as they saw their precious natural heritage – especially their wildlife – rapidly disappearing before their eyes.
It was originally created for a very specific and urgent purpose: to build a rescue center to care for and rehabilitate wild animals that were being confiscated on the black market by the Guatemalan government.
Since its establishment, the ARCAS Rescue Center has grown into one of the largest and most complex rescue centers in the world, receiving between 300 and 600 animals of more than 40 species per year.

ARCAS’s objectives are:

• To strive for the conservation, preservation, protection and research of wildlife;
• To rescue, rehabilitate and reintroduce into their natural habitat wild animals seized from illegal traffickers;
• To promote and assist in the creation and management of protected habitat areas for wild animals;
• To support tropical wildlife veterinary medicine and research;
• To reproduce and re-introduce endangered wildlife;
• To raise awareness among Guatemalans and visiting tourists about the need to conserve natural resources through a program of education and information dissemination;
• To develop and promote economic alternatives in rural communities to the unsustainable consumption of natural resources.

Bio

Marina has been living in Central America for over 7 years and her site Travel Experta is all about traveling in Central America. Marina loves to help people plan the perfect vacation to this amazing part of the world! You can sign up for her RSS feed and join the fun on her facebook fan page and follow her on Twitter at @MarinaVillatoro.

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