The Tourist at Picaflor Research Center (Jonathan)
18 August 2005
The following reads like an advertisement:
Come to the tropical rainforest and learn about an ecosystem with the highest diversity on the planet--Tambopata River Basin, Department of Madre de Dios, Peru. Amongst tourist lodges touting expensive "adventure" schedules you will find atypical Picaflor Research Center. You will not find a canned experience here and that should put some potential customers off. You will find a working homestead in the wilderness of the Amazon basin. You will find a rainforest at your doorstep and the means to explore it on your own. Your hosts Pico Maceda, Dr. Laurel Hanna and their son Piquito (and cat Campiona) maintain rooms for up to 8 guests, all of whom will volunteer to do various tasks in return for a very inexpensive stay in the rainforest. Those tasks include pumping water and helping wash up after dinner, as well as lodge maintenance and projects ongoing.
When we visited in August 2005 Dr. Hanna was cobbling together a hospital for fallen orchids, flight cages for injured Macaws and other birds, a fresh water fish pond, a chicken enclosure (quite rare in a rainforest setting) and a permaculture garden of fruits and vegetables. Guests who pay the low $15.00 USD per day get 3 meals and a place to sleep--quite comfortable and clean too! The solar lighting, though less than reliable in the sleeping quarters worked fine in the main part of the center. There are power points in the library where substantial science and leisure reading reside.
This is not a luxury retreat where your needs and wants are anticipated (bar good food and a place to sleep and wash); there are no ceiling fans, no water heaters, no guides and porters per se. If you want to spend at least 10 days in the Peruvian rainforest and let it discover you, Picaflor more than fits the bill.
The following reads like an advertisement:
Come to the tropical rainforest and learn about an ecosystem with the highest diversity on the planet--Tambopata River Basin, Department of Madre de Dios, Peru. Amongst tourist lodges touting expensive "adventure" schedules you will find atypical Picaflor Research Center. You will not find a canned experience here and that should put some potential customers off. You will find a working homestead in the wilderness of the Amazon basin. You will find a rainforest at your doorstep and the means to explore it on your own. Your hosts Pico Maceda, Dr. Laurel Hanna and their son Piquito (and cat Campiona) maintain rooms for up to 8 guests, all of whom will volunteer to do various tasks in return for a very inexpensive stay in the rainforest. Those tasks include pumping water and helping wash up after dinner, as well as lodge maintenance and projects ongoing.
When we visited in August 2005 Dr. Hanna was cobbling together a hospital for fallen orchids, flight cages for injured Macaws and other birds, a fresh water fish pond, a chicken enclosure (quite rare in a rainforest setting) and a permaculture garden of fruits and vegetables. Guests who pay the low $15.00 USD per day get 3 meals and a place to sleep--quite comfortable and clean too! The solar lighting, though less than reliable in the sleeping quarters worked fine in the main part of the center. There are power points in the library where substantial science and leisure reading reside.
This is not a luxury retreat where your needs and wants are anticipated (bar good food and a place to sleep and wash); there are no ceiling fans, no water heaters, no guides and porters per se. If you want to spend at least 10 days in the Peruvian rainforest and let it discover you, Picaflor more than fits the bill.
posted by squid | 4:09 PM
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