Globalteer Orientation Guide Puerto Maldonado All the Tips, Information and Recommendations You Need to Get Ready for Your Upcoming Volunteer Placement
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Globalteer orientation guide Puerto Maldonado All the tips, information and recommendations you need to get ready for your upcoming volunteer placement. Contents 1. Welcome to Puerto Maldonado! • About Globalteer • Getting out and about • Useful local contacts 2. Getting ready for your placement • Visa and insurance information • Packing guide • Getting to Peru • Arriving into Peru 3. Volunteering in Peru • A brief history of Peru • Climate • Health • Safety • Responsible travel • Expenses • Culture shock • Keeping in touch with home This Globalteer Puerto Maldonado information pack will ensure you arrive fully prepared for your international volunteering and travel experience. Welcome to Travelling to a new country always causes a few 1 worries and apprehensions, and this guide will give you all the information you need to turn those worries into excitement. Puerto Maldonado! You will also receive an additional project specific information pack before your arrival. Congratulations on your decision to volunteer with Globalteer! We are So sit down, have a read, and start getting ready certain that you will have a fantastic for your trip of a lifetime! time and also help out your project in an amazing way. We also have additional project information on our website, including FAQs, previous volunteer stories, photo gallery and further accommodation This guide is for everyone who will be information. coming to Puerto Maldonado to volunteer with Globalteer. If you still have questions after reading this guide, please contact us by email. Our team is well travelled and we are able to help answer anything further you would like to know about the project, getting prepared for your placement, and in-country travel! “My favourite thing about volunteering at the Peru Wildlife Sanctuary was EVERYTHING. The whole team was wonderful, and I was made to feel right at home from day one. Their passion and dedication for the animals they care for was wonderful to see and be around. Getting to interact with and care for animals was an experience I will treasure forever.” – Julia, Globalteer volunteer About Globalteer Globalteer was founded as a UK non-profit organisation in June 2006. Globalteer is a registered charity in the UK (registration number 1119706), which means that Globalteer is legally required to ensure that 100% of all monies received are used to achieve our charitable objectives. Our Strategies • To work with projects that meet genuine local needs, as identified by the communities they serve, and that meet our criteria for sustainability and responsibility. • To work closely with our partner projects to ensure that all volunteer placements are of genuine value to the project and are in keeping with the projects’ short term goals and long term objectives • To place suitably experienced volunteers within approved partner projects on tasks where there is a local shortage of necessary skills. • To encourage the transfer of volunteer skills to local staff wherever possible. • To help fund the continued development of partner projects. • To help all our partner projects to become fully self-funded and locally managed with minimal requirement for external support. • To continually assess the needs of the communities with whom we work and identify new partners and new initiatives as necessary. Getting out and about The project is located in the Madre de Dios Region outside of the city of Puerto Maldonado, also known as the Biodiversity Capital of Peru. The Madre de Dios region currently has a population of 120,000 with the main economic activities being gold mining, timber extraction, farming, cattle ranching, Brazil nut extraction, commerce, transport, fishing and ecotourism. The vast majority of the population in this region are of Mestizo descent and have immigrated to the region from the Andes over the course of the last 50 years. There are also numerous indigenous groups that live in communities along the major rivers of the region including the Ese’eja, Matsiguenka, Huachipaeri, Piro, and others. The city of Puerto Maldonado is a very hot, humid, dusty, frontier town with low-rise buildings and lots of mango trees. It is frequently described as having a ‘wild west’ character, which is not far wrong considering the amount of gold that is extracted in the region and traded in the city. There is a post office, public telephones from which it is possible to phone abroad using pre-paid telephone cards, large markets that sell virtually anything (except size 11 boots/shoes), ice cream parlours, a variety of restaurants, hotels, hospitals, pharmacies, dentists, hairdressers, laundromats and a cinema. This section of the orientation guide will give you more information about what to do in and around Puerto Maldonado. Our travel partner can advise if you wish to book excursions before you leave home and if you do book through them, they will make a small donation to Globalteer. Please visit our website for details of our travel partners However, don’t forgot to ask project staff for recommendations once you arrive in Puerto Maldonado, especially regarding any local festivals or upcoming events in the area. Eating and drinking in Puerto Maldonado Puerto Maldonado has opportunities for eating out and having fun on your time off from the project. You can find a range of restaurants and cafes around the main plaza, many of which have vegetarian options. There are also a lot of delicious locally made fruit ice creams to try! Project staff will be able to provide a list of restaurants, cafes and bars that you might want to visit whilst here. What to do in and around Puerto Maldonado There are plenty of things to do on your day off from volunteering – if you choose not to spend a well earned day relaxing onsite at the project – in and around Puerto Maldonado, including visiting the: • Butterfly sanctuary – located near the airport, this local project supports the protection and awareness of butterfly species in the area. Did you know that Peru has the highest diversity of butterflies in the world? • Obelisk – visit this eight story lookout tower for the best view of Puerto Maldonado. • Snake rescue house – located near the airport, this rescue centre gives you the opportunity to see reptiles up close and learn all about them. • Local market – head to the local market to sample some of the delicious locally made juices and ice-creams! • Lake Sandoval – located around two hours from Puerto Maldonado, this is a popular jungle lake to visit because of its beauty, and also its wildlife, which includes giant otters. • Visit an ecolodge – there is a range of eco lodges located within in the rainforest. You can book a tour to one of these lodges through a tourist agency in Puerto Maldonado. Places to visit in Peru Peru is a very diverse country with many places to visit and things to do. Here is just a short list of places you might want to visit whilst in Peru: • Other parts of the Madre de Dios region • The Sacred Valley and its marvellous ruins • Machu Picchu and Cusco (including trekking the Inca Trail or one of the many other routes in the area) • Arequipa and the Colca Canyon • Puno and Lake Titicaca • Northern Peru and the central mountains • Beach areas (Mancora is the most popular beach destination in Peru) • Ballestas Islands, Ica and the Nazca Lines Getting to Machu Picchu One of the biggest highlights for most people coming to Peru is visiting Machu Picchu, whether by car, train or hiking. Machu Picchu is accessed through Cusco, and there are many local tourist agencies in Cusco through which you can book your hike or other trips upon arrival into Cusco. If you are interested in doing the Inca Trail or want to climb Huayna Picchu whilst at Machu Picchu, it is recommended to book these beforehand as tickets can sell out in advance. For the alternative routes to Machu Picchu, including Lares, Salkantay, Jungle Trek or through Choquequirao (a spectacular but lesser known ruin similar to Machu Picchu), you can organise these once in Cusco. For more recommendations about Machu Picchu, please email us! Useful local contacts You will be provided the essential project contact information in your travel confirmation email from Globalteer. Here are some general phone numbers and addresses for your stay in Puerto Maldonado. On arrival, the project team will also be able to give you more information on the best local medical clinics. Taxis Embassies and consulates Taxi Turismo Madres de Dios (+51 82 574141) British Embassy (Lima) Taxi Maldonado (+51-972-253720) Torre Parque Mar (22nd Floor), easytaxi.com (similar to Uber) Av Jose Larco 1301, Miraflores (+51 1 6173000) Health clinics Clinica Mater Dei US Embassy (Lima) Avenida 28 de Julio 606 La Encalada, Santiago de Surco (084 571440) (+51 1 6182000) Hospital Santa Rosa Australian Embassy (Lima) Jr. Cajamarca 171. 10th Floor, Av. la Paz 1049, Miraflores ( 571 019 0465) (+51 01 6300500) www.hospitalsantarosa.gob.pe For other nationalities, you can find a full list EsSalud's Hospital Nivel I Víctor Alfredo Lazo of embassies in Peru here. Peralta Av. Andrés Avelino Cáceres 560. Immigration (573 532 / 571 580) Peruvian Immigration Office Jr. Ica 727 2do piso Emergency numbers Phone: 082-571069 Police emergency service (105) Ambulance (117) Post office Fire (116) Serpost Oficina de Correo Av. Leon Velarde 675 The health clinics on this list are only some of the health care options in Puerto Maldonado. Please check with your travel insurance provider to ensure you are fully covered to access these. Visa & insurance Getting ready information 2 Getting your visa It is the volunteer's responsibility to arrange an for your placement entry visa. The visa application process is usually very straightforward, but you should check visa Now that your placement confirmed, it requirements immediately.