I’m Josie; I’ve been with Wilderness International for a year now and am part of the communications team. As the organisation’s spokesperson – and a passionate oversharer – I’d like to share my most moving expedition experiences with you this year through words and pictures.
I’m packing my suitcase and taking with me …
Whether I’m hiking in Saxon Switzerland or canoeing on the River Spree – my outdoor mantra is: Safety First. Always. That’s why, long before our trip to our conservation area on the Rio Tambopata, I’d made up my mind: I want to be fully prepared before the rainforest puts me through my paces.
My preparations therefore included, in particular but not exclusively:
- A first-aid course with our educational partner EXTAC
- A comprehensive vaccination schedule and plenty of mosquito repellent
- Stabilising exercises for my ankles and knees
- And kilos of electrolytes.
Unfortunately, my evening Spanish vocabulary sessions quickly had to make way for lists of bird species. I may not (yet) know how to order in a restaurant in Spanish – but I can reliably tell a crow’s-billed bird from a yellow-rumped cassique. Incidentally, I still managed to have great conversations with my wonderful colleagues on site: in English and using the relevant bird calls. More on that later.
The journey begins: off to Wald!
On 19 April 2026 – a day that will remain etched deep in my transgenerational memory – my three colleagues Erik, Marten, Tobi and I (all expedition newbies) land in another world. Over the past 30 hours, we have crossed seven time zones and three climate zones. At the airport in Puerto Maldonado, the sun feels different to how it does in Berlin. We are close to the equator. The runways are surrounded by greenery rather than grey. And it dawns on us: we’re heading in.
We’re still three hours away from the Secret Forest, where most of the expedition team is already waiting for us. Not even jet lag can dampen our excitement now. My heart’s in my mouth – and when our Peruvian colleagues Xiomara, Flor, Chris Kirkby, Thalia and the rest of the team give us a proper hug at the jetty for the first time, I know: we’ve arrived, even though we’re not actually there yet.
Understanding the incredible
If I had to sum up the next few hours, there’d be just one word: mind-blowing. The size of the trees, the ever-present sounds of the jungle, the intense scent of the thicket and the faces of people I’d otherwise only know from a screen send my synapses into a state of ecstatic frenzy. Error 404: Comprehensibility not found.
It’s therefore hardly surprising that my colleagues had to hold my hand several times during our initial Forest Walk with Kai the forest guide: My first encounters with howler monkeys, tamarins, caracaras and a laughing falcon in the very heart of the jungle simply overwhelmed me. After a convivial and thoroughly delicious dinner (love and thanks go out to Bladi – the best camp cook in the universe!), I therefore fall into my jungle bed in the eight-bed dormitory for the first time, feeling appropriately tired but also over the moon.
This is where the magic happens: our team chef, Bladi, cooks up even the most unusual (vegan) speciality for us right here at camp!
The old-growth forest unfolds before us like a green wall – larger and more majestic than I could ever have imagined.
We soon spot some howler monkeys taking their midday nap.
Our entry into the forest does not go unnoticed: a merlin eyes us curiously.
From Colleagues to Connections
“Toot-toot-tooot. Toot-toot-tooot”: That’s more or less what it sounds like when a tinamu whistles you out of bed. From now on, that’s how every day begins for me at the Secret Forest. The initial fluster of arrival is behind us, the Peruvian coffee is kicking in – and we’re getting down to work. But what exactly are we doing?
When the German foundation team sets off on an expedition, everyone usually has a long to-do list in their luggage: alongside the rapid assessment of potential new protected areas, the list includes, for example, data collection, project planning and documentation, content creation and media management.
We are also often accompanied by educational and corporate partners who support our work on the ground, assess the protected areas and monitor the lawful use of donations – this time by DIAMIR, SumUp, Umfulana and Quantum Systems.
Alongside all these activities, we nevertheless always try to work as closely as possible alongside our Peruvian colleagues, to learn from them and – perhaps the most important aim of the expedition of all – to create shared memories and forge lasting bonds for all our key international projects.
It doesn’t get any greener than this: botany and agroforestry with Alejandro and Gianlucca
As you can see, an expedition like this is no walk in the park – unless there’s sugarcane in the agroforestry system. As much as the animals in the Secret Forest fascinate me, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do when it comes to plant life. And I’m not the only one! Our colleagues Gianlucca Monteverde, Botany Coordinator, and Alejandro Hilares, Agroforestry Coordinator, have taken the curiosity of their guests from Germany as an opportunity to give us an insight into their projects: agroforestry, botany plots and wild bee conservation.
The crops grown in the agroforestry system are tended and enjoyed. They form an important part of the camp’s food supply and are also enjoyed by our partners.
Our agroforestry project demonstrates how a sustainable alternative to clear-cutting and monoculture farming can work …
Wild trees and shrubs grow amongst the papaya trees, promoting biodiversity and keeping the soil rich in nutrients in the long term.
Together with Alejandro, we’re planting fast-growing inga beans – they’ll provide shade for the new seedlings next year.
The stingless Melipona wild bees living on this storey are the top pollinators in the agroforest and the Secret Forest – even in one of our botany plots!
Gianlucca demonstrates the three key steps in his work: setting up survey areas, recording trees and identifying them.
Listen, who’s that singing?!
Have I actually mentioned that I love birds? Despite all my duties and to-do lists, I didn’t let anything stop me from indulging in a little personal pleasure on the expedition: birdwatching. Fortunately, my passion didn’t go unnoticed for long, and our colleague Keyko Saravia, a bird research assistant, promptly turned the bird point count at camp into an official activity for me and our corporate partners.
Together with Head Field Research Coordinator Chris Ketola, Keyko counts, documents and identifies the birds in our conservation areas. Unlike my modest hobby, Keyko’s birding naturally has scientific merit! Just like bird ringing, the data from the bird count provides us with insights into the diversity of the bird population in the Secret Forest and its long-term trends. Keyko’s most important tools, which she never puts down all day, are a pair of binoculars and a hyperbolic microphone, which she uses to filter out bird calls from the ambient sounds of the forest and identify the birds beyond any doubt – often even their sex!
Call or song?
Calls are short, innate sounds used for communication and serve as a means of warning or establishing contact for all birds. Songs are melodic, more complex sequences of notes, used primarily by males to mark their territory and attract a mate.
Thanks to Keyko’s expertise and with the help of the hyperbolic microphone, we were able to identify all the bird sightings accurately.
Who’s watching whom here? Red-throated caracaras announce their presence loudly.
The yellow-crested woodpeckers have breathed new life into a dead tree trunk in the camp through their nests.
Esteban and Benjamin from Umfulana spot a very special bird at the camp...
Through our binoculars, we admire a hoatzin having its lunch.
Birding is my Cardio – the Canopy Tower
Birdwatching on the ground is one thing – at a height of 45 metres, it’s quite another. Many bird species in the tropical rainforest live exclusively in the treetops. To be able to document these too, we join Chris Ketola and Forest Guardian Felix at the next sunrise to climb the seemingly endless steps of the dizzying Canopy Tower, not far from our station.
The view from the observation deck quickly makes us forget the exertions of our early morning workout: the early morning mist is lifting. The sun rises and the forest awakens noisily from a night’s rest that isn’t really a rest at all. On this picture-perfect morning, a crested heron, three scripted aracaris, various macaws, a crow-billed bird and two white-breasted toucans fly into our viewfinders. And my birding cravings are satisfied for the rest of the day!
Incidentally, point counting is regarded as the supreme discipline in species monitoring – because no AI can match that level of reaction speed and identification skill!
A short time in the woods – Lessons for a Lifetime
“Quit whilst you’re ahead” – after a week in the rainforest, I just can’t bear to hear that cliché yet. Too many questions still seem unanswered, too many conversations left to be continued, too many volleyball matches still to be played.
Today, I may once again be separated from my colleagues Felix, Chris, Nadine, Keyko, Ariana, Alejandro, Bladi, Gianlucca and everyone else by an ocean – but the values we share, our stories and the moments of joy from this short time together will still bind us together in spirit for ever. And Slack and WhatsApp help, of course.
I travelled to Peru thinking I knew what to expect. For a whole week, I was proven wrong every single day. Whether it was unexpected encounters with wildlife or sudden changes in the weather: the rainforest offers no guarantees. The wilderness does as it pleases. That’s in its nature (badumm-tss) – and that’s exactly what makes it so unique. So worth protecting.
Alongside the connections I’ve made, the friendships I’ve formed and the knowledge I’ve been able to take home with me, one realisation stands out above all else:
Here, in the heart of our protected areas in the Peruvian rainforest, the original balance of power between humankind and nature has been restored. It was never any different. We are guests here; we must submit to nature. And that is how it should remain for all time.
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