| AMAZON
TRAVEL WITH A PURPOSE
Margarita
Tours is dedicated to providing a true ecotourism experience. A
small owner-operated company, we are strongly committed to investing
in the ecological and human riches of the Peruvian Amazon, the primary
destination of our ecotours. We have offered many types of Amazon
expeditions since 1983, and specialize in small-group travel for
people who want to "do things" and to truly experience
one of the world's greatest natural wonders.
To fulfill our commitment
to our clients and to the Amazon and its people, we work hard to
ensure that you leave the Amazon with much more than just a fun
experience. We use experts in various areas of natural history as
expedition leaders, and encourage you to learn all you can about
the Amazon before, during, and after your expedition. Apart from
expedition leaders, our employees are natives of the Peruvian Amazon,
and constitute another fount of knowledge that you are encouraged
to utilize. Whenever possible, we contract with local people in
the remote areas that we visit to provide goods and services. We
make a concerted effort to work within the local economy, and to
contribute to sustainable Amazon development.
YOUR
RESPONSABILITY
Our expeditions encourage the development of cottage industries,
beneficial to the local economy and to individual communities, yet
easy on the environment. We encourage clients to purchase or trade
for handicrafts and items of daily use, but strongly discourage
purchasing or trading for items made of, or decorated with feathers,
fur, skins and bones, or any other bird, mammal or reptile part.
It may be illegal for you to import items made of, or decorated
with these items into your home country, and you could face confiscation
of these items as well as financial penalties or worse. Don't contribute
to the market for items made from animals, many of which may be
endangered. Ultimately, only you are responsible for your actions,
and it is your duty as a responsible ecotourist to inform yourself
about what kinds of arts and crafts are legal to take home, and
also what the laws are concerning drugs, endangered species, plants,
animals, etc. For more information, please visit our Responsible
Ecotourism
page.
OUR SUPPORT
FOR AMAZON INITIATIVES AND EDUCATION
Apart from our duty to you, our clients, we are a strong and proud
sponsor of Project Amazonas, Inc., an international non-profit research,
conservation, education, and humanitarian organization registered
in Peru and the USA. Project Amazonas operates three Amazon biological
field stations open for use by researchers, students and ecotourists.
Project Amazonas also engages in health, humanitarian, community
development and education work in rural and urban areas of the Amazon.
Find out more about Project Amazonas at http://www.projectamazonas.com.
Margarita Tours provides
logistics, support and financing for medical service trips, educational
courses, and Amazon researchers, and plays a major role in maintaining
and developing the riverboats and field stations operated by Project
Amazonas. Margarita Tours has provided Amazon logistics, artifacts,
video/still photos, and information for various education projects
in the USA, including an Amazon exhibit at the Oregon Zoo (Portland),
a stingray breeding program at the Aquarium of the Americas (New
Orleans), and the "Amazon Rising" exhibit (opened June
2000) at the John G. Shedd Aquarium
in Chicago, Illinois, which won the American Zoological Association's
prestigious "exhibit of the year" award!
We take our commitment
to our clients and to the people and natural environments of the
Peruvian Amazon seriously. We are intimately familiar with the area,
and the people of the Amazon are part of our extended "family".
It is our sincere desire to share this wonderful corner of the world
with you, while doing all that we can to contribute to the betterment
of the lives of the people of the region and to our host country
of Peru in an ecologically responsible manner. In the first half
of 2007 we have (in cooperation with Project Amazonas but with all
financing from Margarita Tours):
- Financed a February
medical service expedition staffed by the Peruvian Ministry of
Health - the expedition visited the Orosa and Apayacu River areas
and provided free medical and dental care and medicines to 1108
persons.
- Financed practicum
field experiences for 7 students from the University of the Peruvian
Amazon in January and March. This field experience is a graduation
requirement for students in the biological sciences, but funding
for students is severely limited.
- Provided transportation
for, and paid for medical treatment for 6 residents of the areas
in which we operate. This included transportation to Iquitos,
lab tests, and actual medical care - the interventions ranged
from hernia surgery to long-term treatment for a stroke victim
and the resetting of an old leg fracture.
- Provided minor
medical and first-aid care to dozens of local residents in the
areas in which we operate.
- Provided transportation
(via funding and/or fuel) and medicines for 4 local residents
who had been bitten by venemous snakes - antivenin administration
was provided at the Yanashi Health Clinic (much closer than the
many hour trip to Iquitos).
- Provided transportation
and funding for land surveyors to officially delimit the lands
of one of the local Yagua Indian communities. Outsiders had been
starting to occupy and clear the lands, claiming that the lands
in dispute were not actually within Yagua territory.
- Financed a celebration
of Yagua culture that took place in the Yagua community of Santa
Rosa, and which involved the participation of both Yagua and non-Yagua
villages from the Orosa and Apayacu Rivers. A highlight of the
fiesta was the featuring of traditional dance and music of the
region.
- Provided full sets
of school supplies (both purchased in Iquitos and brought from
the US by our clients) to 6 schools in the area, benefiting approximately
310 students.
- Worked with local
elementary schools to produce art colored with natural dyes -
this artwork will be made into calendars by students at the Friday
Harbor High School (Friday Harbor, Washington state) and sold
to raise funds for Amazon school supplies - go Friday Harbor!,
and what a great group of students they had down in the Amazon
in 2006.
- Continued wth preliminary
agro-forestry field trials to encourage forest conservation and
wise use, while developing marketable products that local people
can use to increase cash flow without cutting the forest.
- Provided airfare
for a young Peruvian scientist to attend an international graduate
Botany course in Costa Rica.
- Supported Amazon
community veterinary clinics by Amazon
Cares though provision of boats and staff at cost.
SAFETY FIRST
- YOUR PHYSICAL WELL-BEING
Your personal safety is always our greatest concern. We will not
take chances or provide you with unsafe means of transportation.
There are certain risks inherent in traveling to remote areas, but
we do our best to inform you of, and to minimize those risks. We
will never pressure you into participating in any activity with
which you are not comfortable, and we provide activity opportunities
that are compatible with each clients physical abilities. Our boats
are equipped with safety equipment and regularly inspected, and
our crews are licensed, personally known to us, and most have been
working with us for many years. They are professional, competent,
and are also dedicated to your safety. We personally check out new
destinations to determine the lay of the land, and also so that
we know how best to evacuate an injured or seriously ill person
in case of emergency. In over 20 years of operation in the Amazon,
we have never had a serious injury (or worse), and we intend to
keep it that way.
Many clients inquire
about drug trafficking, terrorism, and political stability in Peru.
The short response is that you are probably safer in the Peruvian
Amazon than in most of the rest of the world, including North America
or Europe! For an in-depth response, however, visit the Safety
and Politics in Peru web page.
Our meals are varied
and delicious, and prepared according to high standards of sanitation.
Our cooks and boat crews have regularly scheduled health examinations
by local health officials. We are careful in the selection and handling
of food, and vegetarian dishes are available at every meal. Whenever
possible, we work to accommodate the dietary preferences or restrictions
of clients - you need to inform us of these ahead of time, however!
Not a few clients come to the Amazon planning on loosing a few pounds
- they usually end their expedition complaining about the pounds
that they put on instead!
SAFETY FIRST
- YOUR FINANCIAL SECURITY
Margarita Tours is a licensed tour company, and maintains an escrow
account for client deposits. We are a small company and do not offer
trip insurance, but we strongly recommend the purchase of
travel insurance. Many unanticipated events may prevent
you from participating in a planned expedition - please protect
your investment in airline tickets by having trip insurance. We
also recommend that any expensive camera or other equipment be covered
by your home-owners or other insurance.
We take great care to protect your
personal information. We do not share your personal data with other
parties except as necessary (hotel reservations in Peru, port captain
sailing papers), and never give any financial information that you
may entrust us with to other parties. When we no longer need the
information, ALL files are shredded before disposal. Identity theft
is a serious problem, and we are doing our part to combat it. |