I would like to reiterate that the current CDC (US Center for Desease Control) advice for Peru is the following:
There is sustained community spread of COVID-19 in Peru. (28 confirmed cases as of today March 13 - Gunnar’s comment, which means that numbers are increasing slowly and sustained.)
Older adults and travelers with underlying health issues should avoid situations that put them at increased risk for more severe disease. This entails avoiding crowded places and non-essential travel. |
If you travel to Peru:
- Monitor your health and limit interactions with others for 14 days after returning to the United States
- If you get sick with fever, cough, or have trouble breathing seek medical care and call ahead before you go to a doctor’s office or emergency room
- Avoid travelling if you are sick
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing
- Clean your hands often by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Bottom line is, that you can still come to Peru, but only if you feel healthy. It is advised to monitor your health after returning to your country.
This also calls for some action and measures for us here at Kolibri Expeditions and to clarify our responsibilities.
- No worker with a common cold or similar symptoms will carry out their functions at the office or with clients.
- No client with a cold, or a cough will be allowed to go on a trip with us. If symptoms occur during the trip, the client with the symptoms will have to stay put in the town hotel or lodge where he/she is. Extra costs that can not be covered by the costs of the trip, need to be covered by the client. Allow contingency and make sure you are insured.
- If you need to cancel or postpone your trip, your deposits are safe with us to use at a different time. Services like hotels and domestic flights/train tickets already paid for may be discounted depending on policies from the organizer. However, I think in most cases it should not be any problem to get credit.
- In light of the previous, we are postponing payment for services of upcoming trips to safeguard your money.
Flights from Europe to Lima are cancelled.
Today it was announced that all direct flights from Europe arriving in Peru are cancelled from Mar 16 and at least 30 days onwards. This means that the direct flight routes to Peru from Europe are closed.
Meanwhile, only travellers arrving from or via Italia, Spain, France and China will be put in quarantine for 14 days.
Other Europeans wanting to come to Peru can use alternative routes such as via Toronto from where there are direct flights to Peru, or via Mexico or from the UK via the US.
Best to make sure you have not been to either France, Italy or Spain the last 14 days or in close contact with someone else who has been there.
Big Events canceled.
Yesterday I mentioned that the schools in Peru have been closed. Further measures is to restrict mass gatherings of more than 300 people was issued today. It means that the soccer league has been postponed. Concerts like Guns N Roses are also canceled.
My thoughts on all this.
It is likely that the numbers of infected in Peru will rise a lot sooner or later, but with the measures taken it may be later than sooner. It is of course hard to know, but for the time being Peru seems to be a better place to be than many other places with much higher numbers of infected people and a faster spread of the virus.
While birdwatching away from the big city, the risk of contamination will be much less as we meet with very few people while birding.
So yes to be clear, I do recommend to come to Peru right now, but ONLY if you are NOT restricted by either health issues, age or affected by flight restrictions and current quarantine rules.
That said, when coming back to your country of origin you even if it is not a quarentine you should regardless limit your social contacts and monitor your health for 14 days.
It may seem to you like I am doing an ambulance chase by promoting Peru this way. Well, that is up to you. I need to provide for my workers, our providers and our families, the best way I can. Based on the current information Peru is still a good destination so it makes sense to promote Peru this way. Lots of people, dependent on ecotourism, not only in Peru of course, are looking at very difficult times ahead.
At some point, the picture could change drastically, and Peru could be shut down completely. We simply don't know that yet!
Meanwhile, we need to focus on the facts and what we know.
In case of a worst case scenario we need a different strategy.
The Satipo Road Eco Lodge Project
So in order to get my employees something to do rather than nothing, I believe preparing the community ecolodge for bird photography will be the way forward. There are many take-aways. We can do carbon capture with reforestation and conservation of exisiting forest, support a local community, provide work for our staff and preparing an awesome unique product to sell once this pandemic is over.
Consider joining the birding tour to Satipo road scheduled March 26-31 or April 10-19 that also includes Junin Grebe and Bosque Unchog with Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager, as well as the new Tapaculo described only a week ago - White-winged Tapaculo.
Flights are becoming dirt cheap!
Volunteer to help out completing the birdlist, teaching English, setting up feeders, building room separations with dry wall, build photography hides for Tinamous and Woodquails and habituate Antpittas.
Cost for volunteers supporting the project is only $60 per day which includes full board and access to our bird guide Juan, who needs training in English, but will show you more birds than you can dream of.
I will also set up a donation program on Gofundme or similar platform, plus additional departure dates to Satipo road - the "poor man's Manu road" (it is that good for birds, but far less expensive), so you can support the project. We shall be needing money for materials, utensils, beds and linen, etc to make the stay for future visitors as comfortable as possible. The Gofundme page should be ready by next week.
Long term schedule of tours.
It will be of tremendous help to us if you start thinking of the tours you want to do once this is over. Let's start schedule your trips from August onwards both with Kolibri Expeditions and 7 Wonders Birding programs. Just let me know where you want to go.
We will just ask for deposit, and you may cancel completely two months prior to the trip and get a refund without penalty (apart from some small transaction costs) and for later cancellations your money would be credited to a future trip.
