Rurrenbaque Tours - Madidi Travel

If you refer to my having crossed paths as to being interpreted as having crossed swords, the answer as no.
I have no intrest in her, however she is IMHO the master of her own destruction, past and future.

In my reply on 24 November to the OP, I wrote:

"Can you elaborate on the "unethical practices that were going on inside the park"?
I ask because your post seems to imply that Serere was previously inside the Park and that its managers took a
decision to opt out, which sounds a little unlikely as it would not be their decision."

There was no reply to this, or to a polite private message I sent to Pearlycole calling attention to my post. Indeed,
Pearlycole seems to have disappeared from The Thorntree after this one and only post.

In a further post on 30 January, I wrote:

"Moo's post is fine. Good for Madidi Tours. But the issue on this thread, I repeat, was not the quality of their
services but vague and unfounded allegations made by Ms. Ruiz against other parties and passed on in the OP."

Your post gives me no reason to eat any of those words.
Let the record stand: the allegations transmitted in the OP are vague and unfounded.

Making vague and unfounded allegations is, in itself, unethical.

Hi, yes another virgin, and I regret a suspicious too, (and I have to apologize for my definitely not perfect english due to I am no english native either)

just like moo79 and pearlycole I visited Serere just a couple of days ago. I can agree with them, that it was a good time we had and that they took it extremely serious with the conservation of this park. This went that far, that we skipped half a day program to patrol a rainy season connection between the rio beni and one of the five lakes.

About the reserve, and that it is far outside the borders of the park has the reason, that the properties can't be bought just like that, but are areas of the neighbouring indigenous communties which were given to the project to maintain and secure them as fishing grounds for the communities. So Serere has the right to use it exclusively but has also the duty to maintain its borders to the river (as just happened) and to conservate it.

@threeshire : The reserve is two hours upstream (north) Rurrenabaque and streches from the shores of Rio Beni to the east. The Madidi NP is and was ever situated south of Rurrenabaque and expands to the west and north but never touchs the shores of the Rio Beni again. It was never part of the Madidi NP and also not of another type reserve. Try wikipedia to verify it!
www.ecobolivia.org/es/mosaico05-popup.php

And finally I'm sure you all read the "National Geographics" cover article from the year 2000 (I think march edition). I guess you all read this article accurately and came over the pictures with the illegal logging. After talking to Rosa Maria I am sure (yes she poisoned me as well) that by "unethical practices" was ment the continued tolerating of logging inside the park bounderies and the hunting, which is illegal in all of Bolivia. And by the way it is quiet amazing how many people driving around with shotguns for their self defense.

@ schmuck : And honestly to schmuck, not replying doesn't mean guilty as you like to proove. I think after reading the complete thread I was quiet overwhelmed with the (maybe unwanted) hatred here and I know e.g. my girlfriend would rather jump out of the 5th floor than reply that. So by any means!
Happy new year!

Glad you enjoyed Serere.
I can only repeat: the issue is not the quality of their services. It is the casual repetition of allegations against others without any backup.
Quoting Wikipedia is NOT backup.

What matters to me is the present situation and what has happened in the recent years (two - three years back). Of course to understand the present time the background - the history - is of interest, but what is worth a discussion is the current situation in (2009 and) 2010:

I do not believe that illegal logging and hunting is tolerated in the Madidi NP today.
Wichtel, do you have concrete testimonies ? Do you know somebody who has been in the Madidi NP recently, and who have witnessed illegal activity, or have seen any proof ?
You write (in your post # 22 above) "it is quiet amazing how many people driving around with shotguns for their self defence". Is this your own firsthand experience ? Or who is your informant ? (And where are people with shotguns driving around ?)

Wichtel, I read your above post together with your post in the thread Animal friendly pampas tour?, started 25-May-2009. Your post is # 4 of 09-Feb-2010.
In this thread you write "Madidi Travel, a Tour operator which was forced to step out of the Madidi Park". Is this information relevant (today) ? If it is relevant, when and why the event took place should be added. Without a clarification the information sounds like an injustice.

Besides: There are threats against the Madidi NP. The Bala Dam Project is unfortunately still a real threat. A road project is a threat. Oil prospecting is a threat.
I would wish that these and other real threats could be an issue.
Instead of false and outdated accusations against the administration of the national park.

We landed in Rurrenabaque for a day to rest after the sleepless jeep journey before starting on the tour and it was class 3 days 2 nights - of spinning up down along a river yucuman (i think its called) which is a tributary off the Beni River and going for a hike through the pampas.

Hello!! I also hope my post is not too late..an I hope the interest about Madidi Tavel an Serere between you is still alive. Well, I´v being connected with the agency and with Rosamaria lately, and I might be able to give some answers to questions that were rounding this forum before.

Well, to start with I belive that Madidi Travel with Rosa Maria on the front and a lot of other people´s suport and hard work, Serere became a truly ecological Lodge and they managed to conserve this area and to independenly "sacar adelante" this new project.
Personaly, I admire Rosamaria, after all that happen,she didn´t surrender her dream and her mision in life, and she is still strong with her ideal.

And besides of beaing a dificult person to deal with in some matters, she does what others only say they do.

I´ll provide more information about the Rserve and the service if is needed
but i invite you to visit the web site: www.madidi-travel.com
HAve a nice YEAR!

First post. No track record.
Yawn!

Well here's another virtually virgin poster to be insulted. I find it interesting that some of you need to be such dinks to people who are using this site as it is meant to be used, altruistically. I understand that this site may also be used by others who are working for businesses to plug them, but i really feel that your comments are inappropriate, unkind and rude: "First post. No track record.
Yawn! " ?

"Everyone needs to have a first post on Thorntree, but three first posters on this thread??"

I think this speaks to the strength of people's experiences with Madidi Travel and Rosa Maria. People need to be motivated to post, whether it's by an really great experience that you think people should share in, or by defending someone who you feel is being wrongly attacked or maligned.

And now on to the business of this thread.

Written above: Some inaccurate " accusations" were made in the original post {OP } regarding and posting " they weren´t happy with some of the unethical practices that were going on inside the park," or more fully: "Especially since the reason it´s no longer in the park is because they weren´t happy with some of the unethical practices that were going on inside the park and they didnt want to be in any way associated with that. "

First: "Especially since the reason it´s no longer in the park"
Rosa Maria first had a lodge in Madidi, this lodge was built before the Park was made and was on land ceded to her. That lodge was burned down, and now there is Serere.

Regarding "unethical practices." I believe the point of the original poster was to relate their positive experience and not to get into the politics of MNP and Serere, as I read it anyways. One can read "unethical practices" to mean logging/poaching etc. which definitely was going on in the past, but i also understand it as oil and gas prospecting, planning roads etc.

An area that is designated as a National Park and touted as a great example of conservation, so needed because the area has vast biodiversity, should not be subjected to such financially beneficial ventures as oil and gas exploration and carving out roads. Don't these things seem completely contrary to the designation of a National Park? In my opinion these things are unethical in a National Park.

The decision to create Serere as a privately owned reserve means not only that it's operators have the right to police and prevent poaching and logging in Serere, it also means it is not threatened by oil and gas exploration or other such ventures. In this sense the original poster's comments were not uncalled for or "inaccurate accusations."

I was a volunteer in Rurre at Madidi Travel for two months.

As far as I saw in Serere the info that was exhibited in the "information house" was relating to all the things that threaten the Amazon basin and do still occur in the area as evidenced by tourist's photos, the fact that there are orphaned animals being sold by the people who have poached their mothers for their skins, there are oil and gas prospects in Madidi, roads are a threat, deforestation is ongoing... I don't believe it is a pointed attack on Madidi National Park.

I can agree with Robx on pretty much all of his posting (and can vouch that he was indeed married to Rosa Maria), as an individual Rosa Maria can come across very strongly, but she is not motivated by personal financial gain or any such thing. My passion is social and environmental justice, and I believe Rosa Maria is a similar person. I believe some of the comments by Erik07 and Schmuck are very strong, almost venomous, for people who have not met and spoken with her. Comments implying the harsh reactions to her were justly provoked are in turn doing what they have been been denouncing, and are somewhat one-sided. I believe the only thing that we can safely say from a distance is that it is a complicated situation that was likely exacerbated by foreign interests (be they private or NGOs-who are not saints and subject to all the faults that the rest of humanity is), corruption, and money.

Thank you Robx for joining in the discussion and offering a view informed by history and personal experience.

Rosa Maria has led a fascinating life full of activism of all colours. She has campaigned for conservation, indigenous rights, women's rights and equality, she spent years walking and driving through the jungle to communities where there were no roads, she gave workshops on birth control when it was illegal to do so...I can't even begin to scratch the surface. She is strong and opinionated, and genuine. I am not motivated by any gain in stating these things, and I support Madidi Travel and the Serere Ecolodge in their endeavors for conservation and awareness.

As an aside, While I was in Rurrenabaque a friend and I went to the Mayor's office and the local Tourist Information Centre about a stall that was at the Sunday market each week. The vendor was selling belts, wallets, purses of caiman and anaconda, and then on the last Sunday ocelot and jaguar bags. This was disturbing to us and completely counter to what the area, who's industry is tourism and 'eco'-tourism, should be exhibiting. The Mayor's office assured us that the vendor was not from Rurre, but from Reyes, and that these practices are not tolerated in Rurre and Madidi. The Tourist Info Centre assured us of the same and told us that they had been working hard as a community to educate about the importance of utilizing the Jungle sustainably and the long term benefit of tourism done in the right way. Both assured us that the vendor would no longer be permitted at the Sunday market. If any one is reading this who is going to Rurre and will be there on a Sunday there should not be any vendors selling any articles made from protected or threatened species and I would urge you to go to the Mayor's office and Tourist Info Center to express your concerns if there are.

Lc_yates, Thanks for posting. New posters are always welcome. As a new poster you can make things easier for yourself, for instance by: 1. Writing balanced. 2. Adding something new / a new point of view to the current thread. 3. Posting useful information about different topics, that is to say posting in two, three or more threads, and with that adding value to this travel forum.

This forum is based on sharing, and people who repay should be honoured.
(Incidentally, some of my attitudes to this Bolivia forum emerge from my post in the thread About this Bolivia travel forum. Unwritten rules, 25-Feb-2011).

With your post - reply # 28 above - in this thread and your post of 06-Mar-2011 in the thread Current conditions and flight availability to Rurrenabaque, 04-Mar-2011, you have earned / scored points in all of my three categories above.

By the way, I hope you have noticed the thread Bad Jungle Tour Experience in Rurrenabaque, 02-Mar-2011. This thread is also about Madidi Travel / Serere lodge. I am looking forward to your comment in that thread.

And now about "our" "business" in this thread:

I do not "buy" your reference to oil and gas prospecting, road construction etc. I agree that prospecting and roads in a National Park (NP) are inexcusable and indefensible. But you cannot blame the Madidi NP for it.

Roads, oil and gas are questions of "high politics" / international politics. As long as you and I and our fellow citizens in our respective countries - and as a matter of fact - do not want to change our way of life, change our gluttony, and become independent of fossil fuel, so long will countries like Bolivia want to use its resources, National Park or not.
And Bolivia wants growth and progress, wants to be on the Interoceanic Highway (Carretera Interoceánica) between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, or at least to have a part of the coming net of highways in South America. Infrastructure is a prestigious project, National Park or not.

So prospecting and roads are a great threat against Madidi NP, and so is the Bala dam project at the Bala Gorge. A huge hydroelectric dam project is question of prestige, and such dams are unfortunately "the height of fashion" in South America.

I share your passion for social and environmental justice. In a way we have the same background and attitude. But about the topic in this thread we listen to people on either side of the disagreement. I respect your point of view, and I do hope that you can respect my view.
I like the free exchange of opinions. By our joint efforts we make this forum useful.