4th and 5th of November: Deborah  We arrived late evening to a warm Tanzanian welcome from Katie, Ellie and the staff at Randa cottages. We had a wonderful flavoursome dinner and retired to very comfortable beds. Next day was a day to relax and enjoy the culture and natural beauty of Tanzania whilst practising a few Swahili greetings. First up was the Moshi market a busily centre of fresh colour produce, fish, meat and clothes. After a lunch of traditional Tanzania fayre, we walked to the Materuni waterfall. A spectacular site and cooling water dip. Then back to enjoy the Randa cottages…

Participating in the Amazon Hope Programme in Peru has been one of the most profoundly rewarding experiences of my life. Each visit has left a lasting impression on me, not only because of the medical work we do, but because of the extraordinary people we meet along the way. The Peruvian communities along the Amazon are some of the most gracious, warm, and resilient individuals I have ever encountered. Their kindness is genuine, their gratitude heartfelt, and their ability to welcome us - strangers arriving by ship- never ceases to amaze me.  One of the most meaningful aspects of volunteering…

Amazon Hope - A Dental Student’s Experience Before embarking on my expedition I knew of a few people who had done the expedition before who highly recommended it. However, I felt a little apprehensive as apart from some advice to bring hiking boots, I didn’t really know what to expect! A thunderstorm in Glasgow almost derailed the trip but thankfully I managed to get the last flight to Heathrow and begin my journey to the Amazon. Upon landing in Peru, I immediately knew I made the right decision. From start to end I had such a lovely time and met loads…

1st of September - A lovely day of exploring An orientation talk at breakfast from Katie. 9 volunteers +1 arrive this evening. First visit- a walking tour of the local markets, full of exposure to Tanzanian city life! Wonderful fruit and veg, sellers, kids on motorbikes and lots of noise and bustle. Great fun! Elly took us to the bank to exchange currency, I felt rich with 100,000 shillings in my wallet but in fact this is only about £30. We were driven in the minibus to Materuni, up a very windy, bumpy, potholed road with a steep drop to one side.…

Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of joining an expedition to a truly extraordinary place like the Amazon rainforest. I was in Mexico when those childhood dreams suddenly came back to me. I remembered the adventurous kid who believed that if you want to live extraordinary experiences, you cannot simply wait for them to find you. So that's exactly what I did. I opened my laptop, searched for medical expeditions, and discovered Vine Trust. Before the trip, my biggest expectation wasn't just the Amazon itself—it was the people I would meet and the opportunity to learn from them…

Safari! The first park we went to was called Tarangire where we saw elephants at a close distance, crossing the paths in front of us and playing in the water. We also saw giraffes and many other animals. There were lots of cheeky monkeys at the picnic site stealing peoples lunches! We got along well with our jeep driver (GB) and had lots of fun listening to music, singing with Doug and being his dancing divas.  The second park we visited was Ngorongoro. This park was in an erupted volcano. There was a massive watering hole which loads of animals…