Shortly after dinner, Bastion and Crystal make an announcement. For those interested, we will be playing a murder a game. Everyone is to write down their name, a location and an item on three separate pieces of paper. Each are used to form three piles and then everyone picks out one of each. In my instance, I pick out Luca, my esteemed colleague, the construction site of the new Comedor and an empty water bottle. To successfully murder your chosen person, you must hand them the item in the specified location. If they take it, they have been murdered and you inherit their kill order. If they realise what is happening, then your chances of implementing doom are foiled. My murder won’t be difficult, given that I see Luca every day and we meet outside the new Comedor before heading off to see Kusiy every afternoon. I just need to avoid getting murdered before tomorrow’s shift.

It is Tuesday 29th. I wake up and start my day by feeding the birds with Marine and Luca, before cleaning the banos with Matt. These are two quite lengthy tasks, particularly with a mountain of bog roll to burn, rendering me late to breakfast. I arrive just in time for annuncios and the introduction of four new volunteers. Lottie and I then rush off to Gaia, who is experiencing the zoomies today, before returning to camp for a three carb lunch. No wonder I have turned into a shapeless mess here. I do my washing and have a nice chat with Silvia the vet. She is pleased to see that I am looking healthier (and less bumpy) following my allergic reaction to a wasp sting yesterday. Georgia and Jenn then arrive with the shopping and we all get involved to help put everything away. A cheer is heard from the human deposit – Lottie has successful killed Jorge by handing him a set of keys. The first murder. It is not long until I strike Luca. I set myself up outside on the steps of the new Comedor with two empty water bottles. As the afternoon shift begins and folks gather around the water point, Luca joins me and I hand her a bottle to fill up at the tap. Easy. Too easy. I let her know that she has been killed. From her, I inherit a new victim – I need to murder Elyse by handing her a machete in-between the doors to the current Comedor. This will take more cunning.

My newly deceased friend and I head over to see Kusiy and find that he is well past his dodgy paw situation, with a total of 16 occasions in which he runs and 11 laps completed in total. He clearly has some energy to get out of his system following a few days of resting. Luca and I are fascinated at one point as he pauses by his pool to dip his face in. We are not sure what his logic is, but his muddy cheeks certainly amuse us.

I return to camp and make a second visit to the bone hole today, before heading in for dinner. Tuesdays are cunape day – my last cunapes. Naturally, I ordered five. We then finish up dinner (soggy pasta for a third night in a row) and I share a short presentation on my time here, including photos showing how the place has changed in the eight and a half years since my previous visit.

It’s Wednesday. I finish my bag of chocolate chips in my morning porridge, for it would be criminal to leave such a treat here in the jungle. I do not know why chocolate is so expensive in Bolivia, given that cocoa literally grows here. It would appear that capitalism doesn’t work that well after all. Lottie and I then head over to see Gaia, joined by new volunteer Paul – a 6ft something Canadian man. We make our way over the first flooded basin, with sticks to aid our balance as we cross the horizontal bamboo. Being a charitable gentlemen, and with it being his first time, I kindly donate the longest stick to Paul and take a short one for myself. This results in a fairly sketchy crossing.

Gaia has a nice walk, with Paul joining me on the back rope. He does not seem particularly fazed by the big cat walking ahead of him. I think this is good. We then return to camp and I am met by Cleo who has a kind offer for me. Having watched my presentation yesterday, including old photos of Ru, my jaguar from last time I was here, and the howler monkeys, she is giving me the opportunity to visit Ru’s resting place. When one animal passes away here, in time, another will be moved into their enclosure. Ru’s enclosure is now home to three pumas – los chicos, a group of males who are able to live together. I cannot simply stroll up to Ru’s grave, as it is in close proximity to their home and my presence may worry them. Later on, I will walk there with Matt, one of their volunteers, so that I am not creeping up on them and they will know that I am safe. Before this though, I need to murder Elyse.

Elyse keeps plants outside the Comedor. Currently, she is inside chatting. I grab a machete from the animal kitchen. In order to pull this off, I will rely on the chaos of my apparently very complicated and difficult to understand English accent. I summon her claiming that there is an infestation on one of the plants. I start shifting them around with a machete in hand. Pretending to be flustered, I then ask if she can hold it for me. With literally zero idea of what is going on, she takes the machete and I turn to her and announce that she has been murdered. As she processes what I have said, I see rage descend on her face and I am immediately chased around camp by an unforgiving French lady.

With blood still on my hands, Cleo summons me to the office. She has been showing Nena photos from nine years ago, when we did construction together. Nena, having not recognised me until now, is overjoyed and immediately starts video calling John, the leader of the organisation I came through last time. She is very excited. Meanwhile, Elyse finds the three pieces of paper detailing my next kill order. I have to murder Rachel by handing her Ralfy the cat (house cat, not a big cat – thank goodness) outside the showers. I don’t see how this one will work. 

Escaping the chaos, Matt guides me to Los Chicos, where I greet them briefly, before heading over to the resting place of Ru. It is strange being back at the enclosure. It feels very different now. For starters, there are three management cages, instead of one. The inside of the main enclosure largely feels the same, though the forest on the outside feels different. Ru’s grave lies outside in a small clearing, with a small stone to mark the location. I take some time to sit and reflect, whilst only being somewhat eaten alive by mosquitos, before making my final farewell and heading off to see Kusiy.

Paul and Luca went ahead and I join them as they complete their first lap, as not to confuse Kusiy.  He likes it when we all stick together. We complete nine laps, totalling nearly 2km, though with no running today. He takes fascination in today’s new friend, Paul, soon to be his only afternoon buddy. I invite Paul in to do the cage jobs and allow Luca some time on her own with Kusiy before she says goodbye, for today is her last day. We give Kusiy his weekly egg, then return to camp.

It’s restaurant night tonight. Felipe is not joining us, and as usual, I have forgotten my pen knife – the home of my corkscrew. I will need to find other means of accessing my weekly nectar. As I go to press down on the cork with the end of a pool cue, Ivan quickly steps in (preventing any further chaos today) and presses the cork down with pure force. I am not macho enough for the jungle. I get wine drunk and enjoy a nice chat with Cleo and Matt, before, as always, consuming a half litre tub of ice cream.

It is Thursday. Tomorrow is my last day here. Everything is coming to a close now. I feed the coatis for the last time and say goodbye to the fluffy friends that I much preferred seeing than the birds. I then head into the Comedor to make breakfast with French Marine. A total of 20 fried eggs have been ordered and we also need to boil 6 for the camp animals. This makes for a slow morning. I lose track of the time and as everyone starts piling in for breakfast, I hear shouting in the distance, “George, George, George”. A chain reaction featuring my name has kicked off. Crystal has called Raul, who has called Lottie, who has successfully called me. I run outside, instantly realising the reason for the summoning. Luca is about to hop on the bus. I had intended to wait with her, but I had a date with 26 eggs and 20 litres of coffee instead. I run up to her and give her a big hug, happy to have caught her, and wish her the best with her next two months of travels. I have grown very fond of Luca. She struggled when she started, with the long days, the longer walks and of course the never ending damp, but she never gave up. She took it all in her stride and developed a beautiful relationship with Kusiy. I know that he will miss her this afternoon. She did not, however, get over her fear of butterflies.

I return to the kitchen and settle down for breakfast. Annuncios are long today. We are informed of the current murder game status (in which two thirds of the killings have been performed by me) and Nena steps up to make an important announcement about next week. A bus full of monkeys will be passing through on their way across the country as they are relocated from one park to another. Naturally, I am gutted to be missing that, but I will be chilling in my AirBnB in Santa Cruz, enjoying air conditioning and access to a pool. A well-earned rest.

Lottie, Paul and I walk over to Gaia’s enclosure. Today is my last cage session with her. The sun is shining and we have a chill time as Gaia runs around chasing her vine ball. I take a backseat and enjoy watching Lottie, Paul and Gaia bond. It is their time now. Paul and I also spend the afternoon shift together, just the two of us, with Kusiy. Whilst Kusiy manages an impressive 10 laps, Paul, on the other hand, is flagging and needs a sit down. The heat is getting to him a bit. Afterall, he is Canadian. We return home after our session with Kusiy and he rests in bed as I bring him Powerades. I reassure him that it is not uncommon to feel ill at the start here, reminiscing over my 24 hour sickness when I first arrived nearly two months ago and the fatigue Luca felt when she had first started.

Leaving Paul to rest, I shower and then head into the Comedor where I have a questionable meal, but with lovely conversation. I sit with Cleo, Matt and Georgia, sharing laughs and talking about the cats. It is a strange thought that tomorrow will be my last night here. I feel a strange sensation in my right eye towards the end of the meal, not a tear, but like there is something stuck in it. With it being bed time anyway, I take out my contact lenses and head into my dorm to sleep.