When I arrived at Chuchini Lodge, I went straight to work. I spent the first few days getting to know the place by translating for the boss, Ibis. I had to memorise as much information as I could and within a few days I was leading my first independent group. I spent most of my little free time studying. But being a tour guide can be very different from place to place. Here I was in a small family business and there were many more tasks than just guiding. You had to help with almost everything. Flexibility was also a thing, as meal times and free times were quite dynamic and changed depending on the number of guests.

On the banks of the Mamoré River, a tributary of the Amazon, we’d take a mud bath and swim. While the guests enjoyed themselves, the two workers prepared lunch on the boat. In the afternoon, we’d swim and fish for piranhas at another spot. All the while keeping an eye out for more wildlife. On the way back, I’d set up hammocks for the guests on the boat and serve fruit and drinks. Back at the Chuchini Lodge, Miriam, the boss, would be waiting for us with a fresh cold fruit juice and a briefing on the evening’s programme. The guests were then free to shower and relax, while I gutted the fish and helped serve dinner.

As soon as I saw an animal and could estimate its size, the driver would approach and I would catch it with my hands (which usually worked). I would then check that the caiman was healthy and well fed. Sometimes I had to remove foreign objects such as spikes, fish bones or leeches from the young animals’ mouths to prevent them from choking. Afterwards I would talk to the guests about these fascinating animals and if we were lucky I would find one or two other species.

It was always important for me to explain why we caught the animals, talked about them and then released them. Well, basically because the crocodiles (various species, including endangered ones) are often poached and sold to restaurants and souvenir shops. Another important point for me is to take the fear away from the caimans and to build an emotional relationship through direct physical contact. It shouldn’t just be a show for people to take pictures with, but an educational experience. Once this awareness has been raised, hopefully people will think twice about ordering illegally poached animals to eat or buying them as souvenirs. We arrived back at the lodge around 9.30-10.30 p.m. I stayed for a few minutes to answer some questions before saying goodbye for the evening.

It’s pitch dark and I’m standing on the bow of the boat as it sails through the lagoon. Behind me are a handful of tourists and the driver operating the outboard motor. Suddenly I see eyes sparkling above the surface of the water, and the driver steers the boat towards my flashlight beam. As I roll up my sleeves, he slows down.

But how did it all start?

All travellers these days are confronted with the terms digital nomad and online work. There are dozens of forums and discussions about working online. Some jobs work better than others. We are constantly asked if we work while travelling. When we say online, their curiosity is fed. But what many travellers forget these days is that you don’t  have to be a translator or a programmer, there are still good old-fashioned offline jobs out there. Of course, the pay varies from country to country, but there are all sorts of jobs you can do. You just have to ask, be motivated and open to new things, sometimes in exchange for board and lodging, sometimes for a wage.

Personally, when I was asked at home if I would work while travelling, I always said that if I saw something I liked, why not, for a while. Often I would do small maintenance jobs around the house of people who offered us a place to stay or even food in exchange. I repaired the rotten garden gate at Toni & Nena’s in Bolivia, fixed the shower at Breno and Rosana’s newly opened campsite in Brazil, or even built a new platform on their pond.

Doors and windows often have to be adjusted, as they are often poorly made and wrongly installed, and the weather and damp do the rest. The DIY work you sometimes see is unbelievable, a lot of it just works with tricks and no repair or maintenance is ever done. However, I got my first real job on the road by chance.