Flying out to Ecuador as a volunteer paramedic to work in the Amazon rainforest for three months was not without its challenges for Ray Helm as he explained to Holme Valley Civic Society.

His journey by bus and on foot from Quito airport, high in the Andes, to his base in the rainforest below was long and arduous.

Snakes on the path in the dark forest were an added problem!

Ray had gone to work with young people and his first job was to make a track through the jungle to get to a school. Armed with torch, camera, compass and other useful items, he set off with his young helpers, but in a short time the solid, woody bamboo stems, thick as his arm, had severed the straps attaching his equipment to his belt. Without his noticing, everything had been lost along the way.

The weather, too, was a problem as the forest through which he was making the tracks was a cloud forest and during the ninety days that Ray was there, only two days were dry.

Layers of clothes were needed in the jungle and wide-brimmed hats to avoid being hit by things falling from above.

Boots to protect against snake bites were also essential, but they lasted for only two weeks before disintegrating because of all the moisture.

Fortunately, Ray found another pair which had been left in the building where he was based by a previous visitor who also took size elevens.

Fortunately, indeed, as the largest boots available in Ecuador seemed to be only size nine!

It was hard work wielding a machete to cut through the undergrowth, but Ray did manage to create footpaths with the young people, though the tracks were soon washed away by rain and in a very short time the vegetation had grown again.

A good night’s sleep was difficult when the tarantulas above the mosquito nets were active and, in the morning, they were sometimes found in boots.

In spite of the difficulties, Ray’s voluntary work in Ecuador had many positives. Five hundred trees were planted whilst he was there, although they had only a donkey to carry them up to the right level. Pupils at the school where he worked learnt about nutrition and people were taught how to use the medical kit. A mountain rescue team was also set up.

Ray was particularly keen to improve the lives of the girls and so started a butter and yoghurt factory using the milk from local cattle. As it was wet all the time and difficult for mothers to dry their babies’ clothes, he bought them a gas drier.

A fitting conclusion to Ray’s three months of volunteering was being taught how to land a nine-seater plane before flying over the Galapagos Islands and his final three days were spent horse riding and rounding up cattle.

The next meeting of Holme Valley Civic Society will take place at 7.30pm in Holmfirth Civic Hall on Thursday February 20, when Kath Birkinshaw will describe a year in her life as a hill farmer in the Peak District. All are welcome.