Dozing polar bear, Indianapolis Zoo

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Hello, Sancho fans

I see that Raising Sancho has aired again in the U.S. and, it appears, Spain.  I can always tell when that happens, because the visits on the statcounter explode.  This blog has been mostly idle for a year or so, since I began writing on another site.  I do monitor the site, though, because almost every day brings at least a handful of visitors interested in Sancho.

Raising Sancho had a pretty big impact on my life, in sort of a mystical, serendipitous way.  I saw the show several months before some very big changes happened in my life, and in an odd way, my experience with it prepared me and cushioned me for those.  And, of course, traveling to London to meet and hang out with Carolina Vargas, who is one of the most nature-connected people I've ever known was 1) one of the more surprising things I've done in my life and 2) just generally awesome.

And beyond that, watching and writing about the show made me friends all over the world -- Chicago, Belgium, England, you name it.

So.  Even though I went through two boxes of tissues in the week after I first saw the show two-and-a-half years ago, Sancho still reverberates in my life today.  I feel so strongly that Carolina and Sancho's story offers not just a deeply admirable example of human interaction with wildlife, but powerful lessons about life, risk, loss, and letting go.

I've asked one of the many friends I made through Raising Sancho to write a guest post about the trip to the Pantanal that he took after seeing the show.  He has agreed, and I'll put the post up as soon as it's finished.

Feel free to comment as much as you like.  Carolina does check in from time to time, but it may not be soon.

3 comments:

addy92 said...

what an amazing and intriguing woman and gentle soul is this Carolina Vargas, i should be so lucky as to be given a chance at life like Sancho was by this kind person and also the chance to live life as it is intended to be lived,be at peace with your decision and the hope that Sancho lives on... thanks to Trailhead for the opportunity Merry Xmas All

Unknown said...

Hi there! I've been binge watching documentaries in Youtube this week and I stumbled upon Raising Sancho last night. I was so moved I had to scour the internet to find out if Sancho was ever found. I understand the documentary was shot around 2006 and it has almost been 10 years. All I can do now is pray Sancho has had a long, fulfilling life. He is so sociable, affectionate and remarkable. I am also so deeply touched by Miss Carolina Vargas.

I'm not sure my comment will ever be read as it has been too long but I just wanted to share my feelings. Thank you and greetings from the Philippines!

mlaiuppa said...

It is 2017. Sancho would be ten this year.

I looked up the lifespan in Wikipedia. In the wild, the average is about 8 years. In captivity as old as 17.

I'd like to think that Sancho beat the odds and is a vibrant old man of 10, a grandpa, great grandpa and great great grandpa. That's he's had a long, fruitful and adventurous life.

While it would be lovely if, in his old age, he traveled back to the area of his youth and by some serendipitous chance, Carolina also happened to be there and they met once more. Yes, a romantic dream. What can I say? I like closure.

But as the years pass, it is less and less likely that Sancho will be spotted. So I'll just hold my dream to my heart and wish Sancho the best.