We were only able to spend a few days here, but are dying to go back. We had a great time, with great people, all of whom were dedicated to improving the lives of the animals. Everyone is split into teams, and each team is responsible for a set of tasks for the morning and a different set of tasks for the afternoon. The tasks range from preparing the food for the animals, to delivering to their cages, to working on various projects around the grounds. The tasks for each team rotate daily. On top of these tasks the volunteers are encouraged to come up with and act on their ideas for improving the lives of the animals. Some examples of what we saw and/or helped with were making a mud pit for the pigs, a grass bed for the goat, toys for the kinkajou or howler monkeys, and weaving palm leaves to give shade for the sloth enclosures.
Overall there could certainly be improvements, but if you read up on the back story of the rescue center (very tragic, see their website) it is impressive how well they are actually doing. I would suggest trying to get in contact with one of the people in charge before going and see if there are any small tools or things you could bring from home to donate to the rescue center. Also, I’d highly recommend bringing a red light lamp or headlamp. The red lights don’t upset the eyes of the nocturnal animals and allow you to enter their cages and see them at night without harming their eyes.
One last thing, to address some of the criticisms I’ve heard: The beds aren’t luxurious, or new, but I slept sound every night. The meals can be repetitive, but there is opportunity to go up for seconds, it’s cooked and prepared for you, and I always left the table feeling full.
We have every intention of returning the Rescue Center!
Review by Andrew Fisher, from February 2017, review taken from Google.
