- December 2022 -
Volunteer Work in an Amazon Animal Rescue Center
(Ecuador)
With the bus „San Francisco“, one drives 5 hours through beautiful nature from Quito to Puyo (238km). Afterwards one can take a taxi to the project, which is approximately 35 far away. As another option one can take a bus.
Once I arrived I was well received by Gandolf the cat, Negro the dog and Konati the coati. It was all very beautiful and the surrounding was impressive.
After a short break I visited the always busy family Alvarez. They process bananas, cacao and guavo. Back in the camp I saw Flavio again and other guests which all welcomed me very friendly. We immediately became a harmonic group. Franzi explained to me where the volunteer house was, where I could place all my belongings. There were high sleepers as well as single beds. Blankets were available, which one needed since in the night and mornings it can get really cold. However, it would still be useful to bring a sleeping bag.
The water supply comes from the spring water which is drinkable. It is as well used for the showers and toilets. We always cooked ourselves so we know all is prepared freshly. On the weekends we could do whatever we wanted. Some drove to Baños or to Puyo. There is much to see and discover in these places.
The big fruit and vegetable market can tempt one to linger around. I always bought loads of tropical fruits which were very cheap, for example 3 mango only cost 1$. In little restaurants they offer really cheap menus for which you would only pay 2-3.5$. These menus mostly include a main dish, a salad, some compote and a country typical juice.
Now we come to my actual mission in the animal world and the rainforest. Since we were many volunteers we could always team up, so that different people took care of different sectors. During the time I was there, various animals had to be fed, such as pigs, turtles, parrots and so on. We divided the work between one group who prepared the food for the animals, and the others were cleaning the kitchen, toilets and showers. These tasks had to be done every day.
The different enclosures were separated from each other, and muddy and stony paths were connecting them. One had to be careful to not stumble or fall especially while carrying the big animal food containers. Gumboots are available, which are certainly necessary during tasks like these.
During some afternoons we had to help building the new station, which was very interesting. It is amazing that you can build a house with only few tools and materials. The family Alvarez was very friendly and they managed all hustles and complications. For example, they know how to help people with bee- or spider bites with certain flowers which neutralize the poison. Additionally, we had to build a new enclosure for the turtles. A deep hole was necessary so the turtles could not escape in the meantime.
The rainforest is very impressive, when it rains you can’t hear once voice but as soon as it stops you can hear a concert of all animals and especially from the frogs and parrots. The animal voices are very moving at night, it feels like you are never alone in the world. When the rain stops, the fog appears which lets the rainforest seem a little spooky like in a fairy tale.
I would definitely do it all over again, because the country is so beautiful and I only made positive experiences, with the people and animals.