Rainforest Conservation - Ecuador and Costa Rica

In Yanacocha, forget your routine, your job, your problems. Leave your "always connected you" at home, and appreciate the restful environment.
In the morning, we read our program for the day, quite easy and straightforward (sometimes, a bit physical too) and the rest of the day goes smoothly. No concern, no stress, it is very relaxing: we take care of those gorgeous animals (= preparation of the food, distribution, cleaning of the enclosure), we spend time with them (no petting !! most of those animals are wild, so except for the food morning round, we stay outside), we make sure they are healthy and happy. The afternoon, there are different activities to be done, still related to the animal welfare.
We eat lunch and dinner all together (volunteers and coordinators), some of us cooking and cleaning dishes.
THIS IS NOT A ZOO ! Everything is done for the animals' benefit (not so much for the visitors' benefit). Being part of the center gives great opportunities to interact with the animals but it doesn't mean that we can pet and hug them. Yanacocha's purpose is the reinsertion of the animal into the wild, so close contact with the animals is not recommended.