Welcome to Rainsong!

Our trip to Cabuyo went smoothly without a hitch. We arrived at the Montezuma bus stop in the late morning to an breathtaking beach-front view of the Pacific ocean; a very drastic change from the Central Valley mountains. After having lunch at the bar/restaurant on the beach, Max, a local taxi driver coaxed us to let him take us the rest of the way to Rainsong (he offered a great deal and the next scheduled bus was an hour away).

We were greeted by Simon (the directors husband and primary caretaker of the farm) at the Sanctuary gate and brought inside, and shown around by Edwin, a volunteer whom seemed very knowledgeable and helpful - it turns out he arrived the previous afternoon. This was to be our first indication of how things would unfold. Throughout the first afternoon/evening, we met a lot of volunteers, many of whom were in the process of leaving. At present time there are: Edwin and Joe ('the boys'; from the SE USA) whom are on a road trip originating in Chicago; Siri and Gabby ('the girls'; from Sweden); Danielle (Michigan, I can't recall which);and the most recent arrival, Brad (Alaska). They're all awesome, and great to get along with.

Our first day of work we were thrust in with no training and very few instructions. The director seems to be incapable of focusing on anything for more than a few seconds - scattered is a word she claims ownership over constantly. Our immediate assessment: Self sufficiency, self reliance, and hope we don't accidentally fuck up. Which won't be too big-a-deal since that's what we normally do, though it would have been nice to have a little bit of an orientation since we're responsible for the care and rehabilitation of a slew of different animals each with a specialized diet and treatment regimen. Definitely flying by the seat of our pants.


There's been plenty of bonding time with the crew in the evening between cooking/eating, partying and swimming at the beach! In all (aside from the nasty heat rash I've got) we're both having a great time and really enjoy the sanctuary, crew and animals.