An Unexpected Arrival

My journey from laid back Santa Cruz to my next volunteer project in San Cristobal started off like any other day in Ecuador, standing on a crowded dock with hundreds of other people trying to catch boats and everyone screaming incoherent interjections at the controllers. When I eventually shoved my way through the mob of other travelers that resembled a barking sea lion colony, I hopped on the first boat I saw, and made my way to the next obstacle, my ferry to San Cristobal.

The boat I took had a capacity of 26 people... there were at least 30 adults, and about 10 children. This made for a less than comfortable two hour ride, squished in between a sweaty Dutch guy and an Ecuadorian woman with two kids piled on her lap. But I hunkered down and put my mind on my destination as we bounced along, baking in the high noon sun the whole time. When I hopped onto the dock at San Cristobal I was slathered with a nice mix of sweat, sunscreen, and salt. The coordinator of my program met me with a taxi to go food shopping and get back to the volunteer house so I could finally relax. Unfortunately it was Sunday, meaning that every food shop was closed. We ended up finding one where I managed to buy a couple of potatoes, some dry pasta, and two cans of tuna. With my pantry stocked, we headed back to the "Hacienda Tranquila" which I would soon learn was anything but "tranquil".

When I arrived I was greeted by more than twenty teenagers all chattering in thick British accents. I had unwittingly stepped into a group of "Organized Gap Year" people, which from the description, sounds just like a big group of people who travel for 10 weeks together doing some volunteer work along the way... not what I would call a Gap Year, but oh well, to each their own. I slouched down in a plastic chair out of the patio and stuffed my nose in a book. But with twenty 18-20 year olds (17 of which are girls) all flapping their lips, I managed to get through about two pages before I just gave up and retreated to the sanctuary of my bedroom, which I share with three other boys.

After a week of being here, I've gotten to know most of the group, and they're actually very nice people, the Hacienda is just not set up to accommodate such a large group. There are a few other solo travelers that, like me, are a little bewildered by living like bees in a hive, so we manage to find solidarity in each other.

I really am enjoying the work here, and I plan to write about our activities ASAP. Hasta Luego!