Program Reviews

My time on Andros with GapForce was surely the best time of my life. Not only did I learn a lot about the local fish and coral species, the oceanic environment in general, taught by the very passionate marine biologist Elyssa, I also had the best dive instructor zara, who made me always feel safe and showed me the underwater world. Both of them were precious to the camp and people I would not want to miss. Apart from the learning I had the incredible opportunity to live in one of the most amazing places I've ever been, seconds away from the beach. I saw loads of sharks, turtles, interesting fish and dolphins. And I experienced everything with amazing people I met through this program and who became my friends for a life time.
Also the program around our scientific training was great fun and especially the legendary quiz-nights. The time here was definitely life changing, thanks to the amazing staff people and also all the volunteers.

This Europe tour completely surpassed all my expectations, from our intergroup relationships to exploring many different areas of countries I've never been to before in my life. I made some really great friends that I hope to keep in contact with in the future - that even includes our expedition leader Xav, who turned out to be completely different than I expected, well... he's pretty cool too, I guess... seriously though, the trip wouldn't have been the same without him.

Going on this trip, I expected to meet people but not to become friends with them. I expected an expedition leader who'd show us to our hotel and then be done with us - couldn't have been further from the truth - if anyone is on the fence about coming, I'd heartily reccomend it - all these things make the trip a time you'll never forget.

Even though i was only on the first half of the trip, the experience was amazing! The hostels and trains were better than expected. The cities we went to were all beautiful, and we made sure to hit the touristy spots but the moments that meant even more were the small ones like the spontaneous opera in florence. The food we ate was amazing (mostly chocolate croissants and pizza). Being in a small group of five meant that we bonded incredibly fast and I'll probably remember all the funny moments we had together forever . And last but not least our tour guide Xav was the best, but don't take him nice places, he breaks everything!

This trip was absolutely amazing! I had so much fun! The sightseeing and traveling were amazing of course, but more than that I fell in love with the many cultures, the people and our group! As a group you get so close to one another and we had some real bonding experiences :) plus you get to travel and see amazing things with these amazing people! Definitely go on this trip if you have the chance.

Plus Xav is the best tour guide around. But don't take him to nice places, he breaks things.

The six weeks proved to be both challenging yet stimulating in the content it offered.

As someone who has never dived before, or undertaken such a huge project so far away from home, the initial arrival into camp proved fairly daunting and nerve wracking.

However friendly and helpful staff and a well ran series of dive and conservation practical and theoretical lessons quickly brushed aside any worry that remained and formed the basis of what would be an incredibly insightful and engaging six weeks.

As of leaving, i am now a qualified PADI Advanced Open Water diver and further the skills i have learned to progress into more advanced fields of diving such as wreck and cave. The work of the camp Marine Biologist and her clear enthusiasm for the field has also helped enforce a real interest in marine biology and conservation and huge desire to take a more proactive approach to looking after the incredibly fragile, beautiful and diverse world that lives beneath the waves.

Perhaps the hardest part of leaving camp is the realisation that I now have to leave behind all the incredible volunteers, both new and old, of whom i have worked, lived and dived with over the last six weeks. The friendships formed over the duration of the project have been a pleasure to be part of and i remain confident that they will continue onward into the forseeable future.

Thank you so much to all the hardworking staff and volunteers on camp for making these six weeks so special!

My trip to Andros was amazing. I will never forget it and I will take a lot of calmness and patience with me home. Alone living on a camp directly at a lonely beach and being able to jump into the water whenever it gets too hot, is wonderful! For me this adventure was completely positive as I enjoyed every dive we did – with Elyssa and Zara I always felt safe- , all the lectures we had –Elyssa is a very competent marine biologist-, spending time with the people here, getting to see a bit of the Bahamian life and the island and simply exploring parts, as tiny as they might be, of the stunning underwater world. I had so much fun learning about all the fish, corals etc. that I even would have loved having more lectures, but I noticed that Elyssa was so busy that it wasn’t possible. Its a whole new way of diving when you actually know all the fish you are surrounded with under water. Sadly we had a lot of problems with our boat and the compressor so we couldnt do as many dives as I expected us to do. Nevertheless it was never boring at the camp as we found other things to do instead. The trips to the blue holes of Andros were fun. One day we learnde more about plants at the Forfar station and we even got to try Termites! The best trip was to the bat caves, what was scary and so much fun at the same time! Afterwards we went snorkeling at wrecks what I really enjoyed too. If you dont expect a high living standard and super delicious food you will have a great time with all the people you meet at the camp. Thanks to cool activities like the Quiz Night or Beach Olympics there will be forming a great community. The longer you stay here the more cool stuff you will do because the number of people decreases. If you are motivated and eager to find out more about marine life and how to help saving it, this project is made for you!

I came on this trip because wanted to spend the summer diving in a beautiful country and get involved with a marine biology programme that I wouldn’t get anywhere else. I have absolutely loved living in Andros over the past 6 weeks as it has given me the opportunity to not only make great friends from all over the world, but to live on a beautiful white beach and learn and conserve the local eco systems. The lectures Elyssa provided us with were really great as they were really thorough and exciting and she was always available for extra help with the understanding of the fish to those of us who do not study marine biology as a degree. I could really tell she put so much effort into them and it made learning the fish a lot more enjoyable than it could have been. I’d also say that Zara made the running of the camp really fun and up beat as it seems the expedition leader wasn’t available a lot of the time, which almsot all the volunteers found incredbily fustrating and odd. She also took almost every dive during the week days over the time I spent in Andros and was always in a good mood and ready to help even by the time of the last dive of the day. Although I may have written an email expressing my frustration with the facilities here, which still stands true, it has in no way tarnished my experience and time here and I am very sad to be leaving Greenforce and everyone left here. Particular highlights for me visiting the blue holes on Saturday's and all of the incredible diving i managed to do, as well as making really great friends.

Such a interesting and eye opening trip with an amazing group of people visiting such a beautiful part of the world. Highlights include the Salkantay Trek a physically challenging 4 day trek ending at Machu Pichu and the incredible Sacha Yachu wildlife sanctuary in Ecaudor run by Raul who's dedication to the animals was inspiring. I made some great friends and memories that will last forever. Would definitely recommend this trip for anyone looking to travel to that part of the world.

Every town we went to was another eye opening experience. We grew so much independently and as a group with every new activity. From Trekking to one of the Wonders of the World, to surfing in Mancora, Peru; we were all growing happier and closer as a group. At first I was worried about being the only minor and being the only American in the group, but that worriedness went away very quickly. I could not reccomend this program enough. I have fallen in love with South America thanks to this program.

Visiting South America has been such an amazing experience! I have met the most amazing people, both in my group, at the wonderful animal sanctuary and throughout the whole trip. I have experienced so much with these people and I am sure we will be friends for life!

I really enjoyed the first week, exploring Cuzco. We were lucky enough to experience the City in the month of Peru. There were parades, street dances and performances on all the time, which was so interesting to watch their culture and see the locals of all ages getting involved. We improved our Spanish, with the help from Ricardo, the best Spanish teacher ever! He tried so hard to make sure we had loads of fun and games while learning to make it the best possible experience.

The trekking week was very tough! I dont think many of us prepared for the struggles ahead, but with the support of an amazing group and some banging tunes, we made it to the top! It was so worth the struggle, the views were incredible!

I feel like the third week could have been organised a lot better! It was a lot of time travelling, which we expected, but when we arrived at the three different destinations there was nothing planned for us. 2 days in Lima was definately not needed as we werent really allowed to go and explore the city as it is suppose to be quite dangerous and not very touritsy. So stuck in a hostel for 2 days was not much fun, and I would have preffered to get straight on the next bus to Mancora to spend either an extra day there or in Cuenca. Maybe this is something that could be improved or changed on the trip.

The Jungle was a great week, helping out in the sanctuary. To have travelled with Raul through Peru and to arrive at the sanctuary that he built from scratch was amazing to see! He has been such a good leader and has helped us alot throughout our time here, it would not have been the same trip without him!

In terms of food money, I think the budget was way off. It was definately the bare minimum and we were constantly eating at cheap places so we didnt have to use our own money on food we thought would be provided. I would have liked to try some differnet traditional dishes but because of the expense of some of them, i didnt try them and stuck to the cheap budget.

Overall it has been a great trip and definately worth coming to South America to explore its wonderful scenery and culture!