Love Volunteers: Ecuador

I volunteered through Love Volunteers and was so happy I came across the organization, they offer non-profit program fees and had volunteer programs in so many different fields, it was hard to pick one...I picked three while I was there. I volunteered in Quito, with elderly people, where seniors would go for free meals, companionship, for the medical clinic. I stayed with a host family while I was in Quito, who were all wonderful, I had ethnic food and really brushed up on my Spanish speaking at home and taking lessons. I also took fun free classes at the school like traditional Ecuadorian cooking, Salsa and Meringue, and played Fútbol and other traditional sports and pastimes with classmates and other volunteers as well as staff. I also volunteered at an animal rescue center. It was wonderful working with all the monkeys and learning about the wildlife in their natural habitat. Lastly, I volunteered in the Galapagos at a foundation on the island of San Cristóbal where there is a lot of invasive plants taking over such as mora (blackberry bushes), we would remove these with machetes and plant native species of plants that would cast shade, because mora likes to grow in sunny areas. The Galapagos Islands were amazing. I could see why Darwin was so fascinated by them and the wildlife there. It was so fun to explore on the weekends as well. It felt so wonderful to give back but to also gain so much with the experiences I had in Ecuador. I'm back in the USA now, and hoping to plan another trip really soon!