Quick Tips from IOI's EcoGarden

A big “thank you” to social media volunteer, Stefan Ascherl for these tips and photos!

As spring ends in the southern hemisphere, and approaches in the northern hemisphere, we'd love to share some quick gardening tips from our EcoGarden in Isabela Island, Galapagos. This garden, right outside of our IOI office, is used as a model for our urban farming program and for hands on activities/learning for children and adults!

What is an EcoGarden? It's gardening with the environment in mind - gardening sustainabily and with native plants. Interested in gardening, farming, and agriculture? Check out our sustainable farming and urban agriculture volunteer program!

Empty egg boxes are the perfect base for growing young plants!

Flowers are always appreciated, so we give them some space in our garden between all the green vegetables to give our garden a pop of color!

Although we don't encourage using single-use-coffee-cups, if there are any around, then use them to grow young plants like we do!

You can upcycle empty plastic bottles to grow plants in them. Just cut them in half and color them up!

Stay tuned TO our social media for your chance to win an IOI t-shirt with quick quizzes from our garden!

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Exploring Isabela Island

We often get asked by potential volunteers "What is there do to in Isabela Island? Are there free activities? Are there tours? When is there time to explore?" The answers are: There's lots to do! There are free activities as well as tours! And we want to make sure you that as a volunteer you're able to experience the beauty of Isabela in your free time (afternoons and weekends).

Our incredible social media volunteers have put together a list of things to do in Isabela! Read on to learn more about their time exploring Isbabela Island. Thanks to Nicole, Rolph and Michelle for their input and photos!

Have questions? Contact us and we'd love to answer any questions you may have!

Free Activities:

Concha de Perla:

After taking Saturday to relax and walk around town, we decided to go snorkeling on Sunday. The best spot to snorkel in town is a small, sheltered lagoon called Concha de Perla, and is located next to the pier, about a 15 minute walk from IOI headquarters. It is free to get there and IOI has some extra snorkel equipment for the volunteers to borrow. Be careful walking down the path because you might find your way blocked by a sleeping sea lion or a stray iguana! 

I had been snorkeling there once before starting with IOI, and had been lucky enough to spot several beautiful eagle rays, dark colored rays with white spots. The second time I went (the first for the other volunteers), we got even luckier. We went at low tide, when the water is supposed to be much calmer and clearer. We spotted more eagle rays, a turtle, a sea lion, some iguanas, and, best of all, 5-6 tiny Galapagos penguins! The penguins were super fast, darting around and catching fish. They seemed quite unphased by the groups of people oggling them, and we got to watch them up close for almost an hour. One member of our group wasn’t a super confident swimmer, but at low tide the water was calm and shallow, and with her flippers and snorkel she didn’t have any difficulty. So far, this has been my favorite day on Isabela!

The Giant Tortoise Breeding Center:
Centro de Crianza Arnaldo Tupiza

We have a volunteer program at the tortoise center! Want to learn more? Visit our website: https://www.ioi.ngo/tortoise-center

Run and maintained by Galapagos National Park, the tortoise center is about a 30 minute walk from IOI headquarters.

In November 2019, IOI, Galapagos Park rangers, and Galapagos conservancy specialists, participated in a repatriation of 309 giant tortoises! This means that 309 giant juvenile tortoises were repatriated to their natural habitat in the south of the island of Isabela! This program of captive breeding and subsequent repatriation of tortoises is one of the most successful in Galapagos, and several populations of different species of tortoises have recovered. 

The tortoise center is in a sunny area with limited shade, so wear sunscreen and bring plenty of water! Visit our website for more information on our tortoise center volunteer program: https://www.ioi.ngo/tortoise-center. And check out the blog post from January with the inside scoop on volunteering at the center: https://www.ioi.ngo/blog/allageswelcome

Laguna Salinas:
”Flamingo LakE”

For an easy walk and great bird watching, you can head to Laguna Salinas, accessible in town down a road near Isabela Grill. There are various salt and brackish lagoons all over Southern Isabela where you can see a variety of coastal and sea birds. There are many brackish lagoons allowing Southern Isabela to be known for the largest concentration of flamingos in Galapagos!

Beaches:

There are beautiful beaches right in town, only a couple minutes walk from the main square! These are long, white sand beaches with beautiful blue waters. On most beaches you can find lots of crabs and iguanas on the rocks and you can (almost always) be guaranteed a beautiful sunset. Don’t expect to find a seat on the bench as the sea lions have usually snagged them!

El Muro de las Lágrimas: 
The Wall of Tears

We rented bikes for this excursion. The trail is 5km long and starts just past the trail to the Giant Tortoise Center. In total, the wall is about 6.5 km from IOI. I listed this as a free activity as it is possible to walk/run the trail, but it is somewhat long and hilly, so I would highly recommend renting a bicycle. The bicycles are generally $3 an hour or $15 per day, so they are still quite budget-friendly. Our trip took about 3.5 hours (although we made several lengthy stops along the way), so we paid $10.50. It is a fairly long ride with a lot of hills, so be sure to bring lots of water and try to go in the morning or late afternoon, when the heat is less intense. We left at about 3pm. It was still somewhat hot when we started but the weather cooled down pretty quickly and was a very pleasant ride after the first 45 minutes or so. There is also an option to take a taxi to the head of the trail to at least chop off the first 1.5km.

The wall rises from the middle of barren wilderness, near the base of a mountain. It was built from 1946-1959 by prisoners in the Isabela Penal colony as a means of keeping them busy. Many died during the harsh labor conditions surrounding the wall’s construction before the colony was eventually shut down for inhumane treatment of prisoners. The wall now stands in tribute to those who lost their lives to build it. 

Behind the wall there is a trail up the mountain to a lookout point at the top. There is another lookout just before the last stretch of the bike trail which offers similar views of Isabela.

Tours:

NOTE: All of these activities must be done with an organized tour agency as they are part of the Galapagos National Park. Prices below are based on Natural Selection tour company, near IOI, and tours can be arranged once in Isabela.

Las Tintoreras:

Price: $40
Approx. time: 3 hrs

Our first day in Isabela, we took a boat out to Las Tintoreras. This tour can also be done by kayak. Las tintoreras are a series of islets just south of Puerto Villamil. It is about a 10-15 minute boat ride to get there. We spotted a penguin on our way there! We did a short hike around the islet. We spotted several turtles and a couple of golden rays from the land, and we saw two turtles mating! The snorkeling was beautiful, with crystal clear water. We saw lots of turtles and starfish, as well as a couple of swimming marine iguanas. I also spotted a large, alien-looking yellow striped lobster, and one member of our group saw a shark!

Sierra Negra volcano:

Price: $40
Approx. time: 5 hrs

Sierra Negra, the Second Largest Crater in the World! One of five active volcanoes on the island of Isabela, Sierra Negra, is one of the oldest of the island and the largest in the Archipelago. It was about a five hour hike round trip, with a bit of an incline on the way up. We first hiked up to Sierra Negra to view the large, lava-filled crater at the top. Beyond Sierra Negra, the landscape grows more space-like with black reddish lava rock spread out in every direction, dotted with cacti. Volcan chico is smaller but more colorful, and just past it is a beautiful lookout over Isabela, from which you can spot Fernandina and Elizabeth Bay. I would recommend bringing sturdy hiking shoes, sunscreen, and LOTS of water for this tour, as the hike is fairly long and the heat may make you dehydrate quickly, maybe bring a layer as well since the area can be a bit cool and misty.

Los Tuneles:

Price: $110
Approx. time: 5 hrs

Our Los Tuneles tour was incredible. Los Tuneles are a series of lava rock tunnels about a 1 hour boat ride to the west of Puerto Villamil. We went on a short hike around and spotted lots of blue-footed boobies, and even a couple of their babies! The snorkeling here was also superb. We saw some white-tip sharks asleep in the caves formed by the tunnels, as well as rays, tiny seahorses, and several turtles, one of which was almost as big as I was! 

This was my favorite tour on Isabela and I would highly recommend it.

Tortuga Island Diving:

Price: $170
Approx time: 4 hrs

I went scuba diving on Tortuga Island with Isla Bella dive center. Both of our guides were friendly and experienced and went over the briefing in great detail. All of the equipment was functional and safe. I had found it hard to believe when the woman working at the dive shop told me I had a 90% chance of spotting a hammerhead on the dive, but we were not disappointed. We spotted 4-5 hammerheads, several giant manta rays, white-tip sharks, schools of barracuda, and lots of turtles! It was a drift dive so we were able to just relax and watch the wildlife as we drifted by. In between dives they gave us sandwiches and took us around the island to see the frigate birds, which were in their mating season, with the male frigate birds having huge inflated red chests. It was overall an incredible experience and a must-do for divers!

We hope this was helpful for potential and future volunteers! There are lots of other things to do in Isabela and on other islands, so make sure to only use this as a guideline and do research before you visit us.

Make sure to check out all of our volunteer opportunities in Galapagos: https://www.ioi.ngo/volunteer-galapagos and contact us with questions or to sign up for our newsletter!

Trekking to the Turtles

IOI volunteers join Galapagos National Park rangers and local community members on an exciting adventure to learn about sea turtle nest monitoring.
By Nicole Owens

Arriving to Barahona beach

IOI volunteers accompanied park rangers of Galapagos National Park, who traveled  from Santa Cruz Island, as well as some passionate local community members on a three day camping trip to learn about sea turtle nest monitoring.

The goal was to learn about green sea turtle nesting and how to gather useful information on their nesting habits to aid in conservation research. The green sea turtles are one of four species of turtle found in Galapagos.

Green sea turtles are endangered due to threats of habitat loss, predation and destruction of habitat due to introduced species (dogs, wild pigs etc), pollution and rising water temperatures. Over the past few decades, less and less of these marine animals have been arriving to nest on Galapagos shores, and national park researchers are hoping to identify the causes. In order to do so, they need more information. This information can be obtained by monitoring the turtles to obtain data such as the sea temperature, the location of the nest, the size of the turtle and the number of eggs laid.

Learning about turtle tracks, nests, and behavior

The volunteers and national park rangers embarked on a short boat ride to Barahona beach, a popular spot for turtle nesting, a few hours west from the town of Puerto Villamil. They brought lots of supplies to last all three days and set up camp just beyond the mangroves at the top of the beach.

The first afternoon, the park rangers took us on a walk down the beach, pointing out turtle tracks and helping us to identify whether the large pits in the ground were actual nests (usually with a large pile of fresh sand at the back to cover the eggs, and tracks coming and going in two different places), or just a body pit, a large hole dug by the turtle and then abandoned before nesting. They explained that the turtles usually leave a body pit if they decide the site is not suitable for nesting, generally due to the presence of vegetation, the temperature of the ground, or the density of the sand (too loose or too hard packed). The turtles can dig several body pits in one night, or loop around the beach and return to the ocean without digging anything at all. 

A park ranger from Galapagos National Park measuring the turtle after she’s laid her eggs

Turtles generally nest in the evening, so we went on late night and early morning walks (from about 10pm-12:30am and 5:30am-8am) to try to spot the tracks while they were fresh.  We wore dark clothes and used only red lights to avoid scaring the turtles, as they are unable to see the color red. We braved a steady rainfall and chilly winds the first night, but were rewarded with three separate turtle sightings. However, only one of them actually nested. We laid down at the edge of the nest, after the turtle had finished laying, to see into the cavity where the eggs were laid and counted all 83 of them! Then, park rangers measured the turtle and marked the nest with a stake. The rangers clipped a tag onto a less sensitive skin flap on the front flippers for tracking in the future. We returned to our tents drenched and covered with sand, but very excited by everything we’d gotten to see.

A park ranger gathering the bags of trash collected

The next morning, we woke before sunrise to go in search of more tracks. We spent the afternoon playing in the ocean and recovering on some much needed sleep. We spotted all kinds of marine animals, such as rays, turtles, pelicans, iguanas, and even an octopus! Later in the afternoon, we took a walk down the beach as a group to collect the plastic bottles and other garbage that had washed up on the shores of Barahona. We filled up at least seven large trash bags, and even found a refrigerator door! We went on a final monitoring walk that evening, before waking up bright and early to pack up camp and head home.

It was a very exciting trip and we learned a lot of new information about sea turtles, their behavior and their nesting. We hope to help maintain plentiful nesting sites on Barahona and the other Galapagos’ shores in the future, in order to allow these graceful marine animals to continue to play their vital role in the Galapagos and other marine ecosystems. 

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Volunteering with IOI in Galapagos: All ages welcome!

By: Michelle Warble

Volunteering with IOI in Galapagos: All ages welcome!

I was apprehensive about the IOI Galapagos volunteer program when I signed up. I knew I wanted to go somewhere and do my small part to make the world better than I found it. However, I thought that most of the people I would be volunteering with would be teenagers. As someone in their 40s, I didn’t know if I would be able to connect at all with anyone. I’m happy to say that I was very wrong. There are volunteers here from all parts of the world and of all ages. Love of travel and wanting to volunteer give us all common ground. I think the youngest volunteer to work in the program was 18 and the oldest was in their 70s. There are several different areas of volunteering. Here is more information on 3 of the 6 programs we offer in Galapagos. Stay tuned for more information on our other 3 programs!

Giant Tortoise Center

Activity Level: Medium to Difficult (walking, lifting, outdoor cleaning). Work can always be tailored to individual needs.

Dress Code: Long sleeves on feeding days, modest casual on other days (no spaghetti straps or short shorts).

More information: The tortoise center has the maximum level of activity. Each day, you walk 2 miles to the center and then spend the morning feeding the tortoises or cleaning their pens. You must be able to walk 7 km (4 miles) per day and be physically active for 4-5 hours. Most of your work will be in the shade, but some of the walking trail will be in the sun. Hours of work are to depart at 7:15 a.m. (it is a 30 minute walk) on feeding days, and 8 a.m. on non-feeding days. These volunteers typically arrive back to Isabela at 12:30 p.m. For the tortoise center, you walk on a path that takes you by ponds sometimes filled with pink flamingos, ducks and iguanas. Most of this path is shaded by mangrove trees.

Helpful hints: On feeding days, wear long sleeves that can get dirty and may be stained from the food. Other days, short-sleeved shirts are ok. You will be interacting with tourists, so make sure to dress in a somewhat modest fashion (no tank tops or spaghetti straps). Sleeveless tops are ok.

A nesting turtle returning to the ocean after laying eggs.

Turtle Nest Monitoring

Activity Level: Medium (only walking, no lifting)

Dress Code: Modest Casual

More information: Turtle nest monitoring isn’t as strenuous as the tortoise center, but does require walking 18 km (11 miles) per day, sometimes in the morning sun. This is also sometimes at high tide, where you are walking in very wet sand. It also requires a different schedule with an early morning shift (usually 6 a.m.) and a night shift that can start any time from 6 p.m.-10 p.m.

Helpful Hints: Dinner is something to plan ahead of time, since the hours differ from the other volunteers. You will be walking in the water at times, so plan to wear shorts or quick-dry trousers. You will also need a full water bottle for the watch, since it is very humid and you might be sweating a lot. For the turtle monitoring, you walk along the beach with the sounds of the ocean waves and sea birds. In the morning, you can watch the sun rise and at night, you can see the stars of the Milky Way.

Social Media

Activity Level: Low to Difficult-As much or little as you would like! The activity level can be relatively low, so this would be a good choice for someone who is looking for volunteer work that is not as physical.

Dress Code: Casual (No short shorts or spaghetti strap tops) The social media team spends their days walking around the area, taking photos, writing blogs, interviewing community members and other volunteers, and attending local events!

Helpful hints: As a social media volunteer, you can do any or all of the above to document the experience. In addition, you are encouraged to participate in other activities to document the experience. This can range from culinary adventures to fun after volunteering activities - like snorkeling, hiking or bike riding!

We hope this inside scoop on our programs (from the eyes of a volunteer) are helpful and we look forward to sharing more! Please be sure to reach out with any questions or hesitations you may have. We'd love your help in Galapagos!

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Learning the ropes as an IOI volunteer in the Galapagos

By Luke Nackley

Luke is a Social Media Volunteer in the Galapagos. Here he shares his insights from his first few weeks on Isabela Island.

Week 1

Exploring the island with study abroad students.

It has been a week since I landed in the Galapagos Islands; it already feels like I belong here. I don’t mean as if my whole life I dreamed of living in the Galapagos, rather, I have experienced such a fun and exciting welcome that my mind has already accepted the people I’ve met as friends and family. The people involved with IOI are eager to include me in the programs and activities around town and have become friends that I hang out with daily.

My position as a social media volunteer has given me insight in to the mission of IOI as well as the opportunity to experience the local lifestyle. It has been a week that has given me inspiration and motivation to do my best while I am here- I see IOI as a place that produces real change. Photographing the endemic species’ roaming the island, observing the Miami students in their study abroad program, interviewing locals, travelling to the highlands on farm visits… it’s a job description I can gladly say I love.

In just this first week I have settled in to my new lifestyle. Living with my housemates is never boring- chatting in the morning over hot cups of coffee, going out to eat and spending an afternoon at the beach are becoming memories I won’t forget.

“My volunteer work has been giving me amazing insight into what I might want to continue doing in life. My social media position offers lots of opportunity for adventure and meeting new people.”

Week 2

A chick rests on top of my computer as I work.

This last week has been quite action packed for me. A week ago, as I was writing my last blog, a baby chick walked in to the office. Obviously not taking notice of the very concentrated-looking human, it hopped and chirped its way on to the arm of my chair, then my desk, and finally perched itself on top of my computer. Of course, I’m not one to get in the way of someone else’s happiness and so I took a quick picture and allowed it to have its fun. A little bit of poop cleaning later and the chick was on its way out the door. This might be the only place in the world where I can start my week in that fashion.

I have learned quite a lot this week. To start, I began working on my open water diver certification with a local dive shop; they love to see me learning and constantly check up on my reading (I may slack a little on that part). I also broke a couple of mental barriers for myself. In the past I have never really been much of a dancer. I just don’t have rhythm. But, turns out all you have to do is ask a friend that loves dancing and you are bound for success; a few of my friends had a blast trying to teach me to salsa. In the middle of a crowded dance floor, I didn’t have to worry about how ridiculous I looked and soon enough I was salsa-ing the night away. To top it all off, I started surfing. I’m not the most balanced person and things like skating and snowboarding have always ended with some bruises for me. Hence, my resolve to simply observe the surfers. But, to not try while I was here would have been idiotic… and with a little beginners’ luck, I have gone to surf almost every day since then. The local surfers ended up giving me a couple lessons and still love to watch me constantly fall off my board.

I have finally become familiar with the town. Going shopping to make dinner with my housemates is a great time. And as a bonus, I now know where to find the cheapest chocolate to feed my addiction. Thinking about everything I learned, I’m more than happy with what the week brought me, and I now have some skills to master in the coming weeks.

Not me but someday I’ll get there!

Week 3

Over the last week this town has grown on me. I regularly hang out with the locals and never run out of things to do. Surfing is becoming one of my favorite activities, and I am almost done with my open water diver certification. I am starting to realize how special these memories are to me. I have also been gathering with friends regularly for things like pizza or pasta nights.

There is something to be said about pizza night in the Galapagos. Having all your friends at the IOI kitchen along with a whole lot of homemade dough. Everyone brings their toppings and shapes their own dough. What you end up with is about 10 or so misshapen, steaming hot pizzas over the span of a few hours. Instead of people eating just their own pizza, the pizza is passed around and either praised or embarrassingly critiqued. We all tend to agree that waiting on each pizza is a little annoying, but it ends up being worth the wait.

Last night the Miami students and I joined the local soccer matches. There are multiple fields in Puerto Villamil but this one is right next to the beach. They play in teams of five and only to two or three goals. Some of the teams are incredibly skilled and very competitive, but others, like mine, are just there for some fun. It is exciting watching the skilled players move the ball around so naturally. I think I should bring some popcorn next time to enjoy the show. After playing for 3 hours, my legs are plenty sore today.

My volunteer work has been giving me amazing insight into what I might want to continue doing in life. My social media position offers lots of opportunity for adventure and meeting new people. To be completely honest, however, it is easy to lose track of any work I need to do when I become ‘distracted’ by the beautiful island life.

Day in the Life of a Volunteer

Isabela Island | The Galapagos

From a sunrise at dawn when the first rays of light hit the town to the watercolour of oranges, pinks, blue and yellows at sunset, everyday on Isabela is unique. 24 hours can feel like three days as there is so much to do and see - this week I spent the day with Kiki Hunegs one of the tortoise centre volunteers to see what she gets up to on a normal day on the island. 

We began the morning with breakfast in the volunteers house before heading on our way to the tortoise centre. The walk takes you through the colourful streets of Isabela down to iguana crossing and the spectacular broad-walk.  Turning onto the broad-walk takes you along one of the most unbelievable trails you will have step foot on, walking the half an hour journey takes you past ponds filled with wild flamingos, marine iguanas basking in the sun, giant-cactus' - the walk is breath-taking and Kiki says that it never gets old, every day she sees something new and it is the perfect opportunity to collate her thoughts and prepare for the day ahead. 

Upon arrival at the tortoise centre Kiki is greeted by full-time conservation staff Pato and Oscar, reminding her that its Monday, a tortoise feeding day. Three days a week volunteers at the tortoise centre begin their day by feeing the tortoises giant plantain stalks. Her morning continues with cleaning the corrals, raking the ground and ensuring that the area’s are kept in perfect condition for the tortoises. 

During their morning at the centre it’s not uncommon for tourists to stop and ask them questions - all the volunteers have learnt a lot about the project during their time here and have a gained an immense knowledge on the work their doing and the success its having on the overall long term benefits for the tortoise.

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At around 10.00am the volunteers are called in for break time and they enjoy tostadas (grilled-cheese) and take it as an opportunity to cool off in the air-conditioned break room. For the rest of the morning the volunteers are assisting with measuring and weighing the tortoises and ensuring the records they keep are up to date and accurate helping to give the park accurate readings and information on the animals. Working at the tortoise centre allows them to get involved in the conservation of tortoises - this is only possible if you have a visa specifically for the conservation project. 

At 12.00 the volunteers finish their work and we begin to walk back down the sandy streets of Puerto Villamil to enjoy lunch at one of the many delicious restaurants.  All volunteers from any of the programmes can eat lunch at one of many restaurants which are participating with the IOI, we meet up with lots of volunteers and enjoy the menu of the day. Everyone discusses there mornings and plans are made for the long sunny afternoon ahead. 

This afternoon Kiki is heading to Concha De Perla the local lagoon, to enjoy some snorkeling at low tide. The water is crystal clear and visibility is perfect. We snorkel for an hour seeing sea lions, reef sharks, endless fishes and two penguins whizz past us across the lagoon.  The broad-walk to Concha de Perla is dotted with sleeping sea lions and the rest of the day is spent relaxing on the beach taking turns using a couple of rented surfboards we spend the late afternoon catching waves as the sky looks like a painting and the day ends with the most spectacular sunset. 

Volunteers living at the volunteer house eat out for dinner on the same plan as at lunch and those living with a family go home and enjoy a family dinner. Every day on Isabela is filled with lots of activities, things to do and endless sunshine - there is never a dull moment or lack of adventure. 

What is ailing the Galapaguenos?

Before arriving in Isabela I had a very remote idea of what would be waiting for me. When I mentioned to friends in the United States that I was going to the Galapagos Islands for nearly three months to do public health work I was often met with utter confusion, as many do not realize that there is a substantial human population in the Galapagos.

Of course everyone has heard of the wonders of the Galapagos Islands with its nature and diverse wildlife and as the birthplace of Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection. However, little is spoken of the people that actually live here. Truthfully, before planning my trip I had trouble finding the Galapagos Islands on a map. I was ignorant to the culture of the people here and even the language that was spoken. To my delight I found that the Galapagos Islands are an Ecuadorian province made up of Spanish-speaking families who have either migrated here from the Ecuadorian mainland or who have lived here for many years. Having been born and raised in Miami, a city that hosts many different Latin cultures I was comforted to know that I would be able to communicate with the locals and be familiar with many of their customs. Isabela is less inhabited than some of the more commercial islands and has more of a small town feel. It is breathtakingly beautiful with its beaches and unique animals but at the same time is immensely in need of public health improvements.

There are many health concerns on the island as I was informed of when I arrived. The project that I will be focusing on during my time here is nutritional education for the local population on a multitude of levels. Metabolic disorders like obesity, diabetes and heart disease are common in Isabela, due to the lack of ample nutrition in the local population’s diets. Since the population at one point in time was malnourished, currently more weight is placed on eating larger meals with artificial supplements rather than on maintaining a well-balanced diet. Therefore, my current project includes developing and holding nutrition workshops for parents, school care workers and pregnant teenagers within the community. I am also developing new meal plans for the children within the schools as many of the schools provide daily meals for the children. I am hoping that by working jointly with the parents, teachers and cooks through education, cooking workshops and meal plans they will be empowered to change their eating habits for the long term. So far I have had a great response from the people here, they have been incredibly welcoming and are so open minded and eager to learn about things they can do to improve their health.

Another exciting project that I worked on during my time with IOI was on developing a community health assessment of prevalent diseases within the community. This was done by working in the local hospital with their health records in order to assess what diseases needed more attention. Respiratory infections and diarrheal infections were the most common health problems found on the island of Isabela, with a prevalence of 20.6% and 3.19% respectively over an 8 month period. This is likely due to poor hygiene and inadequate water sanitation. Among chronic diseases, high blood pressure (2.35% prevalence) and diabetes (0.80% prevalence) were present among individuals. Hopefully, the findings from the community health assessment will facilitate the planning and implementation of the community health center that IOI is preparing to open in the future. My time in Isabela so far has been incredible. I feel so lucky to have worked with an organization that cares so much about making a difference in the lives of those within the local community. After I leave in August I will go back to Boston University to finish my Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology and really hope to continue to work on outreach projects similar to those completed in Isabela!

Jessica B. – public health

Teaching Self Love in Paradise

I passed my first hour on Isabela supine under palm shade, legs and arms akimbo as I released into the kind of deep sleep that occurs only when your body knows it can finally and fully give in. When my eyelids eventually fluttered open, they took in the white sand, tropical palm fronds, turquoise water, and blue sky. 'Am I in paradise?'

I remember asking myself.  Indeed, I had landed in an eden of wild and endemic species, varying landscapes from black lava fields and flamingo-lined ponds to ominously overgrown forests and endless coastlines.  However, as much as my two years in the Galápagos Islands were characterized by unparalleled nature, the experience was boldly defined by the unique opportunity to teach and learn from the local villagers, los isabeleños.

From 2007-2009, I lived in Puerto Villamil, Isabela, where I taught at the Colegio Fray Agustín Azkúnaga, in collaboration with the non-profit Isabela Oceanographic Institute.  With less than a year teaching experience, and a brand new teaching certificate, I entered the open-air classrooms of the high school with equal parts naïveté and enthusiasm.  Over the course of the next two years, I came to know my students alongside their families, all part of an interconnected community on a small island in the Pacific.  It is the mix of Latin American culture woven into interdependence and intimacy, set within a dramatically unique environment.  For me, this was paradise.

English class began with group projects surveying and analyzing the level and type of English usage on the island.  From here, students discussed advantages of learning English, including the potential for becoming a naturalist guide, a career that many aspired to attain. With this motivation, students researched, practiced and finally performed interpretive talks on animals and tourist destinations during field trips with a panel of invited guests.  Other highlights included guest speaker question and answer sessions, student-written role-plays, interactive games, and even having students come voluntarily to my free evening English classes for adults.

However, class time wasn’t always easy, as any teacher can attest. As I learned more about my students’ backgrounds and histories, I understood the many challenges they had overcome, as well as the trials they were still battling: broken families, alcoholism, abandonment, abuse, and teenage pregnancies. Laying in a hammock with a pile of homework papers, my heart broke to read a 13-year-old girl’s wish to have her dad, who lived on the island, give her a hug or say happy birthday, just once. I soon realized my biggest hurdle wasn’t teaching grammar; my struggle came in helping my students recognize their self worth and potential. While I found small rewards in team building activities, self-reflection surveys, and letter writing, I also saw how home struggles correlate into disruptive or defiant behavior, or a simple lack of hope for future successes.

The excitement, stimulation, reward, and tribulations of the classroom were balanced out by the friendships I made within the community. Walking home from school, a family would invite me over to eat freshly prepared ceviche, from fish caught that morning. Surfer friends would daily whistle from outside the mission gates where I lived to call me out for an afternoon session. Doña Fanny would cheerfully call my name, “¡Laurita, tienes una carta!” from the seascape painted mural outside the post office. Everyone, from the 4-year-old daughter of the neighboring grocer, to toothless, smiling Don Plutarco, would greet me with kind words and big smiles. For Thanksgiving, the handful of other international friends gathered with locals to celebrate our U.S. traditions of sharing food together. Each day was truly a shining shell, resplendent in its beauty and simplicity.

Now, looking back, I am still ever grateful for the experience I had on Isabela. Four years later, I am still teaching, now with a master’s in Spanish and ESL (English as a Second Language), working with junior and high school age kids in Utah. Working in education on Isabela taught me that teaching is never easy, that victories can be subtle or hidden, and that all humans deserve support and self-love. I look forward to the day when I go back, when I swim with sea turtles, drink fresh agua de coco, and surf perfect waves. But mostly, I look forward to seeing the faces of my old friends, perhaps grown, perhaps changed, but always rooted in the magic and love that is Isabela.

Laura B. – english teacher volunteer