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Itinerary - Africa and Asia Venture

Itinerary

ARRIVING IN ECUADORPhotograph of Otavalo Market - Gap Year Projects & Volunteering Opportunities in Ecuador

The group flight departs from London Heathrow and will be seen off by one of the AV team. You will fly into fly into Ecuador's capital, Quito, arriving in the late afternoon/early evening, and be met by our representative. The first night will be spent at the Hotel Casa Foch in the Mariscal area of the city, this is the AV base in Quito and is situated opposite the Spanish school where you will be studying.

After breakfast the following morning you will have your first briefing with the AV representative. This will cover the essentials, a guide to the area you will be living in and what will be happening over the next few days. At the end of this briefing your homestay families will arrive to collect you.  All the families have been carefully selected and offer a warm welcome to AV volunteers. You will spend the weekend getting to know them and settling into your new home before returning to the Spanish school for the start of lessons on Monday morning.

Photograph of AV volunteers learning Spanish - Gap Year Projects & Volunteering Opportunities in EcuadorORIENTATION + SPANISH COURSE

In South America a basic grasp of Spanish goes a long way, not only when travelling but it will also be useful when living in the lodge at Santa Lucia. To help you the first three weeks of the project are spent living with homestay families in Quito and attending Spanish school each day. The orientation course will run alongside your Spanish lessons, with briefings on Ecuadorian history and culture, safety and options for the independent travel phase of the venture.

You will stay as an individual with a family and immerse yourself deep into the life (and language!) of the Ecuadoreans. From Monday to Friday, by day, you will join the others in your group and attend three to four hours of Spanish at the level appropriate to you - absolute beginner to advanced. The rest of the teaching days are spent in the city doing some practical exercises, designed to bring on your confidence, and your evenings will be spent with your family or out on the town with the other AV volunteers and friends you will make.

Photograph of an AV volunteer working in the cloud forest - Gap Year Projects & Volunteering Opportunities in Ecuador

At the weekends there will be a chance to visit Otavalo – the largest indigenous market in South America; or a trip to the town of Banos at the foot of the Tungurahua volcano, which offers adventure activities or relaxation in the thermal mineral pools.

THE PROJECT

At the end of the Spanish course you will start the volunteer phase of the venture up in the Cloud Forest. AV has joined forces to work in partnership with Rainforest Concern, supporting their efforts to save the cloud forest in Santa Lucia as part of the Choco-Andean Corridor project.  During your volunteer project you will work on a number of different projects, which support the cooperative that protects the forest.

Photograph of AV volunteers making Panela (Sugar) - Gap Year Projects & Volunteering Opportunities in EcuadorYou will leave Quito embark on a 3½-hour coach journey through the suburbs and out to the Andean foothills, valleys and cloud forests northwest of the city. You will disembark at the bottom of the mountain at the Santa Lucia head office, near the town of Nanigal. Your bags and equipment will be loaded onto mules which will accompany you on the two hour climb that will take you to your home in the cloud forest for the next four weeks – the Santa Lucia lodge!

Situated high up, overlooking the cloud forest the views from the Lodge are a breathtaking sight that you will not tire of; constantly changing with the time of day and movement of the clouds. The first day will be spent on induction, where you will learn about the Santa Lucia Co-operative - a community-based organisation dedicated to conservation and sustainable development. Their aim is to make a modest living whilst conserving their remaining cloud forest through projects such as ecotourism, reforestation, small agro forestry plantations and environmental education. The community owns 780 hectares of montane cloud forest, of which about 80% is still in its prime, virgin state, and the reserve has been declared a Bosque Protector (Protected Forest).Photograph of AV volunteers making Panela (sugar) - Gap Year Projects & Volunteering Opportunities in Ecuador

One of the strengths of the volunteer programme is that you work alongside members of the Reserve and you will gain a real insight into daily life in a rural community. Whilst volunteering in on the Reserve at Santa Lucia your main tasks (some are seasonal) could include:

  • Organic gardening - the garden supplies the lodge with fresh produce
  • Trail maintenance - essential to ensure that the trails don't cause erosion and that they are safe to hike
  • Agro forestry - maintaining the forests organic coffee, sugar cane and bananas and making panela (sugar) and coffee the traditional way
  • Orchid Garden - help is needed to maintain and enlarge the orchidariumPhotograph of AV volunteers playing football - Gap Year Projects & Volunteering Opportunities in Ecuador

People on the Reserve are always ready for a game of football or you can spend your free time hiking, birding, swimming, visiting waterfalls and enjoying the fiestas and dances in the nearby towns. We encourage volunteers to get to know the local community and experience the real Ecuador.

To find out what a typical day on project might be like take a look at our ‘Day in the life of an AV’ feature, written by AVs who have been there and done it themselves!

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