Vancouver, WA (September 8, 2015) – Monkey chatter, toucan croaks, and the grumbling growl of ocelots greeted Crystal Steinmueller every morning at AmaZOOnico, an animal rescue center located in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Steinmueller, a native of Vancouver, spent 5 weeks volunteering at the rescue center this summer.

AmaZOOnico was founded back in 1993 by a local Kichwa man and a Swiss lady, and relies primarily on volunteers to operate. “I volunteered at a similar animal rescue center in Guatemala in 2010, so I knew what the hard work would entail” says Steinmueller. 12 volunteers representing six countries worked diligently every day to make sure the animals were as comfortable as possible.

A few of the volunteers had backgrounds working with animals, but most, like Steinmueller, were there because of their love for animals. “You don’t need a degree in animal biology to make a difference in an animal’s life” says Steinmueller. “Simply being caring, nurturing, and attentive makes a world of difference to them”. One third of the animals received at the center die on arrival or shortly after, one third are successfully reintroduced into the wild, and one third will remain in an enclosure for the remainder of their lives due to various reasons.

With over 600 animals to care for at the center, volunteers often worked for 10 hours a day. Cleaning, feeding, providing enrichments for the animals, and educating tourists were the focus areas for the volunteers. Occasionally animal attacks, on volunteers and other animals, occurred. While feeding the wild free roaming spider monkeys, Steinmueller had a close call. “As soon as I got to the feeding table and saw a wild monkey with her baby on the table, I knew I was in trouble. The next thing I knew, I had 3 adult spider monkeys on me. My first instinct was to shrug my shoulders so they wouldn’t bite my neck. I calmly walked away while eventually shaking them off. Man, my heart was pounding!”

Steinmueller has embraced the concept of voluntravel, and is the president and founder of 2 Hands 7 Continents, a non profit based right here in Vancouver. While not traveling and volunteering, Steinmueller works in Special Education at Battle Ground High School. You can meet Crystal and her board of directors this Saturday at the Peace and Justice Fair at Esther Short Park from 9am-4pm. You can also read more about Crystal’s adventures in the Amazon and other voluntravel experiences at www.2h7c.org and on the 2 Hands 7 Continents Facebook page.

AmaZOOnico is located 35km east of Tena, and can be reached by bus and then a canoe.

Crystal feeding
in one of the bird enclosures.That black headed parrot was ready for breakfast!

Selfie with Navi, a tapir, who was raised by volunteers at the center.

Many of the animals were pets before, and because of this cannot be released. This night monkey often craved attention when a volunteer entered her enclosure.

All of the fruit for the animals was purchased from the Kichwa people who lived across the river, and was delivered twice a week by canoe.

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Crystal enriching one of the bird enclosures by placing clay balls stuffed with peanuts around the enclosure

Back at the rescue center I was ready to get back to work. As an enrichment for the birds, I made clay balls and stuffed them with peanuts. We have 4 bird enclosures, so I put 2 balls in each on. I stuffed them on branches, and the macaws came over right away! They really seemed to enjoy pecking at the clay to get the peanuts out.

Ah, the birds… so many beautiful birds. So many that like to hang upside down and peck at my top knot. So many birds that fly to my shirt and crawl up and annoyingly bite my ears and neck.

This blue macaw likes to hang upside down and peck at Crystal´s hair. Here he is enjoying a bath in fresh new water

So many birds that shout right into my ear. I can´t blame them, though. Most of them were pets who were mistreated and thrown out like trash. Macaws can live about 75 years, and parrots about 50. That´s a long time to have a pet. It´s actually illegal in Ecuador to have a wild animal as a pet, but there are no reprocussions for people who get caught. The animals are confiscated and handed over to a rescue center like Amazoonico, and the people never face charges. It´s a sad cycle that isn´t going to change anytime soon.

In my first blog, I mentioned deadly bugs… I wasn´t kidding about things creepy around here that CAN kill you. There are 2 venomous snakes slithering around. One is brown and black snake, the other is a red, white, and black stripped one. The brown one can kill you in 5 hours, the closest hospital is 4 hours away. If we see one, we have to catch it and kill it. I haven´t seen one of these guys yet, and I hope I never will. There are also deadly frogs, scorpions, and hiker ants. On Thursday last week, our bodega was infested with thousands of the hiker ants. They are nothing to be messed with. They ate every single cockroach, lizard, and scorpion near by. They also started to attack one of the boas we had in an enclosure near by… so bad that we had to move her. No doubt in my mind they they could easily pick a human body clean in a few hours. After about 4 hours they ate didn´t have anything else to eat, so they moved in, and I am glad they did!

We had a few new volunteers show up, and a few veteran volunteers leave. The volunteers like to throw themed going away parties. Last week, Janeth from Ecuador and Sophie from Germany were set to leave. They decided on a hippy theme for their party. Melissa from Colombia/Canada and I made a delicious going away meal.

Crystal with Sophie (Germany) and Janeth (Ecuador) at their going away party

Tuna salad on crackers for a starter, pizza for the main course, and mini cinnamon rolls for dessert. It was by far the best meal I have had while in the jungle, and no I am not biased since I cooked it, lol. After dinner rum and beer were consumed until after midnight. A dance party ensued in the kitchen. Rap, bachata, salsa, and some good ol pop music were played. A shaving cream fight broke out, shots were drank, it was a fun night. Even though I had only known Janeth and Sophie for less than two weeks, it was still sad to see them go. We are basically around one another for 24 hours a day, with no TV, internet, or other media devices to keep us occupied. This forces us to hang out, talk, share stories… and because of this connections are quickly established. I will miss them both very much, and wish them the best.

Yes, I am a highly organized person. I enjoy multitasking. Because of this skill set that I have, I have been put on bar duty. The bar is not some place you go for a cocktail and dancing, but it´s our souvenir shop and place tourists go to purchase tickets for tours of the center. So far I have everything reorganized, complete with a sale/clearance rack, and have put out new merchandise. It is time consuming, but I really like doing it. It´s a mindless task for me, but I find it rewarding.

Crystal with Navi the tapir

With 600 animals, sometime we don´t see a certain animal for a few days. The dwarf caiman that hangs out in the tapir enclosure hasn´t been spotted in over a week. One of the ladies, Kelly, who helps run the center, asked Anna (Germany) and I to help her search for the caiman. We entered the tapir enclure with our mud sticks, and went caiman hunting! We covered the largest enclosure at Amazoonico and found no trace of him. We did find a small dug our section near the back that he could have hobbled through. Trouble is, it leads to the guangana enclosure. Gaunganas are a sort of wild pig, and they are vicious and very aggressive. For this reason, we can´t enter their enclosure to look for the caiman. It´s also possible that the caiman was just hiding in a mud hole somewhere and we just couldn´t see him, he blends in so well! While in the with the tapirs, Navi and Carnival came and said hello to us. Kelly found a cacao plant, and opened it up. Anna and I both had a piece, and we offered the rest to the tapirs. Carnival wasn´t interested, but Navi sure loved it! I couldn´t pass up the opportunity, so I got an awesome selfie with Navi

For the love of animals is why I am here. For the love of animal is what keeps me motivated. For the love of animals is why I get up every morning at 6:30am and work 10-12 hours. For the love of animals why I push myself to carry heavy fruits up a bazillion (yes, a bazillion) stairs from the river. For the love of animals is why I spend a little extra time making sure their feeding tables are clean. These animals are not at the rescue center by choice. They are here because of humans. I will do everything I can to make sure they are well fed, clean, and cared for. I am certainly going to take advantage of these next 2.5 weeks with them.

Crystal feeding a black headed parrot

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Welcome to Amazoonico!

Deadly bugs, hard work, hot sweaty days, incredible animals… I was ready! I briefly visited the Amazon in Peru back in 2007, but it wasn’t an extensive experience. After a 10 hour travel day through washed out roads and a canoe, I arrived at Amazoonico. Amazoonico is an animal rescue center that was founded back in 1993 by a local Kichwa man and a Swiss lady. It is located about an hour and a half east of Tena, on the Rio Arajuno. It is part of a larger project, Selva Viva, which includes 1750 hectares of protected forest, 2 lodges, and a school.

I volunteered at an animal rescue center very similar to Amazoonico in Guatemala, so I knew what the work was going to entail. I didn’t take a lot of photos during my first week, I was simply trying to learn, learn, learn! Shortly after arrival I was put to work since it was afternoon feeding time. I entered the chaos zone known as the bodega. This is where all the food is prepared for the feedings, which happens twice a day.

The craziness in the bodega preparing all the food for the animals meals

Our days start early, at 7am. First things first, food preparation. We organize all the feeding buckets and plates, then start cleaning and chopping away on the various fruits and veggies. There are over 600 animals at the center, so there is a lot of food to prepare! You have to make sure you know what you are putting into each bucket. Some fruits and veggies are toxic and/or deadly to certain animals. For instance tapirs don’t get yuca, and toucans don’t get pineapple. Some animals can eat the peels, some cannot. Some get the seeds and pits of fruits, some do not. Luckily there is a list for each animal hanging on the wall. Better to check and be safe!

After the food is ready, there are 5 feeding tours we split up and do, Mono, Big, Front, Special, and Cuarantina. We have enough volunteers now, 11, that we can usually do two people per feeding tour. This makes things easier, especially in the morning since we have to clean all the cages as well before we feed. The two tours which include the monkey cages require two people at all times. There are systems of ropes used to close and hold the doors shut to lock out the monkeys while another person enters the cage to lock the doors. While there are many sweet animals such as the tapirs, there are also some real ass holey and mean animals, mainly the various species of monkeys.

A squirrel monkey trying to get into the bodega

Speaking of monkeys, there are two species that roam free around the center, the spider monkey and the squirrel monkey. The squirrel monkeys are small and just flat out annoying. They hang on the outside of the bodega and try to sneak in to steal food. Sometimes they successfully enter through an open door… when this happens, “Monkey in the bodega!” is proclaimed, and we all gather up to get the monkey back outside. Oh, and it is their breeding season, so they are even more aggressive. The spider monkeys are quite a bit bigger, and can be aggressive, particularly around food. You have to be very careful, especially in the morning, when carrying your feeding buckets to the enclosures you are feeding, as well as when carrying the compost out. Spider monkeys have attacked volunteers for food. If this happens, just drop the bucket and get out of the way! Another good way to get monkeys out of the way are to spray them with water, they just hate it. This can also just piss them off more, it’s always a crap shoot.

Besides cleaning the enclosures, there are other things to clean. The veterinary area, office area, bar area, our volunteer house, monkey clothes. You learn quickly that Amazon clean is not clean, clean, ha ha ha. You do the best you can with the materials you have, nothing is going to be spotless.

Our volunteer house is comfortable. Most of us have our own rooms. We have 2 common areas with couches and hammocks. We have electricity and cold running water. There is no purified drinking water, so I have just been drinking out of the tap. So far, so good… however I am sure I am filled with parasites from the water and dealing with animal shit all day. I will make sure to get some meds before heading home, just in case.

Crystal and Sareth from Colombia making bolognase for dinner

Breakfast is after from 9-10, and lunch is from 12:30-2. Both of these are eaten up in a kitchen that is next to the office. A local Kichwa lady cooks those meals for us, and two volunteers each night is responsible for cooking dinner for everyone. We typically only get meat a couple days a week for lunch, dinners are vegetarian, and are usually consist of pasta. The animals actually get good fruits and veggies, we hardly ever get fruit! Volunteers have been known to sneak an orito (little banana) from the bodega from time to time.

The center receives many tourists every day, which is good and bad. It’s good since it generates revenue for the center, which in turn buys the animals food. The bad, since we as volunteers are pulled away from working with the animals to give one hour tours of the center. Some volunteers reallty loath the tours, I don’t mind them. I quickly learned the facts and stories of the animals, some of which are heart breaking.

The majority of the animals at the center come from the Ministry of Environment, although the center receives no funding from the government. Illegal trafficking, house pets, and babies whose mothers have been shot are the main reasons the animals end up at the center. The monkeys are the easiest to reintroduce into the wild, while no birds can be released. One third of the animals are dead on arrival or die shortly after coming to the center. One third can be released, and one third will live the rest of their life in an enclosure for various reasons.

Crystal with Navi, a Tapir

My two favorite animals so far are the tapirs (Navi and Carnival), and the aguti named Henry. Both tapirs were basically raised by people, and aren’t bothered by humans. I entered the tapir cage the other day to get some clay to make some enrichments for the birds. Navi came right up to me and started licking my salty sweaty arm! Tapirs are about 500 pounds, and are closely related to rhinos. They haven’t evolved much over the years at all.

I am the oldest volunteer, and the only American. The center has some sort of agreement with the German government, so there are a lot of Germans… half the volunteers, actually. The others are all about 18-21 years old, but for the most part everyone gets along. As with any volunteer situation where you live in a house together, there is a lot of flirting that goes on, especially with all these youngins’.

I have about 4 weeks left, and am looking forward to working more closely with the animals. Enriching the enclosures of the animals is something I would like to focus on. The only thing holding me back is time. If we have a day with a lot of tourists, like we have this first week, we don’t really have any extra time outside the cleaning and feeding tasks. We shall see!

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Ferry boat

My friend Ashley warned me that I should buy some sea sickness pills… she informed me the ferry boats are quite small, and only hold about 15 people! I was surprised, so we went to the pharmacy, and I splurged .80 cents on 4 sea sickness tablets. I am sure glad I did, on the first ferry ride to Santa Cruz, 2 people got sick

On Monday morning I headed west on Santa Cruz. I was only there for a few hours, a lay over if you will. I was tired and hot, so I just grabbed a nice lunch, walked around a bit, had an ice cream, and just sat at the harbor and watched the boats come in and out. I took the ferry over to Isabela that afternoon, and the poor boy next to me from Argentina was green in the face! I gave him a plastic bag I had, because he needed it. He was one of 4 people to get sick on this ferry ride, a much more choppy ride than the morning. I arrived into Isabela around 5pm. I met a nice lady from Switzerland on the ferry named Nadya. We had booked different hostals, but met up for dinner.

Spitting iguana under our seats!

All the restaurants close at 9pm, so it was an early night for both of us. We made a plan of exploring for the next day. Tuesday came, and with rented bicycles we checked out the turtle breeding center, the lake with flamingos, snorkeled with penguins, iguanas, and sea lions in Concha de la Playa, and rode over 6km past wild tortoises to the wall of tears. Isabela is a sleepy island of only 2,000 inhabitants, but it’s the largest island by land mass in the Galapagos. After a long day of playing Charles Darwin, we hit up happy hour. We sat on a deck, and I kept feeling something wet on the back of my leg. I thought we had spilled a drink and it was leaking through the deck. After a few minutes, a black iguana poked his head out! I then realized the wetness I felt on the back of my leg was actually the iguana spitting on me… ewwwww.

Swimming with white tipped reef sharks

Most people come to Isabela for the famous Tunnels tour, which we were booked to do on Wednesday. Since we were booked on separate boats, we said our goodbye. I am thankful that I met Nadya. Possibly the worst part of traveling alone, is eating alone. I always enjoy good company while having a meal. The Tunnels tour did not disappoint! The boat ride deserves it’s own blog, but I will just say our boat flipped up on one side, causing all the bags and some people to fall over to the other side, and I swear we almost flipped over.

On the Tunnels tour, we swam with sea turtles, sea horses, white tipped reef sharks, penguins, rays, it was the best snorkeling tour I have ever been on in regards to the amount of marine life we encountered. Besides coming to visit my friend Ashley, swimming with penguins was the top reason I wanted to visit the Galapagos. I was so excited to see those cute little guys zooming past me in the water!

Crystal with new Spanish friends Manel and Javier

Also on my tour where a couple of Spaniards, Manel and Javier. We were all staying at La Jungla, so we decided to go hit up the town that night. Oh man, so many Pilsners! First we went to happy hour and met up with a couple composed of an Ecuadorian lady and a Scottish man, and their incredibly cute daughter. Following a few cervezas, we ate an delicious BBQ dinner. After dinner, the couple and their daughter headed in for the night. Manel, Javier, and I headed back to the place with happy hour, and they were out of beer… seriously?! Yep. So, just two doors down was the disco. We headed in, had a couple more Pilsners, danced, watched the rest of the Gringos pour in, then walked home just after midnight.

I was a little worried about my 6am ferry ride back to Santa Cruz, but I actually slept the whole way! While on Santa Cruz I walked the hour to Tortuga Bay. I used this time to reflect on the memories I had of my Grandpa Herb, as he was laid to rest on this day. I sat solitary on an empty beach. Thoughts of him being reunited with my Grandma and my sister were comforting. I also realized that I only had a few more days left in the Galapagos. Leaving a place where that you have connected with is always hard.

My last few days on San Cristobal were a whirlwind. I volunteered a bit more at the organic farm, attended a wedding, went to the beach, partied until 5am, played with my favorite dogs, made empanadas with Lucia, ate my favorite street food papipollo, and enjoyed my time with Ashley and Alex. I really can’t thank them enough for everything. My fantastic Galapagos experience is because of them, and for that, I am eternally grateful. Now, I look forward to 5 weeks in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Great times in the Galapagos!

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Crystal with a blue footed boobie and 1 week old baby chick

This week started out totally awesome. My normal days off from volunteering are Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday I decided to play tourist for a day, and I decided to take a tour out to Punta Pitt and Leon Dormido. These are the “must sees” of the island. The day started early, with a 6:20 meeting time at the travel agency to get fitted with a wet suit, fins, and mask. Two and a half hours later, we arrived at Punta Pitt. Here we hiked down and back up a caldera. We saw the blue and red footed boobies nesting, as well as many lizards and sea lions. After a nice ceviche lunch back on the boat, we set out for snorkeling at Leon Dormido.

The weather was pretty much perfect for snorkeling. However, once we entered the water, the visibility was total shit. We snorkeled around Leon Dormido, and swam with a Galapagos shark, sea lions, sea turtles, and many different kinds of fish that I can’t name. I swear a male sea lion tried to take a bite out of my arm! I was just snorkeling, minding my own business. I looked right, and this huge male sea lion was coming at me with his mouth wide open, and a not so friendly look on his face. I shrieked, “ahhhh!” into my snorkel, and I quickly turned left. The sea lion grazed passed the right side of my body. Normally they aren’t aggressive… maybe he was having a bad day, or he was just trying to mess with me. Either way, my heart was pumpin’! My favorite moment of the trip was when I came upon a solitary sea turtle. He let me take some photos, then seemed to want to take me on a swim. A lot of turtles we came across would just sprint away from us, or would dive down deeper out of reach. This one wanted me to follow him. I let him lazily lead me through the sea, and we had a serene swim together. It was beautiful.******INSERT TURTLE VIDEO HERE******

Grandpa Herb. He will be missed.

The following day, I received some devastating news. My Grandpa Herb had passed away. I immediately started to cry. This has always been my biggest concern while traveling abroad, is that something might happen to my grandpa or my aunt. I have been helping take care of both of them for years, and I spend a lot of time with them when I am back home.

This was a huge loss for me, and one that will take time to process and accept. I am thankful for all the years and memories I had with him. He may have not understood why I wanted to help people, animals, and the environment when I travel, but he was always my biggest supporter.

Since Grandpa was always so interested in and supported my travels, my Dad and I decided I should not come home. My Grandpa did not want a funeral, so I was not missing that. In my heart I know that he would want me to carry on, doing what I do. I know he was proud of what I did. I will miss him asking question after question upon my return. He always asked about the food and what people did for entertainment. It is too bad that his postcard I sent him did not arrive before his passing. I sent it the morning that he passed away

I took the rest of the week off to reflect. Luckily I had a little distraction to help get my mind off things, little Rocky. My friend Ashley and her husband got a puppy! With both of them working, I was often on puppy duty. I had completely forgotten how much puppies sleep, oh my! I am very thankful for the love and support of both Ashley, Alex, and their family in my time of need. It was great to be surrounded by love and concern so far from home.

Crystal on puppy duty

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Armed with machetes and gloves, we hacked away.

The main invasive species we were clearing out was the dreaded mora (blackberry bushes). It is said that pirates brought this pest to the islands, where it has thrived.  Armed with machetes and gloves, we hacked away. We were also clearing out the guayaba tree. This is typically found on the mainland of Ecuador, but not in the Galapagos. However, the guayaba also produces fruit that pigs like to eat, and it also serves as a place for the maracuya to grow. So, we did leave a few that already had the maracuyas living in them.

Joining Ashley and I was Alex, his mom Lucia, his sister Madeline, his brother Gabriel, and a hired worked named Don Bolo. He is an experienced man, and he works very hard for $15 a day, and a meal. The national minimum wage in Ecuador is $400 a month, but it is slightly higher, $600 per month in the Galapagos since things are much more expensive here. Although, you can rent a nice house (we would call them townhouses or duplexes back home) for around $200 a month.

Houses are usually one big building split into 2 or more houses.

Houses here are usually one big building that is split into 2 or more houses. But, they don’t really have addresses here. If you are in a taxi and want to go home, you say the name of the house (all the houses have names, usually a family name), and the barrio (neighborhood). For example, Casa de Cristobal Pallo, Barrio Fragates is where I live. If you get mail, they send a note and you have to go and pick it up at the post office.

Gas is surprisingly cheap here! It is only $1.08 a gallon. Out of all the things here on the island, I figured gas would be one of the most expensive items. I guess the government has some sort of price control on the gas. So, it’s the same price all over the country. It makes getting around nice, since taxis in town are only $1. It’s virtually unheard of to own your own car.

There are strict regulations in place when it comes to importing a car, or even a moped for that matter. I believe there is only 1 traffic light on the whole island. When crossing the street you have to be more cautious of dogs than cars. We usually just walk everywhere.

The inhabited section of the island is very small. About 97% of the Galapagos is still completely natural terrain. You can walk from one end of town to the other in about 20 minutes. I have consistently been walking between 4 and 7 miles a day.

Beware the poisonous apple tree!

It’s inevitable that every 5 minutes something is itching on my body. My arms and legs get hit the hardest by creepy crawlers and fearless fliers. There is no risk of malaria here, but you have to watch out for the daytime mosquitos–they are the ones that carry dengue!

When clearing the land you also have to be cautious. There is a poisonous apple tree. It carries a small green apple and with white flowers. If you eat this fruit you will die. If it gets on your skin it will itch and burn. My hand got stuck by a thorn of some sort that left half my hand feeling like it was sleeping for 4 days!

With the islands being pretty much located directly on the equator, the days and nights are equal in length. The sun comes up right around 6am, and sets right around 6pm. I do miss the long summer nights we get back home. You think this would cause people to take advantage of the early morning hours, but it does not. If I am up walking around by 8am, hardly anyone is stirring. And most places close for lunch/siesta time between 12-2 when the sun is at its peak. I don’t mind this custom

There was a concert that came through the islands over the weekend. It’s always a big to do when something like this happens. Everyone makes an appearance to check it out. Ashley, Alex, and I headed to the bar first to play some pool, while the others got ready.

We go to the less crowded establishment, Iguana Rock; we like a more quiet atmosphere. I was teamed up with a guy I had played with before, and we won 3 games in a row. By this time we had decided to go check out the concert, down at the Military Zone.

What a wild Saturday night we had! Ashley, Alex, and I ended up spending the evening with a few of Ashley’s coworkers, and friends of Alex’s. We played pool and salsa danced, closing the bar down around 1:30am. Then we hit up the club and salsa’d some more, closing the club down at 3am.

We then headed to the Military Zone where a concert was happening, and we dancing some more. By this time it was about 4am, and we didn’t want the party to stop. So, we found a couple crates of cerveza and headed back to Alex’s moms house. The next thing I knew, the sun was up! We didn’t get home until 8:15 in the morning. We all had some much fun dancing, laughing, and just hanging out. Lasting memories were made that night for sure!

Next week, I get to play tourist for a day. I am going on a day trip out to Kicker Rock and Punta Pitt. These are both must sees of the island, and what most people come here to see. I have the opportunity to snorkel with dolphins, manta rays, sea turtles, and the elusive hammerhead shark! I hope they all come out to play.

I will also be back at the organic farm. There was word last week that the coffee plants are ready for harvest! So, I am hoping that’s what I will be doing. If not, I will dig a few more compost pits, they already have 1 filled that I dug last week!

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My local friends Ashley and Alex

Life here is simple, very much family oriented, and quiet. We go to the market and bakery daily to get our food for the day. But, food and other necessities here are expensive! Most of it has to be shipped in. The government does not allow anything non native to be planted and grown here. So, for example, a grilled corn on the cob will cost you $2.50. A regular size bottle of shampoo runs around $9! When the supply ships don’t come or can’t dock because of bad weather and rough seas, the market shelves go bare.

Week One

The first week I was here was a leisurely, vacation week of sorts. My volunteer project had been pushed back about a week, so I was just going with the flow. We visited several beaches, swam with sea lions, hiked, and played pool with the locals. Lunch was spent at Lucia’s house, who is Alex’s mother. She cooks a big meal everyday for us and her other 2 kids. Rice is eaten at least 2 times a day, if not 3. We usually have a soup, then a main dish of either fish, chicken, carne, or ceviche, along with rice and maybe a small salad. This first week certainly was a nice introduction to the island way of life.

The Compost Pit

My first volunteer project was up at an organic farm in Cerro Verde, up in the highlands. Temperatures are a bit cooler up there, and it tends to rain a little more. The first couple of days I was raking… raking up a lot of leafs! About half way through my second day, I inquired about a compost pit. There is a restaurant on the grounds of the farm, and it produces a lot of organic waste, especially when they are making juice. One of the guys, Nico, who works there showed me a space where he wanted to put a compost area… so we went to work! With the help of Ashley, Nico, and Jordy, we got the first compost pit dug in no time. I am fed lunch while up volunteering, and our midday breaks are filled with siestas in the hammocks and games of pool.

The next days we dug another compost pit, and I went hunting for rotten fruit that had fallen from trees to start to filling up the first pit. I found a banana tree that had fallen over, and I thought, “Jackpot”! I walked back to the place where the tools are stored, and found a machete. I headed back and started cutting up the tree and the bunch of bananas. I had a decent size container to fill up, which turned out to be very heavy when full. I got it up on top of my head to carry it, but it didn’t feel quite right, so I set it down.

My accommodations in San Cristobal, Galapagos

Man, I am sure glad I set it down when I did. I immediately saw a cockroach, and was thinking, I don’t want that crawling all over my head. So, I pulled out the bananas to cut them up more. On my first cut into the bunch, I must have hit a cockroach nest… about 50 went scattering! Needless to say I was totally creeped out, just thinking these guys could have been all over my head and arms, ewww! I cut the shit out of those bananas to make sure all the cockroaches had left, and continued on my day.

My accommodations are basic, but totally adequate. I have my own room in a space that’s attached to Ashley and Alex’s house. I have a bed, and some nails on the wall to hang up a few items. I have a western toilet, but we don’t have running water. I take all my showers with a bucket, and if we want warm water to wash our hair, we heat water up in a kettle on one of the 2 single burners we have to cook on. I also have to flush my toilet by pouring water from the bucket into the toilet. I am totally accustomed to this style of living, and it’s nice to go back to the basics every now and then. Just makes you appreciate the little things back home.

4th of July in the Galapagos

We celebrated the 4th of July by sharing a few Budweisers, eating burgers out at a restaurant, playing pool, then dancing the night away. I danced with a few locals, and one guy kept nibbling on my neck! I was like, “woah down there buddy, let’s dance a little further apart”. Now my friends here continue to give ma a hard time about it, I think I will hear about the “neck nibbler” the rest of my time here, lol.

I am very thankful that Ashley and Alex have accepted me into their home, and made me feel like a part of their family. Next week we will be clearing out invasive species up in the highlands in an area known as La Soledad. On this land, Ashley and Alex have plans to build a hacienda, and to start up a VolunTravel project in which volunteers will work in the land and live in a local, sustainable way.

Sunset in the Galagapos

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Panel of volunteers from Friends United

Teachers helping teachers at Honduras Educational Improvement Program

I traveled to Honduras from July 11^th to July 22^nd with Friends United.  Our objective was to equip teachers with strategies for teaching literacy and math, follow up with teachers who attended previous workshops, and resupply teacher resource centers at a Honduras educational improvement program.

Friends United is a small nonprofit located in Independence, Missouri.  It is composed mostly of educators who built a sustainable relationship with teachers in Honduras.  They operate with the principle that true learning takes time, so they prioritize reconnecting with teachers each time they travel to Honduras.  Friends United also brings teachers form Honduras to the United States so they can observe and talk with teachers in Independence, MO.

Leading a workshop

My total trip cost was $1500 and that covered my airfare, most meals, lodging and transportation.  I led two workshops that were attended by teachers from the city and the surrounding rural areas.  We also put on a physical education workshop with kids while teachers observed. We had plenty of time to explore the sights of Honduras when we weren’t prepping for or leading the workshops.

I am grateful to Friends United for the many hours of organizing that created the conditions for such a successful trip.  The evidence in Honduran classrooms and resource centers from previous Friends United trips impressed me, and distinguished the organization from others I traveled with.  I have never encountered such thorough follow up and follow through.

Playing with some local kids

I am continuing the conversation of educational improvement with the teachers I met in Honduras.  We plan to create an e-mail list of the seminar attendees of the Honduras educational program to keep teachers connected with each other and informed of new instructional ideas.  I worked with the teachers again when they visited Missouri in September of this year.

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Vancouver, WA (December 12, 2014) – Crystal Steinmueller, President of 2 Hands 7 Continents, will be traveling south for the winter. She will be volunteering over her winter break at an ecological reserve in Nicaragua.

Steinmueller will spend 2 weeks at Estación Biológica in the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. Estación Biológica is operated by FUNDECI/GAIA, which is a non-profit that has been around since 1973. Their primary focus is community development and sustainability.

The projects Steinmueller will work on are reforestation and animal rescue. “I’m delighted at the opportunity to return to Central America,” Steinmueller says. “I love volunteering with animals and nature.” In 2010, Steinmueller volunteered in Guatemala with spider monkeys, macaws, and street dogs.

Steinmueller works for the Special Education Department at Battle Ground High School. “I’m thankful I have a job that allows me to travel and volunteer,” Steinmueller added.

You can follow Crystal’s volunteer trip to Nicaragua on the 2 Hands 7 Continents website, www.2h7c.org, as well as the 2 Hands 7 Continents Facebook page, www.facebook.com/2hands7continents.

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