22 June - Day 48: Is Candid Camera here?

I didn´t write yesterday - and it´s not because of the lack of time... There is way too much free time here and not many comfortable places to chill out, and even fewer places to be alone. Let me tell you the schedule...

7:00 am Breakfast
8:00 - 10:00 Work
10:00 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 12:00 Work
12:00 - 2:00 Lunch and break
2:00 - 4:00 Work
6:00 Dinner
6:30 Now what?

And this schedule is if everyone is on time, which hasn´t happened yet. A 2 pm start time actally means 2:45, so work is "work".

I can´t be thankful enough that I am only here for 3 1/2 days. Some people are here for 6 weeks! I keep expecting Ashton Kutcher to jump out of the blackberry bush and tell me that I´ve been punked - RUFMITA! This is good actually, it helps me see that you really have to do more research to find a place to volunteer.

The people here are ok. The age range is from 18 - 40ish. The sleeping situation is communial so last night when everyone decided that 6:30 was too early for bed and we should walk up to the "bar" which is really just the neighbor´s house, and they´ll sell us alcohol, people´s edicate flew out the window. Coming back drunk and just chatting away while people are sleeping is just rude. I know, I know... I´m old, but still...

The group dynamics are really strange. They´ve thrown a bunch of strangers together and you spend all day with each other. The reserve makes no effort to do team building. I really should be a consultant for businesses... just a very few small, inexpensive changes could really benefit this place greatly. I´m a problem solver - give me your problems and I can find a solution!

The work... is it making a difference... that´s the BIG question. The main work at this reserve (Jatun Satcha has 6 reserved around Ecuador) is to try and get rid of the highly invasive introduced blackberry bushes. The mora (blackberry) grows like vines and is covered with thick, painful thorns. It is fast growing and of course out competes the native species. So daily volunteers armed with a bug hat, rubber boots and a machete venture off inot the woods to chop. It´s satisifying actually - hacking at a plant with a machete. But, what you begin to see is that under all the new growth that we are choppin is cut up mora that someone else chopped a few months ago... hummm... if the new growth is on top of the old... is the chopping working? It feels like busy work, but they need something for the volunteers to do for 5 1/2 hours a day.

It´s a new day - I have one more night of sleep here. The mosquito net gives such a false sense of security that sleeping isn´t as creepy as I had anticipated, althouh it hasn´t been super pleasant either.

The pouring rains has stopped for now... let´s see that today brings...

Surprise - we are going to the Galapaguera - which has a turtle conservation and breeding center and a modern plant nursery - this is GOOD news - a little change up to the activities.

We head out - 11 of us in a pick up - 6 in the back and we bump down the lava roads.

The center is very well done - modern. The breeding strategy is to let the turtles lay their eggs and go out and collect them from their nest and put them into a protected area so that the introduced dogs, goats, and rats don´t dig them up and eat them.

It was also a bit warmer here - so a welcome relief - and a chance to thaw out.

After stuffing bags with soil we went back to the reserve. I´m really ready to move on - although I´m glad I got to see the reserve today.

One more cold night at Jatun Satcha...