This time six years ago, perhaps unsurprisingly, I was getting in the spirit of Christmas. Perhaps more unusually, though, I was gearing up to spend it in one of the world’s most beautiful places: Galapagos.
This time six years ago I was in the middle of my 5 month teaching and caring placement in Ecuador. Christmas was always going to be an odd time that year as I knew I would not be able to afford to go home to spend it with my family. I was living and volunteering in the beautiful southern city of Cuenca and the weeks leading up to Christmas had been somewhat different to what I would usually see back home.
Ecuador differs to the UK in many ways, and its approach to Christmas was no exception. Perhaps the most striking difference to a British Christmas was the frequency with which you would see intricately crafted nativity scenes in public, in shopping centres and people’s homes. This was a major contrast the UK, where, although we do see the occasional nativity scene, the overwhelming themes of our Christmas decorations are presents, snow and Santa. Although I am not religious, there was something touching about this shift of emphasis away from the predominantly commercial motivations of our town centres back home.
Before going out to Ecuador, I had excitedly read my guidebook from front to cover in anticipation, and so I was, of course, aware of the beauty of the Galapagos Islands. However, after looking at some tours online, I quickly realised I was never going to be able to afford even a short trip round the archipelago. Slightly gutted, I consoled myself with fact that Ecuador has plenty of other stunningly beautiful attractions including the ‘poor man’s’ Galapagos - Isla de la Plata.
However, about a month or so before Christmas my friend and I ventured by chance into a travel agency in the city centre and saw some last minute deals to Galapagos for a quarter of the price of those advertised back home. A week later we were booked onto a five-day cruise on a small boat called the ‘Golondrina’ (the swallow), and a month later we were on our way.
Ok, so our room wasn’t luxurious (our cheap tickets had afforded us the room right at the bottom of the boat, which was about the size of an airing cupboard and rocked about violently with the waves), but we only needed to be in there to sleep. The rest of the time was spent admiring the scenery from the deck and exploring some beautiful isolated islands.
Christmas day itself was spent on the main island of Santa Cruz. We went for a walk in the countryside and visited some giant tortoises before our tour provided us with Christmas dinner. In the evening we walked along the white sands on Tortuga bay and watched the sun go down on the island: the perfect end to an unconventional Christmas and one I will never forget…
Where could you be next Christmas? Find out where volunteering abroad could take you, here.
