From: United Kingdom
Individual account
Botswana, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Thailand
02/01/2019 - 10/09/2019
1826
November 2018 will see the beginning of Gap Years Part 5!
This time I'm heading back to Thailand and will be volunteering at Ryan's rescue and Elephant Nature Park (again).
More time in Thailand before heading over to Taiwan and then Africa.
The story so far:
Seniors Gap Years Part 1: Sept 2014 - Sept 2015
Travelled in Asia. (India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia) - volunteering, travelling, hostelling, yoga retreat, white water rafting, trekking, cycling, teaching English and meeting loads of lovely people.
Gap Years Part 2: November 2015 - June 2016.
South America (Argentina, Chile, Patagonia, Bolivia)
I enjoyed spending time in Argentina in South America where I had fun at the brilliant Rivera Hostel Cordoba as a "Workawayer" during December and January. The journey continued to Salta, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, El Calafate and El Chalten, Chiloe, Puerto Varas, Pucon, Santiago, Atacama (Chile) and on to Bolivia.
I volunteered at La Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary, near Coroico.
Summer in the UK.
Gap Years Part 3: September 2016 - July 2017.
S America (Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador inc Galapagos, Columbia)
More time at La Senda Verde before moving on to Peru.
Living in Huanchaco where I volunteered with dog rescue
Workaway : Casa Amelia hostal , Huanchaco. Great hosts and hostel.
Loved Ecuador in March, including the wondrous Galapagos. Fun in Banos with white water rafting, trekking, waterfall cascading and ziplining.
Colombia: Great variety of experiences travelling from south of Colombia to Cartagena.
Volunteering: Julianas Farm Sanctuary, near Bogota.
Danielas Dog Station, near Bucaramanga, (Workaway).
Senior Gap Years Part 4: September 2017 - September 2018.
Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá
Mexico : a brilliant mix of art, history, ruins, cenotes, music, beaches, architecture and cities
Honduras: from the Copan Ruins and Macaw rescue centre, to the excellent volunteer gig at Yogas Garden, El Chimbo where tasks were varied and interesting and we joined in their yoga classes with extremely good teachers ( all from the family), on up to the island of Útila for beach time.
Nicaragua: as anti government protests resulting in death, imprisonment and torture took place when I was in Honduras, I considered skipping Nicaragua. However I was then told all appeared ok again. I took in Leon, Granada, Lake Apoyo and San Juan. All with their own beauty .. except that the riots kicked off again, along with more violence, deaths, imprisonments, barricades, places destroyed, road blocks etc. 2 weeks on I was glad to leave and saddened for the people and the country.
Costa Rica: lives up to its well deserved reputation as a nature lovers paradise. Glorious National Parks, Wildlife, Vibrant bird life, beaches, waterfalls, Rapids ( whitewater rafting) etc.
2 great volunteer projects with animals too.
Costa Rica is a pricey option in Central America.
For me the cities/ towns were nothing to get excited about although San Jose did have some lovely architecture and a great vegan restaurant!
Panama: so many travellers had said that they simply skipped through Panama because of price and lack of interesting options, so that I was pleasantly surprised to find that the
2 hostels I worked in were super cool and offered a variety of tasks from cleaning, weeding, maintenance, guest liaison etc. One was in outskirts of David and had created itself as an urban jungle, and the other near Anton was an Eco Lodge in Nature.
I stayed at some really good hostels, including a castle, went hiking, whale and dolphin watching, snorkelling, a tour of the creatures of the night, time in the interesting Panama City and the islands of San Blas.
My mother tongue is English and I speak Spanish. some Portuguese and French ( I need to practice again to improve).
Love animals.
Gardening
Cooking / shopping
Help with Eco project
Animal care
Helping with Tourists
Charity work
Language practice
Teaching
Have volunteered at animal sanctuaries in:
*️️️️️️ Thailand and India - helping to build climbing frames for bears, cleaning/cutting food etc for elephants, dog care, cleaning kennels, walking dogs, shampooing them.
Bolivia (Wildlife) , Peru (dogs), Columbia (Rescued Farm Animals Sanctuary and Dog Rescue)
Mexico ( dog and cat rescue), Costa Rica: 2 separate rescues. 1 for rescued farm animals as well as dogs and cats ( Planet Costa Rica) and the other one ( Charley's Angels) for dogs and cats.
*️️️️️️ Festival Volunteer in UK
*️ Hostels: Reception, English language practice, helping to create Information book for guests and self guided tours, cleaning, gardening, general maintenance, guest liaison and orientation.
*️️️️️️ TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)
*️️️️️️ Therapist and teacher (massage, reflexology, head and shoulders, Reiki, motivational coaching)
*️️️️️️ Vegan cooking.
*️️️️️️ Intermediate Spanish
Spanish, French, Portuguese (some), English
68
British
Interests: People from other cultures, languages, travel, trekking, yoga, reading, walking, New Experiences!
Smoker
Driver's licence
Allergies
No
Special dietary requirements
Vegan
