Sep
28
Written by:
frank zindel
28.09.2009
This is my view of Boa Vista and The Turtle Foundation and I’d like to start with a question to you – the reader:
. . . ” Do you live to just exist in this world and get by? Or do you live to
. . . enjoy your life to its full blessing? ”
Most people just exist, dreaming of crazy adventure but never doing anything about it – using every excuse and tie available to avoid actually living their lives how they secretly dream they could. If you are a dreamer but do not ever do anything about your dreams, then please stay at home and donate a few Euros from your armchair to a truly worthy cause happening over on Boa Vista, Cape Verde Islands.
Whilst you have a breath in your body and can handle tiring exercise five hours per evening – then you’d be doing yourself and Your life a great favour by contacting The Turtle Founda¬tion and committing to volunteering your holiday time next summer to travelling to Boa Vista and experiencing something you really don’t find in your daily life!! Heck some of us gave up two months of our lives for some of the most intense; exciting and beautiful experiences of our lives.
Immersing yourself in a totally different culture takes a little adjustment, and for the first week on Boa Vista – I kept thinking I was nuts to leave my own businesses and comfortable life behind for what I found on the island, however the culture and craziness of the work with the other volunteers can’t help but entice anybody brave enough to jump in and be part of something very special.
Everything’s not perfect, the organisation struggles in some areas but I admire the commit¬ment of the Foundation leaders both in Europe and on the ground dealing with the numerous difficulties that present themselves everyday. Their resilience is truly honourable and many folk can learn a lot from just understanding these people alone!
Volunteering on Boa Vista is not a typical sun holiday lazing around at the beach. However there’s plenty of opportunities to catch time to do such things and I found so many natural beauty spots to hang out; bars that I didn’t ever want to leave and a few restaurants that could easily be sitting in Greece or on a beach of the Caribbean! But the real adrenalin is getting excited about active protection of an ancient species right on the fantastic beaches of Boa Vista. The turtle is a graceful animal, startlingly large at times and the experience becomes very personal when you are the only one sitting on a star lit beach with a female turtle next to you delicately creating a nest for her young offspring. YOU are her protector, and whilst you are there with a soldier assisting you the turtle is safe from slaughter and can take her time to ensure her race has the slim opportunity of surviving into the next decade!!!
If you want to do something crazy, if you want to get inspired about living – then do yourself a huge favour and make 2010 the best year so far for volunteering on Boa Vista with The Turtle Foundation. It will take some doing, because the volunteer team members of 2009 spanned from 18 years to 45 years old and were truly awesome from so many different backgrounds.
Believe me, you will be doing yourself a favour ;-)
Martine Sansone from England, 2009 Volunteer in Boavista
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