Choice Camps Recommendation of VISIONS Service Adventures: Ecuador & Galapagos

Since 1989, VISIONS has introduced thousands of teenagers to cultures very different from their own through construction-based and other service projects, adventurous exploration, and on-site cultural immersion. VISIONS works with local organizations and community residents and undertakes a major construction project and other such outreach efforts. Students learn technical skills from staff carpenters or local maestros as they go – no previous experience is required.

While there are opportunities for students to visit historic sites and enjoy fun cultural pastimes, VISIONS participants more often visit places only known to the locals and do things that tourists never get to experience. Travelers can expect to share meals and mingle with locals who live in communities rarely seen by outsiders.

VISIONS gives students the opportunity to mature thoughtfully and reflectively within a community of peers and adult mentors. VISIONS programs are known to have a profound life-long impact on their participants. With cross-cultural learning and friendship is a core focus. Working with and for host communities is a doorway to learning about others' lives in different cultures – an experience that can’t be found anywhere else.

Trip Description

Participants in VISIONS Ecuador & The Galapagos Service Adventure divide their time between two dramatically different settings: The Galapagos Islands, where home base is a family-run hostel, and a traditional Andean village, where students live in a community hall. In both locations, service engages travelers in agricultural, environmental, sustainable, economic, artistic, and social fronts.

Galapagos service projects include renovations to schools, volunteering in the classrooms, and organizing campamento activities. Participants work for the Ministerio de Agricultura and Parque Nacional clearing invasive plant species or assisting in approved coffee planting. Exploration is a top priority with boat trips, wildlife viewing, trekking, snorkeling, and swimming.

After about a week on the Galapagos, travelers head to the mainland to spend some time touring Quito before making their way to Chaupiloma, an intimate farming village situated on one of many agricultural hillsides of the Andes. Chaupiloma is known for breathtaking views of extraordinary cloud formations rolling in and out over the mountains.

VISIONS projects in the Andes have included constructing a preschool, building community cisterns, teaching English to school children and adults, preparing greenhouse space for a communal garden, assisting reforestation, helping families care for their animals, and harvesting crops with local villagers. Participants get to eat meals with villagers and join their festivals with games, dances, and cultural lessons.

Andes recreation and exploration leads to the markets of Otavalo, Cuichoa Lake, and the Cascada de Peguche waterfalls. Travelers also visit the equator and mountain tops with unparalleled views.

Staff Overview

VISIONS boasts a well-rounded staff typically in their mid-to-late twenties. The minimum age of a VISIONS trip leader is 23, and program directors average 28 years of age. With very few exceptions, program directors are veterans of at least one full VISIONS summer session.

VISIONS leaders are typically returned Peace Corps volunteers, Ph.D. candidates, graduate students, educators, and professionals. The staff retention rate typically surpasses an impressive 55%

Setting & Accommodations

VISIONS students typically live in small groups of 16-25 campers and 4-6 trip leaders in the heart of host communities. While accommodations vary, none are luxurious – travelers often reside in a community building such as a school, church hall, or community center.

VISIONS travelers can expect to sleep on an inflatable or foam mattress with a sleeping bag or cotton sheets. There are private changing areas and indoor plumbing at all VISIONS sites, but with varying degrees of sophistication.

Because conditions vary by trip, Choice Camps recommends you contact a Personal Camp Expert at 781-519-0209 who can connect you directly with a VISIONS trip coordinator to get the most up-to-date program schedule and living accommodations.

Safety Standards

VISIONS program directors arrive on-site 8-10 days before participants and confirm all local medical facilities and doctors in case of emergency; local medical and emergency facilities are identified well ahead of the summer in annual pre-season planning trips to all VISIONS program locations.

All VISIONS staff members hold current first aid or Wilderness First Aid and CPR certifications – the majority have advanced safety concentrations including Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness EMT certifications.

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