South America - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 264

333. For prices, reservations and more info
on volunteering in the Galápagos visit W www.
jatunsacha.org; T [phone] or W www.
gvi.co.uk; T [phone]. Galápagos
Conservation Trust: W www.gct.org. Charles Darwin
Research Station: W www.darwinfoundation.org.

355 travel to conServe tHe
galáPagoS iSlandS, ecuador

The Galápagos Islands, 1000km off the west coast
of Ecuador, are a living laboratory of evolution,
a fragile home to a collection of unique species.
It's a sad truth then that if tourism wasn't
providing an alternative income to the islands'
fishing industry, it's likely the surrounding waters
would be fished out. And with no fish, the seabird
population would plummet and the island ecology
would be devastated.
So tourism helps, but it can also add to the
islands' woes if not managed responsibly - and
unfortunately many operators here could do
better. One clear exception is UK-based operator
Discovery Initiatives, which arranges a two-
week cruise around the islands in partnership
with the Galápagos Conservation Trust and the
Charles Darwin Research Station. On board a
deluxe yacht, guests sail around the islands,
hike up to the famous Sierra Negra volcano,
see some of the last remaining wild tortoises
on Isabela and learn about the Trust's turtle
conservation efforts. All funds raised through
the trip go to the Charles Darwin Research
Station to support its conservation work.
Alternatively, there are several volunteering
initiatives with conservation projects on the
islands. The Ecuadorian organization Fundación
Jatun Sacha runs short-term placements
on San Cristóbal island, where you'll help
local NGOs eradicate non-native plants. If
you can spare longer, join a Global Vision
International volunteering project, which last
from five to thirteen weeks. Volunteers, based
at the San Cristóbal Biological Station, help
conservationists on reforestation projects. You'll
be given Spanish classes and, once a week, hike
to one of the tourist hotspots and help teach
visitors about the islands' ecological issues.

356 viSit tHe cloud foreStS of
ecuador

Travelling from Quito, it's easy to make a
beeline along the Pan-American Highway to
Cotopaxi and west to the beaches of the Pacific
Coast or east to the Amazon Rainforest. But
that would mean missing out on the cloud
forests of Ecuador, where you'll find some of the
most fascinating birdlife in the country. Head
80km northwest from Quito and you come to
Nanegal, home to Bosque Nublado Santa Lucía,
a community-based organization formed by local
campesino (farm worker) families who live in
the heart of the virgin cloud forests of the Chocó
Andean Bioregion.
Guests stay at the twenty-room Santa Lucía
ecolodge - a simply furnished timber building
(there's no electricity so candles provide the
light) with shared bathrooms but wonderful
views of the forest. Forty-five species of
mammals inhabit the area, including pumas and
the spectacled bear, and with over 390 species
of birds, including endangered species like the
wattled guan and plumbeous forest falcon, it's
a twitcher's paradise. The families organize
four- and six-day hiking tours into the forest or
you can help out with some of the co-operative's
conservation work - planting trees, maintaining
paths or monitoring wildlife. But if that sounds
too taxing (you are after all on holiday) then just
relax in a hammock, sip a beer and watch the
hummingbirds, with your head in the clouds.

Need to know For directions, prices, itineraries
and reservations see W www.santaluciaecuador.
com; T [phone].

Need to know For prices and booking for
the Discovery Initiatives cruise see W www.
discoveryinitiatives.co.uk; T [phone]