The other thing about gap years is the way it pushes the boundaries of what you believe you can achieve and what you actually need to achieve it. I have found that I can actually do so much with so little when I really put my mind to it.
You come to realise that all the 'stuff’ you have at home you can really do without and the really important thing is the brain in your head and what you learn to improve it.
I took my gap year last year and have recently started university in Leeds. I can honestly say that it was the best year of my life and I can’t wait until I finish university so I can do some sort of travelling again. I started my gap year by working in the local pub for three months for my travels. I also have a second job in Sainsbury’s and although I knew I needed the money I found it difficult to save and not spend it all. In the end of course I managed it, and come January last this year I was off to the Bahamas to learn how to SCUBA dive and work on a marine conservation expedition with Greenforce. I had never dived before but I had always been fascinated by the sea and sharks and decided I wanted to learn more. I was recommended Greenforce by a friend and it just so-happened it had an expedition starting in an area I wanted to visit – the Caribbean.
My time spent in the Caribbean was amazing, we stayed in wonderful bungalows right on the beach and had an amazing time with the other volunteers. Once we learn to dive – which is a lot easier than you think – we dived two times a day collecting scientific information for the Bahamas National Trust then at the weekends we got to do fun dives to where ever we wanted, or went to the local village to play with the kids and help out at the local school. It’s hard to imagine that I was there for 10 weeks as the time passed so fast.
From the Bahamas I flew to Belize with some friends I met on the expedition and we travelled around the country visiting various beaches and islands and also doing some more scuba diving. I stayed around Central America for a couple of weeks or so before flying to Ecuador for another 10 week project. Again I chose Greenforce because the projects they offer include meaningful conservation work and are excellent ways to get involved with local communities in the countries.
Ecuador is quite unique in the area (which is the reason I chose it as my destination), and has a variety of different environments all in one very small space; moving from West to East it has but a wonderful Pacific coast line with palm fringed beaches, then it has the Andes mountains in the middle with spectacular views and snowy caps; then behind them it has the sweaty Amazon jungle, with monkeys, indigenous tribes and all sorts of crazy plants and animals.
