Alexis from Spain, summer 2005
“Greetings. My name is Alexis, I am from Barcelona, Spain, and I was a volunteer. I will try to explain in a few lines how I felt the experience on this project. It is a personal point of view, but it can be interesting for you if you want to choose a voluntary project in the Mediterranean sea. I am a biologist, so when I knew about a sea turtle project on Kefalonia (where is Kefalonia? Ahh… in Greece), I saw a good opportunity to improve my biological knowledge. And obviously, maybe then it is the first point to take care. You have the chance to stay with turtles (to stay so close!) and you learn a lot about the animal. The work is hard and tiring but all your efforts are well used. So if you like turtles, that’s a good reason.”
“Ok, there are other projects to work with turtles, Why is this a special one? That question has an easy answer: Mounda. Other projects have sea, tourists, islands and cliffs as an environmental site to work but here you walk along the nicest, most beautiful beach I found at the moment, Mounda beach. It is a perfect place to spend your time on. Its softy sand, natural dunes, cliffs, caves are really nice and have a special beauty at night with all the stars above you. But not all in the island is this beach. There are also many amazing places to go on your free time around the place (mystical caves or underground lakes as examples). Interested in birds, plants, quiet places to rest, do you like mountains? That’s your island.”
“And about the project: a lot of work to do, always with great people from all over the world to share our experiences in the project and to pass a good time with you. I was carefully trained in every task I had to do, enjoying every time, every place, and every partner. And, of course, the most special moment is when you find your first turtle. I suppose all the volunteers have the same impression: to find a mother turtle going to lay the eggs at night is one of the most exciting experiences ever felt. And there is much more! Searching for tracks in the morning, making the excavations to get data information of the nest, informing the people, protecting the beach! But not all is work in the project. Many activities give you the opportunity to show your skills in the Annual Environmental Festival organized by the Group. It is a special event for the tourists and the children, to know more about the environment.”
“I enjoyed the project every day I was there. I worked besides other people with the same worries as me. I helped the planet for a time. Maybe we can not save the entire world, but we can preserve a little part of it.”