Experience report in the diving and marine protection project in the Caribbean

I worked in the marine conservation program in Las Terrenas for six weeks and really enjoyed my time here. The accommodation is very central and everything you need is within walking distance. If I was too lazy for that, I also used the motoconchos (motorcycle taxi), which is very straightforward. The apartment is clean and of a good standard. Most days we started our work around 9am to clean the beach / river, create beach profiles, snorkel for surveillance or do some dives. After the morning activities, we had a break to shower and eat something before we met to continue working in the office, e. B. for data processing, for the preparation of publications and presentations or for research on various topics.

I really enjoyed working with the other volunteers and my local coordinator. We spent the evenings in our apartments, sometimes we met on the roof terrace or went to a restaurant together. Due to the Corona virus the government imposed a curfew from 20pm so we couldn't go to any bars. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants were closed at this time.

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons we had our Spanish lessons. The teacher is very good and the classes helped me a lot to improve my Spanish. In general, I think it would be nice to come here without speaking Spanish at first. Everyone wants to help you here and after a few days you learn the most important expressions to get by on your own.

The coronavirus also affected our work: it was not possible to give presentations in front of large groups of people or to carry out activities with the community. It was also not possible to work in the diving center as there were no customers and our help was not needed here. We used the free time for excursions, for example to the waterfall in Limón, for horseback riding or sometimes just on the beach here in Las Terrenas and enjoyed the time there.

The positive thing about this situation was that we were able to visit beaches and sights without seeing many tourists there. A highlight of my time here was the trip to Las Galeras where I did my Rescue Diver certification. I finished the course on a Friday so I could extend my stay there and visit Playa Rincón. It is known as the most beautiful beach in the Dominican Republic and when I was there there were very few people there. Without the virus it would have been crowded there on the weekends.

All in all, I enjoyed my time here in the Caribbean paradise and achieved my goal of improving my Spanish. I would have liked to have done more diving related activities and experienced more of the Caribbean lifestyle everyone is talking about but the coronavirus is having an impact and we have made the best of the situation.

Pia L. reports on her experience in the diving and marine conservation project in the Dominican Republic