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A Friend in galapagos

Flying to the Galapagos Islands from Quito is a transition of high drama, from chilly surroundings and snow capped peaks to an archipelago over 1000 miles off the coast surrounded by startling blue Pacific waters.

There is one person, who works for G Adventures, who makes that transition smooth, and he is always there for you on arrival in Baltra, the main airport in the Galapagos. His name is Juancho. He is a fireball of efficiency and a smile that puts everyone at ease.

This past November, as the Planeterra team arrived, he helped dispatch a couple of passengers who had suffered two flight cancellations, and were missing more than 2 days of a 5 day trip. He had arranged for them to catch a waiting craft in Santa Cruz. He was afraid they were going to miss that too. As we sped toward the village, I watched him make call after call, as his phone went in and out of cell coverage marveling at his energy and commitment to making that connection.

For Planeterra Foundation, Juancho was equally committed to making our visit a success. He he has the readiness of an insider and eyes of an outsider; someone who can help determine who might be of assistance. Juancho walked back roads with the Planeterra team, showing us about the other side of the Galapagos, where the residents live, their schools, and all of the items that might just make a difference to local people’s future.

We visited a teacher whom he recommended, who works with handicapped children. The program uses all the recycled paper in the school to create lovely post cards and other souvenirs. G Adventures vessels in the Galapagos will be able to sell those items and return funds to the school.

The teacher did not want hand outs at all. He was clear, he wanted the kids to earn money from their beautiful crafts, and we were ready to help. Later we laughed and congratulated Juancho, he had used his savvy and understanding of the Galapagos Islands to show us a project where a school was helping kids to help themselves.

Megan Epler Wood, Planeterra Director