HLD in Pujili - Trip of a Lifetime!

I'm reading some of the previous reviews and I honestly don't understand how some people didn't like the trip - it was incredible. I've partaken in other volunteer programs before and this was by far the best one I've been to. I participated in the Bio-Med program through HLD, the program had three main components: Medical rotations, Volunteer program, and a week in the Galapagos.

The trip began in Quito with medical rotations. The rotations lasted one week. We had 4-hour medical rotation in the mornings. In the afternoons we toured Quito and came back after supper for either a lecture or practical training (such as stitching, making casts, or drawing blood). Our days were incredibly packed! We would wake up at 6:30 am to get ready for rotations and go to bed sometimes as late as 11 (as after our lectures our group would stay up playing card games). The rotations were amazing! We were able to see 7 different surgeries in 2 days and spent the other days in the ER and Radiology. The tutors were very helpful and would ask you questions to make sure you understood what was going on in surgery. I learned way more than I expected to. The practical skills we participated in was definitely a highlight - learning how to stitch was amazing, and I had so much fun drawing blood from a patient for the first time. I wasn't a huge fan of the lectures - If I could change one thing I would replace the lectures with more hands-on activities. I also wish we could have spent more time doing rotations. However, that being said - I honestly do not know where HLD would have fit that in without adding on an extra week. Every activity we did was so much fun and all the leaders were super accommodating! They weren't happy if you weren't happy. They also weren't overly happy if your group was late to any of the activities - but considering how packed our schedule was it was easy to understand why.

The next portion of the trip was the volunteer program. The volunteer portion spanned over 2 weeks; however, we didn't spend every day at the volunteer site. Every weekend we participated in touristic activities throughout Ecuador - as we made our way to the volunteer site. This consisted of spending time in the Rainforest, visiting the coast, or going to hot springs. It was really nice to break up the trip with these fun activities. However, it wasn't overly clear how much time we actually spent working on the site - for our group we spent a total of 6 days in the community (it would have been 5 if our group didn't ask to stay an extra day). That being said - we accomplished a lot in this time period and I felt it was enough time in the community. Jose (the volunteer coordinator and one of the founders of HLD) was fantastic. He was very clear how the selection for housing went. He also made sure that the way our fundraised money was spent was completely transparent and that the volunteers were able to buy the material directly to ensure there was no ambiguity in money spending. I was very glad I chose to go on the trip in May - the weather was very nice and clear (only rained heavily 3 times while I was there which was a lot less than I expected for the rainy season). I also felt I was more helpful to the community as the work required heavy lifting, moving materials, and digging trenches. It was nice to see how appreciative the community was of our work at the good-bye dinner they made for us. I loved that we were fortunate to see other communities HLD helped build in the area. It demonstrated how these homes will provide not just a short term impact - but will continue to impact their lives long term. It was incredibly touching and an experience I won't forget.

The third and final portion of our program was a trip to the Galapagos. In my program, only 8 people participated in this portion of the tour. I really liked how small our group was - as it enabled us to be more flexible when it came to activities and meals. The Galapagos itself was amazing - by far the most beautiful place I've ever been to in my life. We were fortunate to see sea lions, marine iguanas, flamingos, penguins, sea turtles, reef sharks, sting rays, sea horses, and a huge variety of fish and coral. We snorkeled every day, and at one location I was surrounded by 5 sea turtles - I was speechless! Our leader who came with us (Olivia) lived in the Galapagos for a while, so she knew the best places to go to eat, snorkel, and relax were. This definitely made the experience way better! I would go back to the Galapagos in a heart beat.

Overall the trip was amazing - the founders were incredibly accommodating. If you have any complaint they will do as much as they can to fix whatever problem you have. Our group needed to do laundry one day and the all-inclusive we stayed at was expensive. So Jose spent an entire day looking for a laundry place for us that was reliable and affordable. He then spent the next day making sure it was all done on time and sorted out how much everything cost - we literally had to worry about nothing. Juan was just as accommodating and would be the first person there to support you if you were having trouble. I would recommend this program to anyone - even if you've never planned on going to Ecuador, you'll be pleasantly surprised what the country has to offer.