8/7/2019 GVI Diary Extract - Timothy May Jan-Feb 2011

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GVI Volunteer Diary Extract

Name: Timothy May

Age:  18

Gender: Male

Country of Residence: UK 

Start Date: Volunteer Program: Punta Grusea, Mexico

I woke up on Monday morning, feeling a little weary, but excited for the

day ahead! Compared to our usual 5.45am wake up, 8am was positively a lie-in. I

gathered together my six other travelling companions into the luxury of a large

air conditioned taxi with our loyal driver Hector awaiting us.

After 40 minutes driving we stopped off at our usual service station to pick

up much needed cold drinks and snacks, plus one massive Hawaiian pizza for

myself to munch on in the taxi. 2 hours later we arrived at our first destination,

the sprawling ruins of Kohunlich. Although not containing the largest, or the

tallest pyramid, the charm with Kohunlich is in its visual surrounds. With its

palace complexes and outbuildings set deep in the rainforest, with trails weaving

around large mahogany trees dripping with Spanish moss. These ruins are

extremely atmospheric, particularly the steps up the cliff of 27 escaladas, which

leads to one of the largest Mayan palaces in the Yucatan with magnificent viewsover the surrounding rainforest. It was here that I spotted my first toucan of my

phase.

Other interesting features of the site are the many, aguadas , or open

cisterns which the ancient Maya used to extract water from for domestic uses.

However the main draw and the defining characteristic which sets Kohunlich

apart from any other are the colossal 2 metre high stucco masks built into the

exterior of the aptly named pyramid of masks. Here there are 5 monstrous faces

staring blankly back at you. Best of all, the ruins were almost deserted, as the

cruise ship tourists marched in and out of the site in less than an hour. After

many comical photo poses we trekked back, sweaty but satisfied to the taxi.

After watching Mr and Mrs Smith on my portable DVD player we arrived at

our second destination, Cenote Azul, reputedly the widest cenote in Mexico, and

at 250 metres it was certainly impressive. After eating our lunch at the

restaurant over hanging the cenote, where seafood featured heavily on the

menu, we decided to go for a swim. We free dived, observing the freshwater fish

hovering around encroaching tree roots. Lizzie had taken her underwater camera

housing so we took plenty of photos of Ben and Nick diving, and Holly dive

bombing into the cenote. Finally, to the distress of the surrounding Mexican

children we took control over a floating capsized boat. Much camaraderie ensuedas we shoved each other off it for the following 2 hours.

8/7/2019 GVI Diary Extract - Timothy May Jan-Feb 2011

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Feeling refreshed, we set off back to base after a fantastic day out we

wouldn’t forget in a hurry.

About Global Vision International (GVI)

GVI  is   an  internationally  based  volunteer   abroad organisation  which offers

volunteer programs in Africa, South America, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Formed in 1998, GVI provides support and services to international charities,

non-profits and governmental agencies through volunteering opportunities and

direct funding, filling a critical void in the fields of environmental research,

conservation, education and community development. Various types of overseas

volunteer work are offered including volunteer holidays, gap year volunteering,

short term volunteering, long term volunteering, volunteer internships, intern

abroad   programs,   student   volunteer   abroad   programs   and   employee

volunteering   trips   abroad.   Available   subjects   include   marine   biology,

environmental research, teaching and scuba diving courses in various locations

around the world.

For more information on volunteering abroad, please visit http://www.gviusa.com 

or http://www.gvi.co.uk.