¡Pelican Rescue!

Shell (American ex-pat extrodinaire), was strolling along the beach yesterday minding his own business and admiring the lovely birds fishing over the waves. Suddenly a pelican came swooping down with its eye on (what it must had thought was) a tasty fish, and BOOM, crashed into a rock hiding under the water's surface.

But our wily pelican was in luck. Shell came rushing in to the rescue. Calling over some local guys to help, they scooped the poor thing out of the water and brought it to shore. The wing was badly broken, but after some clever splinting, the bird was relatively calm, and Shell called us for some advice. Luckily for Shell and our pelican friend, we knew just what to do.

MSS has been working with Acuario Vadivia, so several years now. They're not just the only coastal Aquarium in Ecuador, they are the only animal rescue center in the area. Mr. Pelican was bundled into the back seat of a car and rushed to help.

Javier, the head biologist at the Aquarium, cleaned up, fed, and re-splinted our brave little pelican and placed it with the other rescued seabirds that are living at the Aquarium to recuperate. Though the wing seems to be too damaged to allow our pelican to fly again, he will be able to live out his life, well fed and safe with the other pelicans at the Aquarium. Thank you to Javier and the rest of the great staff at Acuario Valdiva for providing this great service for the local wild life and a great educational center for the local community. And of course thanks to Shell, the Pelican rescuer!

If you are interested in volunteering at Acuario Valdivia, or any of other great volunteer projects, contact us at the Montañita Spanish School at info@montanitaspanishschool.com or check out our website at montanitaspanishschool.com.

Katja at the Acuario

Katja dedicated a full month volunteering at the Animal rescue center at Acuario Valdiva. She amazing girl from Switzerland, whose previous work at a zoo, as well as her preparations to go to veterinary school next year, has bad her one of our most hands on and proactive volunteers we've sent to Acuario Valdivia. We are so happy to have had her, and I'm sure the animals feel the same way. Good luck in Veterinary School!

Katja administering antibiotic to a sea turtle who has been injured by a boat propeller.

A project with a Aquarium's Biologist, recording sex, size, and weights of the large collection of rescued land tortoises. 

Transportation of one of the Aquarium's injured Pelicans to her new pen. The aquarium has many Blue-footed Boobies, and Pelicans that have injured or severed wings, and can no longer fly.

Acuario Valdivia has to beautiful Humboldt penguins, and male and female.

Vilhelm at the Acuario

Vilhelm had been taking Spanish with us for several weeks before he decided to throw himself into a new project at the Aquarium in Vadivia, a little village 20 minutes from Montañita with the only coastal Aquarium in Ecuador. Since then he has been helping feed the animals, and then in the afternoons he works with the children in the Aquarium's ecological kids'club, playing games and soccer, working on environmental projects and teaching English and yoga.

Vilhelm meets the Ecological Kids Club children

¡Pengüinos!

This crazy pelican wouldn't leave Vilhelm alone while he was trying to feed the sea turtles. I guess he decided to give him some of the fish so that she'd leave him alone

Lobo, the cubby sealion, getting his lunch fom one of the girls in the Ecological Kids Club.

If you are interested in volunteering at Acuario Valdivia like Vilhelm, or any of other great volunteer projects, contact us at the Montañita Spanish School at info@montanitaspanishschool.com or check out our website at montanitaspanishschool.com.

The the guys at the Aquarim are always looking for an extra set of hands, and the kids love when new people come in to work with them and teach them something new. Be creative and make a difference!

Pool Day with Ecological Kids Club

The Ecological Kids Club is a group of awesome and adorable kids from the little village of Valdivia. After school, they go to the Aquarium in Valdivia to learn about the animals, volunteer as tour guides, and work on projects in the community. They have been working hard cleaning the beaches and giving tours to keep up with the tourism "high season." We figured they deserved a day of fun!

Fifteen kids and Javier, the Biologist that runs the Aquarium and the kids program, all came to join us at the Montañita Cabañas to play in the pool and get to know some of the students.

A few hours later, the kids were exhausted... ok, well maybe I was the only one, but keeping up with 15 energetic kids is tough!

As when you put any group of kids in a pool, Chicken Wars are essential. I tended to lose :(

Thanks to Javier and all the kids for an amazing day!