Operation Wallacea

Aug 23rd, 2021

Just to visit friends
Nov 7th, 2020

May 14th, 2020

Sep 8th, 2016

I took part in Opwall expedition in 2008 in Honduras. I paid 4.500 to be able to attend. Any backpacker knows that for that price one can travel to SA and visit it all. I was told that the price includes everything. Well it does not. You need to pay for vaccines, malarone, visas extra as they assume everyone is either british or american and give you irrelevant information. Also I was supposed to do my bachelor dissertation there as they said all unis agree for that. Well, Edinburgh uni did not. I was given another unverified information, hence I set up myself for 8 weeks unnecessarily stretching my budget. On the site 'the volunteers', who just spent their time hiking in the forest rather than do any meaningful surveys, were told that they eat too much so they can have only corn flakes or a pancake for breakfast. Considering 15km walk per day in the mountains I lost about 12 kg during 8 weeks due to those dietary regimes. Whenever I could I was buying extra food because those 4.500 was apparently not sufficient to feed 20 year old for 8 weeks in a country where locals survive for 5 per day well fed. During my diving course, for which I also had to pay extra, I was pushed to the water and something cracked in my back. After my return it turned out that my disc popped out. It is a permanent health injury, causing more problems as the time passes. I am aware that one day I will have to have a disc surgery. Opwall never wrote back to me so I could claim the insurance and do physio. I had to pay for everything on my own, again. Also, on the Cayos Cochinos site my phone was stolen. I was told I must have left it somewhere charging, because Brits do not steal. Well you are welcome to attend british museum if you deeply believe this is the truth. After years, when applying for a travel found at UCL, where I currently work, I noticed that there is a note: 'we do not support expeditions like those organised by Operation Wallacea'. And I support that. Opwall stuff is paid nothing, just have covered food and 'hammocks', occasionally flights. Dive masters work for free, academics got themselves covered from grants, student volunteers pay 4.500 (and these are not full costs) to attend and Opwall is 'non profit'. If you are fancy to have an expensive stroll in a jungle then attend, if you want to achieve something, join a proper research group at an university.
Jan 21st, 2020