YE “Be Ocean My Friend”
From the 22nd until the 30th of May the Estonian team of 6 spent time in South of Spain learning about environmental issues in a youth exchange "Be Ocean My Friend. The project gathered motivated people from Estonia, Poland, Italy, Malta, and Spain. The focus of the project was the biodiversity (and ecology) of Cabo de Gata Natural Park. The activities made us think about environmental problems there and also in our own countries.
To put our words into action, we went to clean up the beach. The weather was clear, and an egg could have been fried on that stony ground. However, in the shade of cliffs and with the help of a sea breeze and interesting people, it was a pleasure to give our small contribution to a cleaner Mediterranean sea.
We learned about the local species during spontaneous hikes in the neighbourhood of our accommodation. What are the Latin names of the plants or which ones are really local and which ones aren't? It has probably been wiped from most of our heads now. However, a nice walk alongside a passionate person sharing his knowledge was a time well-spent.
In order to get familiarised with marine life there, we went snorkelling. The activity and instructors gave many of us a lot of new knowledge, and it was considered to be one of the highlights of the project. Seeing the beauty of underwater life gave us an even bigger push to clean the beach as thoroughly as we possibly could.
Our Estonian team also got to know the Spanish hospitals by making several trips to the ER as we love doing sports and injuring ourselves while practising them. Here you can see our star basketball player Georg, who already managed to twist his ankle on the second day. But it did not ruin our mood.
Next to the pool, under the palm trees - that's one relaxing vacation for an ordinary Estonian. We witnessed a good environment for sharing each other's experiences and understanding other cultures, especially Spanish people's lack of punctuality. It was lovely to hear about Polish traditions, Italian cuisine, Spanish nature, and Maltese poop stories.
- Nora, Vivian, Ingrid, Taur, Georg, Frederik
