Tobago Expedition: Final Thoughts

And such was my volunteer dive expedition with Coral Cay Conservation. There was good, there was bad and there was ugly, but all-in-all it was time, money and effort well spent.
What I had thought I was going to Tobago to do- reef surveys- never materialized. Had I stayed longer, that would have been the next stage in my training, but the organization’s literature didn’t make clear the structure and expectations for the short term expedition I signed up for. This is one point I would suggest they do differently in the future. The expedition was advertised as marine conservation, yet I don’t know that I helped to conserve anything.
Expectation is a huge part of any trip like this, but it is also a tricky animal. Setting your expectations too high, assuming everything will go to plan, is setting yourself up for disappointment. No trip will ever go exactly to plan, and being prepared to be flexible is crucial. On the other hand, having low or no expectations will fail to excite you enough to motivate you into participating. The only recommendation I can give here is to focus on the core ideals behind a trip, ensure that it is an activity you are passionate about, and let the rest of the chips fall where they may. This said, it is important for an organization to clearly identify the structure of their program- something I don’t think Coral Cay did well. While I did learn a lot, had some great dives (and some not so great ones), and met some amazing people, I feel like I missed out on a core element of the trip by not having the opportunity to survey.
Personality issues are another factor that cannot be anticipated. Expeditions attract a wide variety of people, and often house everyone in small spaces. The only assurance is that there will be friction at some point. How acrimonious the situation is, and whether it is short-lived or becomes an on-going saga, is anyone’s guess. The players can change, the complaints can vary, but be prepared for some form of awkwardness or outright crankiness to creep into the group. The best policy (provided you’re not in the middle of the ruckus!) is to allow the trip leader to take charge. Again, something that didn’t happen on this expedition.
Actually, as I think about it, the trip wasn’t what I would call successful. We only dove half of our planned dives; the weather was off-again, on-again; we lost our boat, group equipment, and a large amount of personal equipment; in an overzealous attempt at risk management, we were treated like children much of the time; we ate horribly (I wasn’t expecting to be served filet mignon, but this was bad even by expedition standards); we were without a medical officer for half the time I was there; and there were some serious personality issues, which the expedition leader was at the heart of. Seeing it in this light, it seems like anything that could have gone wrong did.
But even so, I had a great time. I would do it again. In fact, I’m already planning another volunteer trip, this one in Nicaragua this coming December. Apparently, even the worst trip is good enough to encourage further expeditions. And at the very least, I’ve had some great stories to share.
I hope that by reading about my adventures, you are not put off to the idea of international volunteer work. In fact, I highly encourage you to get out there and take a volunteer vacation. I can almost guarantee it’s going to be better than this one.