Ernesto Vaca

Ernesto was born in Guayaquil and attended the American School there. He studied medicine and became a paramedic for the Ecuadorian Red Cross in 1982, specializing in jungle and ocean rescue. In 1984, while studying biology on the mainland, Ernie joined the Guayaquil Fire Department. He came to the Galápagos in 1986 as a field assistant in ornithology for the Charles Darwin Research Station, and worked with land birds for seven months while camped on Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela Island.

After finishing his biology degree in 1989, Ernesto became a naturalist for the Galápagos National Park (GNPS). He was coordinator for Fundacion Natura’s project on “Management of waste products in the Galápagos Province” in 1994; this was the beginning of the current successful community recycling and waste management programs. In 1997 Ernie brought Scouting to the islands - he is currently scoutmaster in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, on San Cristobal Island. Today his primary mission is to recruit and train those who want to be scoutmasters. In 1998 Ernesto became an environmental educator with the GNPS at the Interpretation Center in San Cristobal and became its first director. There he was responsible for a variety of community interactions while also performing all the duties of a park ranger, such as patrolling the islands.

In 2011, Ernesto worked as the provincial director of risk management.  His mission was to prepare for natural and anthropogenic catastrophes events such as tsunamis, oils spills, etc.   When he is not on board, Ernesto spends a great deal of his time training forest firefighters and humanitarian aid workers in Galápagos.  Captain Vaca’s goal is to contribute to the creation of the safest province in the country.