Ecuador: Galapagos & Andean Service Adventure 2026
June 28, 2026
Hola fròm Ecuador! After getting caught up on some well needed sleep, the amigos gathered for breakfast in the Blue House’s dining space. We indulged in some delicious rolls with jam and butter as well as freshly cooked eggs, Granola with fruit, and some tasty local cereal. We hopped on the bus and headed to our first destination of the day, Inti ñan, aka the center of the world. We spent some time exploring and learning about the native culture. We saw shrunken heads, giant anaconda remains, and adorable Cuy (guinea pig). We also learned about the science behind the equator line and tested the gravity theory by draining water in a sink to see which direction it flows. After taking many photos we made our way to Pululahua, a massive active volcano. The views were breathtaking, and we were able to see the Pululahua community living in the crater. We made our way back to the bus to head to lunch and unfortunately witnessed our beloved Cuyes being cooked on the street😭.
After witnessing that horrifying sight, we arrived at El Patio, a local restaurant, for lunch. Our chef, Alfredo, makes the meals from his own garden based on his imagination. His kitchen is like a laboratory, making new dishes constantly. We were presented with a stunning 4-course meal, consisting of meat empanada with beet sauce, fresh garden salad with handpicked vegetables, chicken with mashed potatoes, and finally a rich chocolate mousse topped with strawberries and figs. Our stomachs were stuffed and our ride to the market was very restful, with almost everyone taking a nap. After a quiet journey, we arrived at El Mercado Artisanal, where local artists displayed their works for sale. There were beautiful bracelets, journals, pottery, and clothing items. We spent 30 minutes wandering the market, and testing our Spanish skills. We bought ice cream, Ecuador jerseys, hacky-sacks, jewelry, and much more. At 5:00pm we headed back to the hotel, and spent quality time playing hacky-sack, spikeball, and making bracelets. As we prepared for dinner, we conjoined tables, a symbol of the friendships that we have made in a short period of time. We ate dinner and shared laughs as amigos. After we enjoyed a plate of empanadas we played a fun group game of Zip Zap Zoinck. Afterwards we ended the night together by mapping out our goals and expectations, as well as a fun itinerary breakdown from our group leaders (us)!
By Hamish and Stella
June 29, 2026
Que pasó from Quito! After another night of sleep, we devoured el mismo desayuno delicioso and some fresh water melon. We hopped on the bus, excited for the panoramic views we were going to see at the top of an active volcano. We played some group hackeysack before jumping into a cable car. When we arrived at the top, we adventured higher to 12,000 feet and captured dozens of photos on the swing in the clouds and ate many snacks along the way.
Afterwards, we traveled to a Gothic Cathedral, where we posed with the pope and explore the courtyard. We had a quick bus ride to a delicious lunch of refeshing mango juice, lentil soup, eggs, sausage, potatoes, salad, and panna cotta. We were also lucky enough to catch a glipse of the Brazil vs Japan World Cup game on the restaurant’s projector.
With our stomachs full, we headed to the center of the Historical District where we saw the presidents house and el Monumento de la Independencia to learn about the meaning of multiple symbols like the condor which represents freedom and can have a wingspan of up to 18 feet. We also saw arupos, which are trees with huge Pink blossoms that Bloom for only two weeks every year. Then we walked into a beautiful church that had a lot of gold designs. Along the way, many People bought a set of round magnets that we played with for the rest of the day.
We walked over to the San Francisco church, before hurrying over to Yumbos Chocolate for a chocolate tasting. We tried soooo many varieties of cacao from tea to brownies to blind sampling flavors from tangerine to jalapeño to mint. It was SO delicious. A lot of people bought bars and brownie mix to take home and capture those yummy flavors. Feeling fulfilled and revived, we went over to a local supermarket to purchase local snacks and treats. We came back to the Blue House for some hackeysack, bracelet making, and reading before a delicious dinner and a taste test of all our new goodies. We cant wait to travel to our homestays and see whats next. ¡Hasta mañana!
By Hazel and Greyson
June 30, 2026
Como estás from Cotacachi . Halfway through our morning drive we made sure to stop for a much needed break. Although we were offered candy and Coffee, the group made the decision to Pet the owners llama, Yuka, instead. After another short drive we explored the largest South American market where we purchased sweaters, jewelry, bags (in preparation for the Galapagos) and some matching T-shirts. While shopping everyone made sure to sharpen their bargaining and Spanish skills to get the best prices.
Then we went to our New hotel to drop off our bags. In the city the local marching caught our eye, but you’ll learn more about that tomorrow 😉. Then we headed to the native Village to meet our homestay families and ate a meal consisting of roasted beans and corn, zucchini soup, potatoes, and steak, all from the communities farms. After a heartfelt goodbye and a “hasta mañana” we boarded our beloved autobus and drove to our next scenic location.
We were Lucky enough to visit our third volcano and second volcánic cráter that had become a lagoon. We took many photos before returning to the bus for another drive.
After arriving in town we hugged our bus driver Carlos goodbye, as he would be returning to Quito later that night. The group had a much needed rest before dinner and bought ourselves another important cultural artifact, some Ecuador jerseys! Decked out in our gear and full of spirit, we walked to dinner together, excited for both the game and our upcoming meal.
For dinner we had chicken, french fries, and pickled cabbage. Following dinner the group participated in an activity regarding special instances that might occur during our homestay, acting out situations and coming up with solutions. On the walk back to the hotel, we got to experience some more Ecuador spirit as we saw the streets crowed with fans watching the match against México. Everyone got to stay up a tiny bit longer to see the game come to a close while we shared tomorrows exciting plans.
By Addie and Miller
July 1, 2026
Alli Puncha from La Calara!
We started our day off at 8am from the hotel with a walk to breakfast. As we arrived at the Kimbala Restaurante we feasted on yogurt with granola and fruit, eggs, and ham. After breakfast we made the walk back to the hotel to pick up our bags, jump in pickup trucks and head to La Calara Village. Our homestay journey begins… As we arrive at La Calara it is customary to partake in a ritual to bring positive energy and bless the worksite. The shaman walked around with a mixture of lavender and other native plants, shaking them around each person. Once the ritual concluded, we began our service project where we laid rocks, dug holes, leveled dirt, mixed cement and much more. At the end we all came together to pour and level cement for the foundation of the cafe. As midday rolled around, we sat down for lunch consisting of potato soup, tomato juice, avocado, rice, chicken, and potatoes.
After lunch, we headed to the center of the village, the market, to meet with our homestay families and see our houses. We had a quick turn around of getting ready for the women’s day festivities back in town. Our families dressed the girls in traditional wear including, floral blouses, tight belt wraps, long skirts, beaded bracelets, sandals, and chunky gold jewelry. The guys were dressed in fleece ponchos and tophats. We hopped on a bus with our families to head to the town center where we danced, marched, and celebrated with live instruments and whistling. After breaking a sweat, we stopped for popsicles with flavors ranging from cheese to fruit. We took many pictures then hopped back on the bus to La Calara village. We had our team debrief then dispersed to our homes for dinner and family time. Our homestay consisted of us, evie, 2 sisters, and many animals. After getting settled in, we helped our mom make a delicious dinner of soup, chicken, peas,lemongrass tea, rice, and avocado. After eating a yummy dinner and helping clean up we called it a night.
Kaya Kama!
By Hayley and Zaeva
July 2, 2026
Alli Shamushuska to a new day in Ecuador. The day started off with a scrumptious meal made by our homestay families. We had omelets, fruit, and tomato juice. At 9 o clock, we walked to the community center to start our second day of work. As we arrived, we saw Hamish and Miller already at work, digging a trench for plumbing. We gathered together at the restaurant and heard our morning announcements, then started our community service of digging holes, picking up rocks, moving bricks, and building the walls for the new cafeteria.
During the service we got to choose our designs for our wallet workshop the next day. As lunch drew closer, the tables were filled with people playing wavelength and card games. Lunch consisted of an appetizer of quinoa soup and fresh popcorn (from corn in the community), followed by a main dish of fried chicken, rice, french fries, avocado, and tomato. After that delicious lunch, we headed back to our homestay families for a well deserved rest.
Before we left for the Sumak Muya, we made bracelets and other pieces of jewelry. The tables were filled with beads. The beads were made from seeds from the Amazon Rainforest. There were two types of bracelets, one made up of string and the other made of wire. During our work time, we got the unexpected announcement that we were featured on the local news for dancing in the parade. As people were making their last touches on their bracelets, we headed out to play soccer.
In the midst of our walk, we saw a kid playing his harmonica and we danced in a circle around him. We played soccer against 12 year olds and got obliterated by 20 plus points. During the game Fabricio the Traitor backstabbed us by blocking shots toward the opponents goal and scoring on our goal. With our confidence destroyed, we left the field dejected and with our heads hung low. After the game we went to our homestay family and played many rounds of Uno with our host siblings before a delectable meal. Luke and Sarah came to check in on us, then we went to bed for some much needed rest. Alli Tuta (Goodnight in Quechua).
By Tim & Cyrus
July 3, 2026
Hello, Hola, and Imanalla, from a few Ecuagals.
We started the day off ¨Muy fuerte¨in our homestays with a filling breakfast. For us, we enjoyed homemade blackberry marmalade, bread, an egg omelet and a fruit bowl. We served all of this with tea and blackberry juice. If you can´t tell, we like our blackberries 😁. Next, we said ciao to our families, and began our trek to our service work ( it was a thirty second walk…).
At our service, we started by playing some team bonding games to warm up. We then split into four groups. Group one was helping put logs on top of the cafe, a good start to our sturdy roof 💪. Group two helped to dig a hole for cooking traditional foods, Pachamanca. Group three continued to dig a moat for a powerline. And the final group, continued cementing blocks to create a beautiful fountain that will help to enrich their sacred space. Within these hours, there were multiple attempts to chase the llamas back into their field, and steal Grayson’s flute 😉.
After our chaqui (feet) hurt, the InTi (sun) was blazing, and we were exhausted, and were excited for a much needed yaku (water) break, we all made our way towards the lunch house, where we played card games including prez, hearts, BS, etc. When the food came out, we pushed our card aside to enjoy our first course of corn, beef, and potato soup, followed by a plate of delicious fried fish, papas fritas, and a fresh salad finished off with some golden berry fruit for a sweet treat. After our bellies were full from a nutritious meal, we departed to our homestays, also known as our ¨wasi¨in Quechua.
During our hour and a half break, people napped, read, played games, and showered, all getting ready for our next side quest 😏. We all met up at Chusco (4pm) for leather making!! The previous day we had the opportunity to choose the texture and style for the wallets we were going to make. The expert leather maker, German, was left with a single machine by an Italian foreigner looking to retire. He then used his single machine to start an incredible shoe making business. There was some rain, some shine, but we spent the next three hours, carefully handcrafting wallets with German’s help. This tedious but rewarding process included glueing pieces of leather together, hammering holes into the leather, and finally sewing it all together. We were then given the option to personalize our wallets with initials. At the same time, we were also given the opportunity to do some well needed laundry. (VERY well needed).
We then returned home, helped prepare an appetizing dinner. For us, it consisted of spaghetti bolognese from scratch, with potatoes, avocado and broccoli, served with a delicious cinnamon té. At dinner, we had a wonderful conversation with our family and even got the opportunity to learn some of their language that they were able to translate onto a piece of paper for us (Photo below). It was quite significant because they mentioned to us how they are the last generation who are truly fluent in the language. Some example of household words include Aly shamuska capaychi (Welcome), Ricuna Anta (Television), Misi (cat), Aika (dog), Mamia (mom), Taito (Dad), Wauqui (sibling). Don´t be shocked whe we come home speaking Quechua 😲. After we helped with the dishes we headed to our room for a much needed descanso. We hope you learned something from this blog, Aly Tuta.
By Hanna & Ruby
July 4, 2026
Buenos dias from our final day with our host familias! We started our day with a delicious breakfast of pancakes, fruit, eggs, and tea. After some of us partook in some household chores, we made our way down to the comedor to complete our final day of service.
We built up the walls of the café, built a stove traditionaly used to cook, and helped instal power lines. While putting the finishing touches on the stove, many of us enjoyed a refreshing face mask using the clay lining the oven. We sat down for lunch, hungry and in need of a rest, and were suprised and flabbergasted to see the cuy (Guinea pig) 🐹 staring back at us from our plates. After our different opinions on the dish were expressed, we continued on with our meal of chicken soup, pork, chicken, sausage, and papas (potatoes).
Following lunch, we spent some free time on a local soccer field reading and playing spikeball and hackey sack. We returned to our homes for a brief rest before dressing in traditional indigenous clothing once again for una celebración cultura. After soaking in our last dinner with our families, we made our way down to the community center for la fiesta.
There was live música 🎤 and dancing 💃 followed by a heartfelt exchange of letters and love between us and our host families 😢. We ended the party playing traditional games and made s’mores by the bonfire. Although it will be hard to say goodbye to our host families, we are so grateful for the time we had with them. We packed up our bags before drifiting off to a sleep full of dreams of our next aventure 🐢🦎🐟. Ciao Calera!
By Evie & Truly
July 5, 2026
Como estas from Calera! On our final morning, we awoke to a delicious breakfast consisting of fruit, eggs, cake, and tea. After a bittersweet goodbye with our host families, we walked to the community center. After playing some team bonding games, we helped prepare a traditional indigenous meal by making homemade salsa with mortar and pestle, wrapping meat and potatoes in lettuce, and placing some fruit and the meat into the new oven, which was previously filled with hot rocks.
We played some cards games, more hackeysack, read, and hung out with some local children until our long awaited lunch was ready. With a buffet style, we excitedly grabbed the fresh food and devoured some pineapple, apple, sweet potatoes, and the other food mentioned above. Feeling stuffed, we took a 2 and a half our bus ride back to Quito that consisted of reading, sleeping, playing music and telling stories.
We arrived at our hotel to the news that there was a pool!! We hurried to our rooms and `put our swimsuits on before all of us went into the pool, hot tub, and steam room.
After drying off, we changed into our PJs and headed outside to participate in some self reflection and play games. We then went inside for lasagna, veggies, garlic bread, and an orientation of our future days in the Galapagos. We returned to our rooms pretty early, knowing we had an early morning and travel day ahead of us. Callacama in the Galapagos!
By Cyrus & Hazel
July 6, 2026
Today we were up before the sun at 4:40AM ready to take a sleepy journey to the airport. We entered the airport and encountered a misguided staff member and a chaotic scene of travelers. We finally overcame our hardships, and began our journey through airport security and to the gates. Our group arrived hungry and we had 25 minutes to get breakfast.
We boarded the plane after negotiating about our seats we finally embarked on our adventure to the Galapagos. We looked out the window and could see the highest point from the Earth to the sun! The ocean was vast, and mesmerizing. We enjoyed agua con gas, and scored free extra plantain chips because our Spanish was so good. Delicioso.
We landed in the Galapagos and Zaeva clapped louder than everyone else. She was very excited to be there. On the walk from the tarmac to the terminal, we saw a MASSIVE iguana that has special colors because it is a native land iguana. We paid our entrance fee and boarded the bus to the ferry. Fun fact, the airport is actually on a smaller uninhabited island, so we had to take a ferry to the mainland. We saw crabs and had a mid ferry snack tasting sesh.
Did you know that a male tortoise is identified by a curved bottom shell and a curvy tail, and they can weigh up to 300 kilos (600 Ibs!). They can also live up to 150 years. We ate lunch on a tortoise reserve, where the crew devoured lunches ranging from pesto pasta, to fish, to chicken. There was also a long, steep stairwell into dimly lit volcanic caves. We crab walked under crevaces, and tred in the path of the lava.
Our hotel greeted us with a lovely pool, pool table, virgin piña coladas, AND a waterfall. We dressed up for dinner and on the way stopped to see black tip sharks and a sea lion on the dock. Dinner was entertaining with the World Cup and a local musician playing the Andean pan flute. Tomorrow we head fo Isla Isabel for the next 3 days. Hasta mañana!
By Zaeva and Greyson
July 7, 2026
Feliz cumpleaños to Sara and hola from the Galapagos! We started our day bright and early at 7:30 AM with a buffet-style breakfast at the hotel. We fueled up with delicious waffles, omelets, fresh fruit, and much more. During breakfast, we all sang a loud “Happy Birthday” to Sara. We then began our trek to Tortuga Bay, walking through the town and onto a path lush with native greenery, including giant cacti and endemic trees.The trail opened up to a mind-blowing view of the first beach; however, because of the strong currents, this wasn’t the spot where we would swim. Instead, we continued our walk past the mangroves until we reached the calmer, safer beach. The water there was the perfect temperature and incredibly salty! We played hacky sack, buried Greyson in the sand, and took plenty of pictures. After wrapping things up at the beach, we began our walk back. Once we exited Tortuga Bay, local vendors were eagerly selling refreshing drinks and ice cream, so we treated ourselves to both. Right after this quick break, our crew hopped on the bus for a short drive to lunch, even passing sea lions lounging by the side of the road. At lunch, we feasted on salad, pesto pasta, chicken, and fish, finishing with a citrusy lemon pie and brownies for dessert. Stuffed and satisfied, we walked back to the hotel to prepare for our next journey: a speedboat ride to Isabela Island. We took our time to shower, dip in the pool, and finish our last-minute packing before carrying our condensed luggage to the pier. Most of us knocked out during the bumpy, two-and-a-half-hour ferry ride. Before we knew it, we docked at Isabela Island, where we will spend the next three nights. While we are here, we are continuing our goal of collecting our plastics to bring back to the mainland. At the dock, we hopped on a Chiva (an open-air bus with bench seats) to head to our new hotel. We settled into our rooms for some short downtime before heading out to dinner. We walked to the restaurant, where we enjoyed delicious options including vegetable fried rice, spaghetti bolognese, fresh fish, shrimp, fries, plum juice, cake, and fruit. After such a long day, we all tiredly walked back to the hotel to end the night with a group debrief.
By Hayley & Tim
July 8, 2026
This morning the group woke up to fresh fluffy eggs, paired with bread and jam, as well as the mystery fruit juice🧃 of the day. Thank goodness it wasn’t fiber filled plum juice! After a quick weather update, we raced to pack our necessities: rain jackets, tennis shoes, long sleeves, and especially bug spray 🦟. Then, we hopped on the Chiva. 🚌
An unsuspecting bus ride quickly turned into a scenic journey. As we drove further into the jungle, the environment shifted completely. Surrounding us in all directions was luscious greenery and a layer of fog, a nice contrast to the baron and hot beach town that we were coming from🌴.The moment we jumped out of the Chiva, our feet were immediately engulfed in mud. That’s when we knew we were in for a treat. 😰
We started our journey upward with rain dampening our clothes. Within the first 15 minutes David, our guide, stopped the group to point out an icon of the Galapagos, the rare Pajaro Bruha, a stunningly bright red finch🦜. After an hour of squelching through the mud, dodging enormous cow and horse poops, we made it to the highly anticipated viewpoint: a breathtaking scene of the largest volcanic crater in all of the Galapagos. Unfortunately it was masked in a sea of impenetrable fog. 😭😭😭
After laughing away our disappointment, we broke out the snacks to lift our morale🍪. It was a slippery slope downhill, quite literally. To our surprise, we were greeted by wild horses, the producers of all the poop we had previously stepped in🐎. Thankfully, we were able to look past our frustration and shared a memorable moment standing in the rain with these beautiful animals. After a few more slips and close calls, we were back to the bus and headed to lunch.
We took our seats at a lovely ranch and refilled our engines with chicken, rice, salad and more mystery fruit juice 🧃. Nelly, one of our lovely tour guides for the day, walked us through the ranch’s vibrant garden, feeding us fresh fruits along the way. We were led to two giant tortoises 🐢, who, unlike the others from yesterday, were native to Isla Isabella. We had the rare opportunity to let them chomp on elephant ear plants out of our hands. It was the only place in the Galapagos where you can do this! 🤯
We returned to our humble abode to prep for some beach time 🏖️. A two minute walk popped us right out at the beach, which was eagerly appreciated after our morning trek. During our time, spikeball was played, soccer balls were kicked, waves were jumped, books were read, and smiles were shared. 😄
That evening the local restaurant served us burgers, fries, and more mystery juice🧃—that of course being after 100s of pictures were taken. After dinner, we took out the rest of our energy playing sting pong and pool. Twas a spectacular day on Isla Isabella.
-Evie & Hamish
July 9, 2026
Good morning from our last day in Isabela! Our day started with breakfast at the hotel which consisted of fruit, eggs, toast, and mango passion fruit juice. Next we boarded our Chiva (bus) to a dock to meet our tour guides for the next few hours. The tour consisted of a boat ride where we got the opportunity to see and learn about the long awaited blue footed boobies as well as some pelicans and penguins. The boat docked at an island where we saw some incredible wildlife including marine iguanas, sharks, stingrays, sea lions, and even a rare owl. After we explored some more, it was time for the most exciting part of this tour… snorkeling! We got our gear on (goggles, breathing tubes, and flippers) and dove into the clear blue waters. While snorkeling we saw some incredible wildlife. Some of our favorites were large sea turtles, parrot fish, starfish, stingrays, and even 2 sharks!! 🦈😳 It was truly 😉 an unforgettable experience. After our minds had been blown, we didn’t think it could get any better, but it did!! 🤩 On our way off the boat, we saw the cutest sea lions relaxing with each other and we could’ve sworn one gave us a wink 😉.
Back at the hotel we had a quick turnaround changing into dry clothes before heading out for lunch. Lunch consisted of chicken soup and chicken curry with a potato and plantain ball. Next, we met up with Sebastian, our favorite tour guide of the trip so far (67!) He led us on a beautiful tour of an underground cave, then a black rocked beach, followed by a long search for tortoises 🐢. We ended this adventure at a beach. It was covered in mangroves trees and very shallow. After a short wade in the water, we found ourselves looking up at dozens of blue footed boobies diving for fish and pelicans as well. Once we were up to our shoulders, baby sea lions began swimming around us!! 🦭 On our way back to shore, we discovered a small passageway that led to not only more baby seals lions, but also giant sea turtles. That last part might have been the best part since the sea lions really got close to us, circling us, and even swimming between our legs. Before getting ready for dinner, we stopped for a quick FroYo sweet treat. After getting cleaned up, we headed out to dinner which was Mexican cuisine, with some fun and refreshing drinks. Everyone really enjoyed our final dinner on Isabela island. We returned to the hotel and packed for our very early morning tomorrow. See you in SantaCruz!!
-Ruby and Truly
July 10, 2026
WE LOVE BOOBIES! Oops do you guys want more context… The rooster crowed for us this morning at 5 AM in order to make our early boat back to Isla Santa Cruz. Who doesn´t want to start their day on a choppy 2.5 hour boat ride? Luckily we were all knocked out and slept the entire time. With our stomaches rumbling we slept walked to our hotel for a reasonably timed breakfast at 8. For our desayuno the group enjoyed a hearty buffet that included yogurt with granola, fresh waffles, custom made omeletes 🍳, and fruit! Soon after everyone found themselves pooped 😉. Global workers were found passed out in every pool chair and couch throughout the hotel. After an hour of rest we arose to enjoy some pool time before heading out for our first adventure of the day… THE CHARLES DARWIN CENTER 🐢! We got to view saddleback tortoises from the ages of 0-60 years old as well as the famous Lonesome George. This lovely creature was known as the last tortoise of his kind on Isla Pinta. After absprbing as much information on tortoises as we could, the group decided to get a mid-day icecream stop. Once everyone (including the leaders who needed the icecream more than we did – Fabricio 🤣) was finished enjoying their sweet treats with flavors ranging from stratachelli, marbled blackberry, and rum rasin (Tim 🙄), we picked up some fallen soldiers from the hotel and had a delicious rooftop lunch. The group enjoyed caprese salad, pineapple chicken, seafood fried rice, and gnocchi. A quick water taxi later we found ourselves at a rocky beach. Ducks surrounded us as we splashed in the water and yet again enjoyed some more nap time. Greyson took a nasty tumble into the water and took a swim with some blue footed boobies on our way back but dont worry, Ruby was quick to impliment her lifeguarding skills and pull him out of the water 😮💨. We laughed along with the locals as they told us “cuidado” while we got off the boat. We returned to the hotel safetly and began to get ready for a little bit of pre-dinner shopping. Once everybody had gathered we walked down to the main Charles Darwin street and did some window shopping and gift getting. We can’t share what we got, but you will all see soon enough! After our shopping bags were full and our wallets were empty we gobbled down some dinner 🍴. Our meal was accompanied by a pan flute player who we graciously tipped. Wipping the tiredness from our eyes we rolled into the hotel and changed into pajamas, the perfect attire for our socializing time. Our heads hit our pillows and we zonked out, dreaming of the boat ride to come the next and final day. As this is our (Hanna and Addie’s) last blog post we are signing out. See you soon and lots of love!!! 💌🥰❤️
July 11, 2026
The delicious waffles and fruit at breakfast filled our bellies for the exciting day we had ahead first thing in the morning. We boarded the boat with our new friend and guide Elian, and the realization set in that for the next 6 hours this was going to be our sanctuary.
We stacked like sardines at the bow of the boat, all looking to get comfortable and hoping of catching our last rays of Ecuadorian sun. We switched on some music and, after 2 hours of soaking up sun, we arrived to the snorkel spot where Elian toured us around the area.
We saw many different types of fish and marine life, including parrot fish, a pufferfish, a gorgeous sea turtle, a diablo ray, and the cutest penguin ever. After a tasty lunch, and a long sleep back to the shore, we headed home and everyone got their much needed AC time in.
After our rests, we got dressed up nicely for our last dinner all together and enjoyed some gelato after finishing our seafood dishes. The few of us that were still standing after the illness attacks were exhausted, so the evening ending quietly with all of us dozing off as soon as our heads hit our pillows. This message is a tribute to good times and even better tans. I think its fair to say that today was filled with moments many of us will never forget.
E – Exceptional leaders supported us throughout our days
C – Collaborating on service work really made our homestays
U – Up beat tunes kept us groovin”
A – All throughout the trip we were movin’
D – During times of trouble we kept our heads held high
O – Our boats rocked back and forth so we had to look to the sky
R – Rounding off our journey we are sad to say goodbye
2 – many photos
0 – regrets
2 – the connections we formed on our path
6 – different tortoises
-Evie + Miller
