Written by a combination of students including: Stephanie, Carie, Sam and David:
We have been in Ecuador for almost a week. Seems like much longer. We are all having a lot of fun, and excited for the next part of our trip. We´ve been busy – hiking, weaving, exploring, eating, and getting to know each other. Everyone is great, we´re all having a great time.
We arrived in Quito, headed up to Otavalo, and spent a few days there. We went on hikes, to a museum, a festival, and learned how to weave and salsa dance. The hostels we have stayed at are extremely nice and peaceful. After staying at the first hostel, we got on a bus and traveled to a hostel in Otavalo, but on the way we stopped at the Equator – which was really cool because we did very interesting experiments to show we were on the equator.
The second hostel we stayed at was called La Luna. It had a gorgeous view and was fun to stay at for a few days. All of the girls stayed in one room and had 6 bunk beds and one single cot. It was tight but definitely was fun! While spending our time at the hostel in Otavalo we went on some amazing hikes. We also went and made tapestries with the help of the local community members.
Overall, the food is interesting and delicious. The views while traveling in the bus are spectacular. Our group as a whole is definitely close and it seems like we have known each other longer than a week.
Tomorrow we leave for the homestay in Las Juntas and we are all really looking forward to meeting our new families for the next few weeks.
Adios!
