Chaska/Chan Ecuador 2014

14/07/2014

30/06/2014

About to board our flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis!

29/06/2014

Last day in Ecuador! Two nights ago, farewell dinner with host families. Last night, a teary good-bye to host families followed by a smooth flight from Cuenca to Quito. Today, city exploration and an overnight flight from Quito to Minneapolis via Atlanta. We are all very sad to be leaving Ecuador, but extremely excited to come home to family and friends. See you tomorrow morning!

25/06/2014

25/06/2014

Cuenca, Ecuador has been awesome! The kids are with their host families and have been doing volunteer work in the morning. Afternoons have been spent doing a variety of things including a city tour by bus and a visit to the Museo del Banco Central. Ecuador plays in the World Cup again at 3:00 this afternoon.

20/06/2014

The past two days in the Amazon Rainforest have been absolutely magical. I think we were all sad to be leaving such a cool place. A ten hour bus ride (almost 11, actually) today brought us to the beautiful city of Cuenca, a Unesco World Heritage site and the location of our host family stays. Students were exceptionally nervous to meet their host families, but they did great and are enjoying their first night with host families right now. Tomorrow they'll be able to sleep in and enjoy the day with their host families, hopefully catching the next Ecuador game at 3. I'll post some highlights from the past few days.

17/06/2014

Mountain bike riding followed by zip lining followed by waterfall hiking followed by bungee jumping, and all this before lunch. I'm exhausted just reporting that! After lunch, a hike up 684 stairs (we counted) in order to see a statue and get an awesome panoramic view of the city. This picture in particular represents how we all feel after such an action-packed day. Off to the rainforest for more adventures tomorrow!

16/06/2014

Early morning departure from Quito this morning and another three hour bus ride to Baños de Embato. Arrived just in time to watch Ecuador play in the World Cup! Went to the zoo, made some animal friends, had some free time for swimming and exploring the city, and, perhaps the highlight for some, ate PIZZA for dinner. Big day tomorrow- mountain biking and hiking.

15/06/2014

Game time! So far, Ecuador: 1, Switzerland: 0.

15/06/2014

Day 2: Quito to Otavalo and back.

15/06/2014

Our three hour bus ride to and from Otavalo today was peppered with fun stops in which we met and fawned over cute dogs, puppies and cats, tried bizcochos (a local pastry- imagine a scone crossed with a croissant), shopped in a town famous for its wooden handicrafts, enjoyed a delicious lakeside lunch with another view of a volcano, and, of course, took many more selfies with llamas. The market in Otavalo was expansive, selling handmade crafts from ponchos to tiny head-bopping turtles. The kids became accomplished bargainers and had a great time exploring and learning more about the culture of Otavalo.

14/06/2014

Great day today! Toured Quito, had lunch at a restaurant on the edge of a dormant volcanic crater, took selfies with Diana la llama, visited la Mitad del Mundo (center of the world) and did some science experiments, explored the city on foot, and ate a great dinner at the hotel. A very active day with a short night of sleep last night, so everyone is pretty tuckered out. Looking forward to shopping and regateando (bargaining) at the market in Otavalo tomorrow.

12/06/2014

Landed in Hotlanta! Waiting at the gate and super excited for the next leg of our journey. Plane is on time and good news: in-flight meal provided. ¡Olé!

12/06/2014

¡Vámonos!

10/06/2014

Salimos en dos días! Olé!