6/18/2015
All students, except one who arrives later, have arrived safely and are ready for an amazing program!
6/19/2015
Equator in Ecuador!
Buenos tardes from Quito! After a good night’s sleep and a plate of huevos, our team enjoyed visiting the middle of the world. In fact, on the equator line at the Intinan Museum, our little GLA family was farther away from the center of the Earth than people on Mount Everest! We had a great day exploring shops, straddling the equator, and learning about different Ecuadorian customs. The altitude sickness didn’t keep anyone from enjoying the adventure! Adios para ahora!
-Isabella
6/20/2015
Session 2 is on the speed boat from Santa Cruz en o Isabela. 3 kids are upstairs with the captain and the rest down here. They seem exited about Galapagos and we will keep them busy with work and adventure.
Best from a warm Galapagos
Hakan
6/20/2015
After ~11 hours of travel via various modes of transportation, the group arrived safely in Isabela.
6/21/2015
Today was a very busy day; it was busy but it was amazing. To begin with, we ate an Ecuadorian breakfast. Then we started our four hour bike ride-it was challenging, but it was great seeing the views. After biking we went into the beautiful water to cool off. It was amazing to dry off with only the humid air! After, we returned home for more Ecuadorian food, where we ate and talked about our day. After, we went to do some service learning-we learned more about the Ecuadorian president, the tortoises, and how we could impact the service site. Then we learned a new way to eat fresh oranges. After all our hard work, we played soccer with the local family. It was a great experience and we learned something new!
– Jacklyn
6/22/2015
Today we woke up and ate a delicious breakfast, prepared by the local hotel. We then went to our service site and pulled plants to help clear an area for a lagoon for the tortoises. We play a fun game of soccer with some locals and we kayaked and saw some penguins, sea lions, and other types of animals. We then snorkeled and saw some sharks, fish, and more sea lions. Sea lions and very peaceful and playful animals. We went back to the hotel, freshened up and ate another amazing meal. Overall, this day was amazing!
– Mason Luebke
6/24/2015
Today the GLA crew did our service at a local school, helping them build a “living fence”. The kids were very kind and curious, they even took over for us, taking the shovels from us and digging. After we dug the holes, we planted the new plants to start the fence on its way to growing. Then we went to Campo Duro to make some marmalade, and have lunch. After that we had free time to rest up after our ten mile hike up the Sierra Negra the day before, though most of us went to the beach. Being our last night in Isabella, we changed things up and cooked for ourselves which took much longer than anticipated, as did the cleanup. Tomorrow on to San Cristobal island!
– Maya
6/29/2015
All students safe and sound back in Quito! Tomorrow is our final day of sightseeing and shopping.
6/30/2015
Today was a very exciting day for GLA, we all woke up at 4:00 in the morning to catch a flight back to Quito. (This was exhausting for most of us!) Then once we got back to our hostel we brought our bags back up to our rooms. Afterwards we ate an absolutely delicious lunch. Then to liven the group’s mood we went to the Quito market and spent an hour or so shopping for gifts, jewelry, clothes and hammocks which was an amazing experience for all! Then in groups we went to an internet café where we filled out an awesome survey in which we put our opinions on how this trip went. Then we went back to the hostel and had a scrumptious dinner. When dinner was over we had a truly memorable mentor circle. After that we went up to the terrace and hung out there for a while and ordered a humongous amount of pizza (96 $s worth!) after eating our pizza we headed to bed. This truly was an amazing trip
Signing out,
Your awestruck camper Joey
7/1/2015
All students have departed safely and are on their way home!
