Day 1: For the first day of the trip, I wasn't sure whether to consider our time together in the hotel as the first day, but seeing as to how we had to eventually meet up in Tait's room and listen to Greg and Hailey's Presentation along with Lester's, it seemed like the right start. Coupled with the fact that the presentations ran so late that we only got a couple hours of sleep, the first day of the trip was more like 36 hours.
The first leg started as we slowly but surely trickled into the hotel across the street from JFK airport the night before our flight. After arriving most of us waited around for the presentations to start, as our first one would be in Tait's room for a pizza party at 8pm. Once we all got to Tait's room we ordered the pizza and got ready for Greg and Hailey's presentation on the geological makeup of the Galapagos. Much was covered about how the movement of the tectonics throughout the pacific allowed for volcanic activity to push those islands to the surface millions of years ago. Along with coverage of the numerous different types of volcanoes we would see and the different earthquakes that are experienced throughout the country due to it lying on a major fault line.
Following that we listened to Lester's presentation about the birds that inhabited both Ecuador and the Galapagos and how many endemic species there were throughout the entire country. This all took place while we were starving for the worlds slowest pizza delivery service, which took the better part of 2 hours to get to us. After getting the pizza, we listened to the remainder of the presentation before heading off to bed at about 12-12:30 at night. From there we got a crisp 3 hours of sleep before rushing off into the hypothermic weather to get onto a bus to bring us to the airport.
Our flight was set to take off around 6 am, but was delayed for about 2 hours due to freezing weather icing over the cargo belts and making the plane unable to take off with everything needed. I ended up binge watching Planet earth II until we took off and I fell asleep at some point after that.
Once we landed in Guayaquil, it was a bit later in the day, allowing us only the time to hop onto another bus at the airport after meeting up with Diego, our travel guide, and then driving to the hotel we were at for the night. On the drive in to the hotel, we got to see the more down trodden parts of the city, with a random, non police officer, standing with a shotgun on the side of the road. This let us know that hanging outside the hotel at night probably wouldn't be the best for your safety.
At that point all we had to do was go to sleep and wait for the morning for our flight to the Galapagos Islands.
The first leg started as we slowly but surely trickled into the hotel across the street from JFK airport the night before our flight. After arriving most of us waited around for the presentations to start, as our first one would be in Tait's room for a pizza party at 8pm. Once we all got to Tait's room we ordered the pizza and got ready for Greg and Hailey's presentation on the geological makeup of the Galapagos. Much was covered about how the movement of the tectonics throughout the pacific allowed for volcanic activity to push those islands to the surface millions of years ago. Along with coverage of the numerous different types of volcanoes we would see and the different earthquakes that are experienced throughout the country due to it lying on a major fault line.
Following that we listened to Lester's presentation about the birds that inhabited both Ecuador and the Galapagos and how many endemic species there were throughout the entire country. This all took place while we were starving for the worlds slowest pizza delivery service, which took the better part of 2 hours to get to us. After getting the pizza, we listened to the remainder of the presentation before heading off to bed at about 12-12:30 at night. From there we got a crisp 3 hours of sleep before rushing off into the hypothermic weather to get onto a bus to bring us to the airport.
Our flight was set to take off around 6 am, but was delayed for about 2 hours due to freezing weather icing over the cargo belts and making the plane unable to take off with everything needed. I ended up binge watching Planet earth II until we took off and I fell asleep at some point after that.
Once we landed in Guayaquil, it was a bit later in the day, allowing us only the time to hop onto another bus at the airport after meeting up with Diego, our travel guide, and then driving to the hotel we were at for the night. On the drive in to the hotel, we got to see the more down trodden parts of the city, with a random, non police officer, standing with a shotgun on the side of the road. This let us know that hanging outside the hotel at night probably wouldn't be the best for your safety.
At that point all we had to do was go to sleep and wait for the morning for our flight to the Galapagos Islands.
Day 6: Day 6 started off with us heading back towards the airport to get ready for our flight back to mainland Ecuador and start the next leg of our trip. After getting to the airport, we awaited out flight back to Ecuador and once again walked out onto the tarmac and got onto our plane. This was still an odd experience for me since I have only ever entered on terminals, and the airport was not even guarded by a fence. From there we landed back in Guayaquil, Ecuador and got back to our original hotel for a short time before heading back out onto the city to see our tour.
The tour was meant to show us the living conditions and lives of citizens in Ecuador's largest and poorest major city. We walked from our hotel to the edge of the city that borders the more expensive city and is only separated by a river. Learning that many people make a living off of peddling food and drinks on the street for resale. As the longstanding joke was the vendors shouting AGUAGUAGUAGUA over and over to catch peoples attention. The ages of the street merchants ranged from 8-80 and there was no discrimination in work, everyone had to provide for their family when the area is so downtrodden. From there we climbed to the top of the hill located in the city with many different houses that were fashioned in favela style. The stairs were labeled to let you know how close you were to the top, with 444 stairs it was no easy feat!
There wasnt much to Guayaquil as it is a poorer city that focuses more on living than it does on tourism, and it does not bring in more than the airport. On the way back from climbing the hill we visited places to eat, and we were reaching the midpoint of our trip, so we grew homesick of our wonderful processed american food. This steered us towards Wendys, where we got to finish up our night with a home-style meal for dinner. All in all it was pretty gross and I was missing the food with a nostalgic glaze.
The tour was meant to show us the living conditions and lives of citizens in Ecuador's largest and poorest major city. We walked from our hotel to the edge of the city that borders the more expensive city and is only separated by a river. Learning that many people make a living off of peddling food and drinks on the street for resale. As the longstanding joke was the vendors shouting AGUAGUAGUAGUA over and over to catch peoples attention. The ages of the street merchants ranged from 8-80 and there was no discrimination in work, everyone had to provide for their family when the area is so downtrodden. From there we climbed to the top of the hill located in the city with many different houses that were fashioned in favela style. The stairs were labeled to let you know how close you were to the top, with 444 stairs it was no easy feat!
There wasnt much to Guayaquil as it is a poorer city that focuses more on living than it does on tourism, and it does not bring in more than the airport. On the way back from climbing the hill we visited places to eat, and we were reaching the midpoint of our trip, so we grew homesick of our wonderful processed american food. This steered us towards Wendys, where we got to finish up our night with a home-style meal for dinner. All in all it was pretty gross and I was missing the food with a nostalgic glaze.
Day 7: Here marked our journey towards the climb into the Andes, where we would remain for the rest of our trip, so our warm coastal weather was soon coming to an end. This was not before us stopping off at a cocoa farm to help see the growing process near the coastal mountains and mangroves and us exploring a river system to see all the endemic birds.
The cocoa farms helped us shed light on how much chocolate is exported from Ecuador and how the farms are ran. It also showed us just how intense the mosquito population was near the warmer areas. But in the cocoa farms we learned about the struggles between natural cocoa and disease resistance, the lines between profitability and taste are blurred when dealing with crop yield. The Cnc51 disease resistant cocoa had a different flavor, but was much easier to grow within the country and took less maintenance. We also got to try the chocolate, learning about how the fleshy interior surrounded the beans and tasted similar to a tart mango before cooked. This was eye opening for me because i never actually knew what the process was behind getting chocolate, especially obtaining the oddly shaped fruit and what its interior looked like.
From here we ventured off to the Cherute Mangrove Reserve where we were able to roast in the sun on a dock before venturing out onto the river to see the mangrove lined shored that were being threatened by shrimp and cocoa farms. The shore was spotted with red sally crabs and the trees were filled with beautiful birds. One especially caught my eye, with its pink flamingo like color but its duck bill like shape, it was the most unique bird Ive ever seen.
Following the mangrove river ride we started our ascent to cahas national park which sat at around 15,000 feet, as to why we were taking our altitude medicine. The trip up was split midway to force a little acclimation time at a nice mountain side restauraunt that was engulfed in a sea of fog. This only lasted a short while before we ascended further up the mountain to the most beautiful green paradise spotted with lakes and rolling mountain tips. The park was the highest point on our trip so far, with sparse trees and a cold wind biting at your cheeks.
In the park we hiked from one short path to another where we got to see the beautiful rolling hills and striped red and yellow flowers. Before we reached the end we came upon a forest that had been there for thousands of years and was dark with red and brown trees that had tight root systems that fed down hundreds of feet to the lake below. The forest looked like something out of a Harry Potter movie.
This was the last leg of cahas before we hopped back onto the bus towards our stay in Cuenca. This small city sat at 9,000 feet above sea level and was home to many Ecuadorians and Ex-Pats.
The cocoa farms helped us shed light on how much chocolate is exported from Ecuador and how the farms are ran. It also showed us just how intense the mosquito population was near the warmer areas. But in the cocoa farms we learned about the struggles between natural cocoa and disease resistance, the lines between profitability and taste are blurred when dealing with crop yield. The Cnc51 disease resistant cocoa had a different flavor, but was much easier to grow within the country and took less maintenance. We also got to try the chocolate, learning about how the fleshy interior surrounded the beans and tasted similar to a tart mango before cooked. This was eye opening for me because i never actually knew what the process was behind getting chocolate, especially obtaining the oddly shaped fruit and what its interior looked like.
From here we ventured off to the Cherute Mangrove Reserve where we were able to roast in the sun on a dock before venturing out onto the river to see the mangrove lined shored that were being threatened by shrimp and cocoa farms. The shore was spotted with red sally crabs and the trees were filled with beautiful birds. One especially caught my eye, with its pink flamingo like color but its duck bill like shape, it was the most unique bird Ive ever seen.
Following the mangrove river ride we started our ascent to cahas national park which sat at around 15,000 feet, as to why we were taking our altitude medicine. The trip up was split midway to force a little acclimation time at a nice mountain side restauraunt that was engulfed in a sea of fog. This only lasted a short while before we ascended further up the mountain to the most beautiful green paradise spotted with lakes and rolling mountain tips. The park was the highest point on our trip so far, with sparse trees and a cold wind biting at your cheeks.
In the park we hiked from one short path to another where we got to see the beautiful rolling hills and striped red and yellow flowers. Before we reached the end we came upon a forest that had been there for thousands of years and was dark with red and brown trees that had tight root systems that fed down hundreds of feet to the lake below. The forest looked like something out of a Harry Potter movie.
This was the last leg of cahas before we hopped back onto the bus towards our stay in Cuenca. This small city sat at 9,000 feet above sea level and was home to many Ecuadorians and Ex-Pats.
Day 15: Most of this day was spent in travel on our way home, with us getting on a flight in Quito starting towards the main international flight hub in Guayaquil. As we left our hotel in Mindo, we drove back to Quito, not before having to turn back around for one of our fellow students jackets that they left there. But our trek back to the capital was to allow us to get back onto a plane to head to Guayaquil for our final leg of the journey. Where most of our day was spent in the air on in an airport terminal, it gave time to reflect about the experiences we had to live with for 2 weeks and the opportunities we were given.
We had time to sit and think about how we come from such a privileged background to be able to visit this other country and live amongst its people and absorb the culture. And in that short time we were able to see and learn more about the country than most of its natural born citizens. The things we experienced and the information we learned was one that would stay with us for life, giving us a bit of perspective of the outside world and how others struggle like we cannot imagine, along with how delicate and diverse the world is outside of our tiny state. The ability to be a part of this all was like nothing else and I am nothing more than eternally grateful for the time I got to spend with Dr. Tait and all of my classmates diving into this country and being so welcomed to enjoy it.
We had time to sit and think about how we come from such a privileged background to be able to visit this other country and live amongst its people and absorb the culture. And in that short time we were able to see and learn more about the country than most of its natural born citizens. The things we experienced and the information we learned was one that would stay with us for life, giving us a bit of perspective of the outside world and how others struggle like we cannot imagine, along with how delicate and diverse the world is outside of our tiny state. The ability to be a part of this all was like nothing else and I am nothing more than eternally grateful for the time I got to spend with Dr. Tait and all of my classmates diving into this country and being so welcomed to enjoy it.