Rachel and Matt met Patrick at the Otavalo market during a fine excursion with other United Planet volunteers in July.

Rachel and Matt, both experienced travelers at the age of 17, had the good fortune to overlap some weeks this summer while living and volunteering in Quito, Ecuador. They stayed with the same host family, and worked together in a center for street children.

The family included mom and dad, and three school-age sons; the house was a short walk to the project. Rachel and Matt would eat dinner with them most nights – “I love the soups,” says Rachel – and enjoy excursions on the weekend.

During weekdays, they spent 8am-12:30pm at the center; had a 2-hour break; and went to Spanish class in the afternoon. At the center, they helped with a variety of tasks – playing with the younger kids, helping older kids with schoolwork, conducting group games that involved sharing and discussion of values.  During the summer, the center hosts a camp that gives school-age kids a safe place.

Matt with one of the kids at the center, in a race with...

...Rachel, with one of the kids. The kids enjoyed playing no matter where or when...

The center provides a supportive environment for kids who need someplace to go; they provide meals, some housing, education about dangers on the street, tutoring, and more. Their families may be struggling with poverty, addictions, illness, homelessness.

Rachel notes, “I completely love all the boys and girls. Little kids love to be held, and it’s so fun to pick them up and play with them.”

“The best part is when we do the school stuff, and they respond. It’s so great that we can help with that,” says Matt. The worst part? “The language barrier.”

Rachel agrees. “It’s really hard when we don’t understand what’s happening, especially when the kids are arguing about something, and we can’t help them resolve it.”

Both Rachel and Matt knew some Spanish before they arrived, and were taking classes at a local Spanish school.

During the summer, the center operates a camp for school-age kids who need a place to go.

“It’s been amazing,” says Rachel. “It was a truly life-changing experience. I will never forget the incredible children who are open and loving to a stranger. I will never forget how smart they are and how creative. Esteban, Alex, and everyone else will for always and ever have a place in my heart.”

Matt says, “Quito forced me to step out of my comfort zone and try new things on a daily basis. Whether it was adapting to the schedule at the center or zip-lining over the rain-forest, I was compelled to live outside of my normal world in the United States. The trip was an exhilarating experience of a lifetime that I would never trade for anything.”

Matt and the nice lady bargained for quite awhile over the colorful hammock. Everyone was happy in the end...

This from Alisa, after the group of nursing students from Mesa State College had spent the week in three healthcare projects across Quito. But she wasn’t referring to the days in triage, or OB, or cardiology, or pediatric oncology, or giving vaccinations to babies…  These things they did, and they served and learned a lot.

She was referring to an afternoon in a childcare project in the south of Quito, one of the poorest barrios in the city. The center provides care and meals for 40 – 70 children, ages two to 12, who need attention; their families are missing fathers, or struggling with alcohol and drug problems, or suffering from disabilities. Many single moms drop off their kids while they cobble together work – selling food on the streets, cleaning. The center is jumping with life, but existing on a shoestring.

The lovely and charming Alisa, who has five kids of her own, brought loads of clothing for the kids in the center.

For weeks, the nurses gathered together the things they believed were needed: many of them mothers, they brought bags of used clothes, shoes, toys. They bought games, puzzles, markers, paper.  Before they arrived, they were assigned families – they selected the right clothes for the kids’ ages and genders, learned about their history.

That afternoon, the directora, another (!) vibrant, efficient, smart Ecuadorian woman dedicated to getting things done for her kids, introduced the nurses to the kids in the families, and sent them off to their houses.

In one family, the mother had come from Peru, and was illegal, so she couldn’t get legal work; the father had died. The kids went to school during the morning, then came to the center in the afternoon. (Lucky not to be working on the street themselves.) During summer break, the kids spend the whole day.

The nurses followed the kids to their home: a tiny, cramped, dark room in the basement of a building. The kids were pleased to show off their home, to test the nurses’ cameras, to run around in an excited clump, to get and give hugs and attention. The nurses asked about their lives, offered the clothes, played ring around the rosie, spread laughter.

These kids are lucky in many ways: they don’t have to work the streets themselves, they are clean and dressed and not hungry, their home is well-kept, they have access to water. They have people who care: their mothers, and the people at the center. Everywhere, you can see kids not so lucky: walking amidst cars at stoplights, selling gum, snacks, drinks; sleeping on basketball courts; lurking around the edges of public spaces.

At another center, the kids come in from life on the streets.

Next, to the home upstairs – in a storefront on the street. The bunk bed is in the middle of the liquor store, which is open early in the morning when the mom is home, and late at night. When she leaves, they lower the metal grates over the door and window, and the room is plunged into darkness.

We crawled under the door grate and poked around in half light.

"It was like nothing I've ever seen." Here's the wonderful Sue inside the girls' home.

At the other home, the nurses who visited stopped for groceries before they visited: eggs, bread. They were glad the family, which suffers from HIV and unemployment, didn’t take offense at the gesture.

Back at the center, the air crackled with emotion and shock and relief. Some broke down in tears, others met with the directora to see what more they could do.

Mickinsie with a mob of kids, glad for the nurturing attention (and chocolate cake!).

What more turned out to be a simple cash donation.

The center had an unexpected water bill of $600; the group had an unexpected surplus of $200, which they decided on the spot to donate. (The nurses had gathered boxes of medical supplies from Project Cure, and planned on paying the airline $30 to carry each box. They got a donation from the Colorado Nurses Association to cover the cost; but when they arrived at the airport, the fee was waived because it was a humanitarian mission.)

They were delighted to find a simple, direct need to meet.

Center is Paula, the directora of the center, holding the donation from the nurses to cover the water bill.

“It’s been an absolute joy to be down here,” said Maria, another mom.

Have I mentioned how great the nurses are? How great the director is?

Nurses measured all the kids before they saw the visiting pediatrician, who's also Pablo's brother.

And, now to what else they did that day:

• Pablo’s brother, a pediatrician, came to check out the kids in the center that day. The nurses did the intake on each kid: measured height, weight, asked them age and name, then sent them into the doctor.
• The nurses donated their daily lunch fee to buy chocolate cake for the kids, and themselves had pizza.
• They played for a long time with kids of all ages.

Ecuadorian people are so affectionate and warm...

Volunteering is a precarious business: some days you know that you can’t even begin to tip the balance toward good: better nutrition, safety and security, clean water, healthcare. And then some days, you touch someone directly, make a difference in their lives, and feel the power of the direct connection to human life.

The nurses, so warm and caring, so eager for human connection, forged bonds in instants that will last a lifetime. In such a short time, they left a wake of good will, improved health, medical supplies — and so much more.

Gracias to everyone!

One of the wonderful host moms of Chile

So many of our volunteers who travel to Chile come back and rave about their experience; we thought we should let you see how much United Planet’s Chilean Country Coordinator, Paul, raves about the volunteers.  Here’s what he had to say…

What’s the best part about your country’s United Planet Quest?

The exchange of cultures between volunteers and community members.  The volunteers’ stay with our Chilean host families usually makes a deep impression on them, and leaving Chile touches their feelings.

On my way to drop off volunteers at the airport, it’s been comments like, “I know I’ll keep in contact with my family” that have been the most common.

The host families have been selected because their objectives coincide with the mission of UP, furthering international understanding.

Another amazing host family

Many of our volunteers stay in touch with their host families afterward, so this represents a permanent effect of their quest. For example, a volunteer from 2006 came back to Chile this year and had dinner with her host family.

The warmth and quality of UP’s home stay families have been emphasized in our volunteers’ evaluations.

What was your most memorable moment with a volunteer or project in the past few months?

It probably was my meeting with one volunteer, Cynthia, after her first very challenging week at 4 different schools making presentations and lunching with 4 different groups of Chilean teachers. I was holding my breath because I thought it may have been too difficult. The first thing she said to me was “thanks, it was great”

The other was when a volunteer, Micala, told me she didn’t want to go to Viña del Mar for her last week as scheduled because she had fallen in love with the kids at the daycare center in Santiago and this was the reason she had saved her money to come to Chile. I had to cancel her Viña home stay and work site, realizing Micala had the most convincing argument.

What a difference volunteering makes!

Also, most recently with the Idaho group at a daycare center where their work was to do basic landscaping and painting outside. One of the group members found some old wooden desks that had been discarded in their backyard.  He took them apart and in just a day and a half constructed a slide and a long table for the children.

He told me he just wanted to leave them with something.  The group from Idaho were very hard workers and fast learners. The Costasur project would like to continue working with UP volunteers. (Read more about the group from University of Idaho)

Can you highlight some of the projects that volunteers from UP have participated in while you’ve been a country coordinator in Chile?

Busy workers at the construction site

Project #1 Home-building

-Volunteers are in charge of building houses for the poorest peoples, landscaping, starting vegetable gardens, improving water usage techniques, and implementing alternative energy sources such as solar panels.

The most recent volunteers spent 10 days building houses with a seven-member team of Chilean volunteers. They built 3 houses and worked form 7 am to 7 pm every day.

United Planet is probably the only international organization which is allowed to participate in this project. A USA student exchange program here was rejected.

Some of the students at the school program

Project #2 Teacher assistants

Volunteers have shown their CAP presentations and helped in as many ways as the teachers requested.

Examples of volunteer tasks at this project include helping Chilean English teachers in various ways and taking on responsibilities in the classroom. Sometimes the volunteers will teach a class.  We are continuing to send volunteers to the foundation which operates 19 schools in Santiago for low-income families.

The last week in Viña de Mar was spent giving CAP talks to students in a technical school. The feedback from the schools has been very positive; they are always eager to welcome a new UP volunteer.

A volunteer with one of the Chilean children at the Rehabilitation Center

Project #3 Physical Rehabilitation – Childcare
Volunteers were asked to entertain physically handicapped children using puzzles, coloring books, etc. as they await their appointment with a health specialist.

Project # 4 Women’s Shelter

The volunteers were mostly in charge of organizing activities for the children (age 1 to 12) of the women who are staying at the shelter. This was a new site in Feb. 2009 for United Planet; we are the only organization sending volunteers here so the shelter was thrilled to receive our volunteers.

Thanks for sharing, Paul…find out more about how you can be a part of one of these incredible programs in Chile!

In August 2010 the University of Idaho informed United Planet of its decision to send a group of 13 students and two professors to build houses in Chile. The decision was a response to Chile’s devastating 8.8 earthquake in February 2010, the fifth strongest in recorded history, which had left thousands of Chileans homeless.

Idaho’s decision was not surprising. The university had been sending students on United Planet-organized group Quests around the world for the past five years, and enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the foundation.

Idaho’s Quest was divided into two separate volunteer experiences during their 18 days in Chile.  Their first worksite was a daycare center operated by United Planet’s partner organization near Viña del Mar, which provides all-day childcare to 63 children between six months and four years of age.

Lots of helping hands at the daycare center

The volunteers’ tasks included landscaping, pruning trees and painting outside gates.  The volunteers also participated in playgroup activities with the children and daycare center personnel.

On their second morning at the worksite, the volunteers discovered some wooden desks out back which had been thrown away.

On their own initiative and with the daycare director’s consent, they took apart the old desks and began constructing a slide, a long table, and refurbishing a swing set which was not being used. They went to a hardware store and bought sandpaper, screws and nails.  They dug holes and trenches to lower everything to the level of a four year old.

Constructing the swingset for the children

The last morning at the daycare, the director arrived at the site and could not believe her eyes.

Just two days before, she had welcomed the volunteers with the expectation that they would clean up the large outdoor area with its overgrown fruit trees and weeds, and make it look nicer. 

Now she was looking at a new outdoor play area for the children with a table, slide, and swings in a setting that might appear on the cover of a gardening magazine.

The volunteers’ only weekend at Viña del Mar was full of excursions and activities.  There were tours to Viña’s lush botanical gardens, a walking tour of Viña del Mar’s colourful boardwalk and arts and crafts shops, and a ride along the 44 steep hills surrounding Valparaiso included a visit to the home of the Nobel-prize poet, Pablo Neruda.

An unexpected added treat was witnessing a spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks display at midnight from Playa Amarilla beach along with thousands of cheering and festive Chileans.

The volunteers’ second quest consisted of building houses at a rural worksite seven hours south of Santiago by bus. The agricultural, coastal town of Cobquecura had been at the epicenter of February’s 8.8 earthquake, and many of its adobe structures had collapsed.

Constructing houses in the coastal town of Cobquecura

United Planet’s local partner organization had recently received Chilean government funding to build four homes for displaced families that would use anti-seismic and energy-saving technology and hopefully serve as a prototype for future low-cost housing.

The local families who would receive the houses cooked meals for the volunteers. A few more Chilean university volunteers arrived the second week and joined the group staying at the school.

At the worksite, various tasks were done by groups of four or five volunteers. A lot of time was spent on constructing the walls of the houses which were a mix of straw and mud placed in wooden frames.

Frame of house during construction

The Idaho volunteers enjoyed the multiple challenges at the worksite, and had made significant progress by the time they had to leave.  On their last night they made a large bonfire on the beach and sang songs with their new Chilean university friends.

The group arrived back to Santiago one day before their return flight, tired but happy. They enjoyed a special tour of the Presidential Palace, La Moneda, and shopping at the Pueblito de Los Dominicos, an area of 150 arts and crafts shops.

What was obvious was that they had changed. Now they felt more independent and comfortable in the Chilean culture. For example, they returned to a restaurant they had eaten at on their first day in Chile, but this time they were able to give their orders to the waiter in Spanish without any help.

What they then realized was that an inevitable consequence of their quest and their effort to help others bring about change had been a change in themselves.

The organization cites the ripple effect that each volunteer causes:

• The volunteer is transformed, and brings home the spirit of new understanding and relationships.
• The community benefits from the efforts and spirit of the volunteer.
• The volunteer acts as an ambassador for cross-cultural understanding, and helps to lay the groundwork for a “community beyond borders.”

“Each time a volunteer returns from their time in another country and another community, we get to hear the story,” says David Santulli, Executive Director of United Planet. “The person is grateful to have been welcomed into the community and to have forged important relationships. The community is proud to have supported the volunteer, and thankful for their efforts. And the spirit of understanding really does emanate from all involved.” United Planet has place thousands of volunteers in projects in over 40 countries around the world.

“It’s important to recognize that it’s not easy for anyone in the process,” Santulli says. “The volunteer travels and lives in rustic conditions, and pays for their accommodations. The projects have to find ways to tap into the skills and energies of the volunteers, while retaining their integrity and sustainability. And the organizations that coordinate these efforts have to take great care in ensuring the safety and dignity of everyone involved. But in the end, the benefits to everyone far outweigh the costs.”

"United Planet is Padrino General of the Aldea" in Cusco, Peru.

Examples of great volunteer experiences abound, and the benefits last.

First: The volunteer learns from the experience, and brings home a lifelong commitment to change, and new understanding about the world. United Planet volunteers have returned home to start new organizations aimed at supporting their projects, to raise money for new equipment and materials for schools and orphanages – and much more.

Michelle Haywood, who recently returned from Cambodia, says:  “I feel like my life is going to be so much more different now that I’ve done this – it has undoubtedly been the best decision I’ve ever made. Tonight showed me how much of a difference that I and all the other guests and volunteers make… This is really an experience that has to be personally lived for one to truly understand the magnitude of realization, appreciation and gratitude that it instills in someone.”

Second: The volunteers offer valuable services in the communities where they work. United Planet takes great care to find projects that tap into the energy and skills of the volunteers, without disrupting their essential work. These range from a Cancer Hospital in Tanzania to an orphanage in Romania to a school in rural China – and so much more.

In Cusco, Peru, many volunteers have worked at Aldea Infantil Juan Pablo 2, an orphanage that houses over 60 children. The director says “United Planet is Padrino General of the Aldea.” (Roughly translated, General Sponsor.) United Planet recently donated money to enable staff and volunteers to restore and update the buildings by painting and installing new tiles in the kitchens. “The kids, more than 60, will have a better and more cheerful environment to stay in. The local government did not repaint and maintained the houses for the 20 years that they are constructed, so you can imagine how they look like,” says Amelia Collantes Gonzales of the Aldea.

Elizabeth McKay, a medical volunteer in Peru, says:  “I volunteered in a free clinic in Cusco, where I joined the doctors and nurses in community outreach and Hepatitis B vaccinations… The friends that I made and the experiences I am taking with me will stay with me forever.”

Volunteers are just the best.

Third: The volunteers bring the best spirit of their country into other countries and cultures. While they struggle to find words and forge bonds, they are the best kind of ambassador for the idea of a “community beyond borders.”

“In an age where so much of our international strategy involves markets and weapons, it’s essential that we remember that we are all living on the same small planet,” says Santulli. “These citizen diplomats are forging bonds that can make a real difference in our world.”

Says Carolyn Rao, a returned United Planet Volunteer: “United Planet provides an invaluable service to both the Quest countries and the U.S. The friendships fostered on the Quest leave a lasting impact. On my Quest I was welcomed to help at the hospital and assisted as a mid-wife. The experience I gained in the medical field would never have been possible in the U.S. and I was able to help people while I learned.”

When the sunrise over the snow-capped Andes welcomed me to Chile, I knew I was in for a truly humbling and life-changing experience.  I was not disappointed.

As it had rained the night before my arrival, the normally smog-filled skies of Santiago were crystal clear.  I was able to capture photographs showcasing the natural beauty of the sprawling metropolis.  With each picture that I took, I was reminded that I was far from the flat plains of Indiana.

In Santiago during the first week of my quest, I traveled to my English-teaching assignment with my host sister, Elizabeth.  Every morning she would guide me to the “colectivo” station (shared taxi) which we would take to her school.  At her school, I worked with two English teachers who were responsible for teaching English to pre-kindergarten students through seniors in high school.  As a teacher in the United States, I observed that these teachers have a heavy teaching workload.  In addition to preparing for several different classes, these teachers also moved from room to room, carrying their teaching materials with them.  This is very different than the middle/high schools in the United States where the students usually change rooms. Also, my assigned school had only female students, thus giving me a different perspective on classroom dynamics.

The children I worked with were wonderful.  Some were very hesitant to speak English to me while others wanted to practice as much as possible.  I was fortunate to help some high school students with an oral presentation about their future careers.  The drive and motivation of these girls really impressed me.

For the second week of my quest, I traveled to Valparaíso.  I gave CAP presentations to students at a technical college who were studying English.  As I spoke, many students smiled and nodded.  I could tell they were learning something, which as an educator made me feel like I was making a difference.

During my two weeks in Chile, I was fortunate to live with two remarkable families.  Both of my host families opened their homes, hearts, and cultures to me.  They were so patient, really trying to slow down their pace of spoken Spanish so I could understand them.  I will always be grateful to them for their kindness and compassion.

My host families introduced me to Chilean foods and customs.  I grew fond of having “almuerzo” (a large lunch) and then later in the evening having “once” (a small meal).  They introduced me to “completos” (hot dogs topped with avocados, tomatoes, and mayonnaise), “sopaipillas” (fried bread but different from the Mexican version), and eating avocados on toast for breakfast.   Being that it was late fall in Chile, I learned that in order stay warm, wearing layers of clothing, including several pairs of socks, worked the best, as most Chilean homes and schools do not have central heating.

Throughout my quest, the generosity of the Chileans and the pride they have for their country instilled a sense of awe in me.  Whenever I needed help, such as getting the right seat on a bus or finding my way back home, someone was always there to help me.  Whenever I was introduced to someone new, he or she always spoke lovingly about his or her city and welcomed me to it.  I was lucky to be in Chile as they prepared for the World Cup soccer competition.  From commercials on television to merchandise being sold on the street, it was evident that Chileans are proud of their “fútbolistas.”

In short, every day in Chile was an experience I will never forget.  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to travel there.  I am honored to have learned so much from so many wonderful, loving people.  A sunrise welcomed me to Chile, and a magnificent purple sunset over the Andes bid me farewell as I entered the airport for my journey back to the United States. Even though my quest is over, part of my heart will always remain in Chile.

Is your interest piqued? Visit our website to start planning your Chile Volunteer Quest!

“What’s the biggest animal in the world?” asked Mr. Roly. “The whale or the elephant?”
“The monkey!” shouted a little indigenous student.
“It’s the whale,” smiled Mr. Roly amidst the ingenuous laughter of her classmates. “And where do whales live?”
“In the water!” cried the entire class. “Correct. Whales are the biggest creatures in the water. So what’s the biggest animal on land?”
“The monkey!” shouted the same little girl.
“It’s the elephant,” smiled Mr. Roly between another wave of laughter from the class.
“And where do elephants live?” “In the Yungas!” (a region in Bolivia where elephants definitely don’t exist—not even en zoos.)

This is what classes are like in “Jesús de Machaca,” a small town located in the plateaus near the border between Bolivia and Peru. The villagers here are “aymara,” the same race as the current Bolivian president Evo Morales. It’s a pretty isolated town, with hardly 600 inhabitants under the rule of the local authorities. The daily routines here embody the typical lifestyle of the Bolivian country-dweller, characterized by the lack of internet, transportation, supply of water and electricity, and variety of diet (normally consisting of nothing but potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes). In addition, many students must make a daily trek of two hours in order to arrive at their closest schools. For those of you who don’t know much about the Bolivian education system, the students down here only go to school for four hours per day. This means that many of them spend as much time getting to their classes as learning in them. It doesn’t surprise me that many parents simply choose to utilize their children as additional hands in farming and cattle raising instead of sending them to school.

The Bolivian education system has never been known for its quality, especially in the countryside. I once taught an English class that couldn’t understand “My name is Clarke, what is your name?” after six full years of previous English classes… Thanks to my great Polish friend Alexandra, I had the amazing opportunity to start working in this tiny village yesterday. I’d been volunteering for two and a half months as in La Paz (the capital of Bolivia) and El Alto (the capital’s neighboring city of chaos), and although I’d been working In projects with great people, these projects simply weren’t fulfilling my aspirations. The project coordinators only gave me trivial work that could be completed by anybody who cared to take the time and do it, making me feel like I was completely wasting my time while I could be contributing so much more with my talents. I decided to embark on my gap year because I wanted to widen my knowledge of our vast world and forge a more complete worldview through volunteering in places that desperately needed help… and I didn’t need much time to reach the conclusion that La Paz wasn’t one of those places. The city was already full of foreign volunteers, and while some of them were certainly doing great work with street children, La Paz really didn’t harbor that many homeless people — especially for a city its size.

After nearly three months of working in La Paz, I just couldn’t stand the feeling of uselessness within me. The simple truth was that I wasn’t doing anything to make a positive impact on the societal situation. All that I was doing was losing motivation and becoming a lazy bastard. In short, I wasn’t taking advantage of my amazing gap year opportunity to experience and help out our vast world. This situation simply had to change. So one day an idea suddenly appeared in my head: “Why don’t I start working with Alexandra in her project in Jesús de Machaca? I remember hearing that new volunteers were always welcome.” I didn’t need to think about it much — immediately I knew that it was the solution that would save me from my utter lack of inspiration. I don’t know how I knew; I just remember that I felt the same certainty as I did when the brilliant idea of deferring my college entrance entered my head.

I decided to follow my intuition back then, and as a result I’ve experienced some of the best moments of my life throughout my fascinating travels. Obviously, I had to follow this same intuitive feeling one more time. I’ve only worked in Jesús de Machaca for two days, so it’s still too early to reach conclusions about my change of working environment. However, what’s certain is that I’ll definitely get the chance to live a truly “Bolivian” experience during my stay here in this tiny village, watching videos about whales and elephants alongside little indigenous kids who’ve only seen a world with llamas, cows, and sheep…
 
Intrigued? Read more about Clarke’s experiences on his blog or plan your own gap year in Bolivia!

One of the most recognizable peaks on the Panamerican highway, Cotopaxi, has been calling to me ever since I arrived in Ecuador. Literally meaning “neck of the moon”, it is the world’s highest active volcano and stands at a mighty 19,347 ft above sea level. For a while, I had entertained the thought of trying to summit this beast, but my lack of technical skills involving crampons and ice picks convinced me to scale back on my ambitions. Hence, Sunday found me and a few friends on a guided trip up to the snow line and around the national park.

On a clear day, you can see Cotopaxi’s snow-capped peak from Quito. Unfortunately, Sunday was not a clear day. Oh well. Onward and upward we went in the bus through the entrance to Cotopaxi National Park and to the parking lot, where we would start our ascent to the base camp at 16,400ft. The wind was howling and icy rain was pelting us from all sides as we trudged along the path covered in volcanic ash. With the fog closing us in on all sides, it felt like we were on another planet. Certainly not Ecuador, since it seemed pretty strange to be seeing snowflakes so close to the equator. Even though I’d been hitting the gym pretty frequently, it was still difficult to breathe at that altitude.

We finally reached the Base Camp refuge after an hour of hiking and were treated to lunch and hot tea. Everyone in our group was soaked and freezing, but we sat around the table animatedly swapping stories and sharing travel tips with fellow volunteers and other backpackers from a handful of countries around the world. I think everyone was secretly relieved when our guide told us that the visibility was too poor to continue our hike up to the glacial line. Instead, we scrambled back down to the parking lot to pick up our bikes and zoomed down to Laguna Limpiopungo, about 8 miles away. Freezing hands aside, it was a great ride and once we emerged from the clouds there were some spectacular views.

It’s amazing that a country as small as Ecuador can have such diverse landscapes; the sparse vegetation and craggy mountains were a stark contrast to the lush cloud forest and humid coast that I enjoyed the other weekend. Sometimes I forget that I’m living in the Andes mountains, and this trip served as a reminder of what an amazing part of the world I’m calling home for a few more weeks.

To read more about Olivia’s time in Ecuador, follow her blog. Want to plan your own trip to Ecuador now? Visit our website!

Shopping at the expansive indigenous market in Otavalo!

Nariz = Nose. The kids at the Villa Tica preschool in the inner city loved learning English and singing songs

Guanábana juice, a new favorite!

Some of the kids and I goofing around after our hard work in putting on an ‘Espectaculo de Navidad’ at the Villa Tica

To plan your own Ecuadorean adventure, visit our website!

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