The following post features student writing.

Hey there, this is Jonah to fill you in about our weekend adventure. After leaving our community of Chilcapamba on Saturday morning, we went to a cozy lodge near the Cotopaxi Volcano and National Park. After we arrived in the afternoon, we relaxed and sat by the warm fires enjoying canelazo, a traditional hot tea/drink of Ecuador. Sunday we woke up early in the morning to hike near Ruminahui Volcano and go to Chusig Machai, a cave known for being a owl habitat. Luckily enough, we got to see two large owls living in the cave. We had a box lunch of chips and sandwiches while listening to the owls´ calls and hoots. We then hiked back to our waiting bus — overall hiking for about four hours and reaching nearly 13,000 feet! We were lucky to witness spectacular views of Cotopaxi Volcano which stands at 19,437 feet. The snow-capped/glacial volcano was beautiful!

After the hike, we were all pretty exhausted so we rested and after dinner watched a movie on a projector screen. Monday morning we woke up early again to go horseback riding in the surrounding area. We suited up in traditional chaps and ponchos, and rode for about two hours. We had a blast and were happy to have the extra protective gear because it was quite cold! After that we had steak for lunch (mmmm), and packed all our stuff into the bus to head to Tababela which is near the Quito airport.

I´m currently watching much of the group play soccer surrounded by a beautiful sunset, as we await the arrival of our pizza and Galápagos airport rep who is part of Galakiwi. Galakiwi is our adventure guide company while we’re in the Galápagos. We leave for the airport extremely early tomorrow morning. We´re all super excited for our next adventure, to see amazing animals and enjoy the beach.

– Jonah