Live and learn. Learn and live. While we have only been in Ecuador for 4 full days, I feel like I have made enough memories for a lifetime. Today (May 11), we hiked in the Amazon. This hike, however, was not your typical hike in the woods. It was a 6.48 mile hike through thick trees, a deep river, thorny bushes, slippery stones, and waterfalls.

Equipped with tall, rubber rain boots, our team sloshed through the Amazon river filled with unexpected ditches, sharp, muddy rocks, and quicksand. At one point, the majority of us lost our balance and had a near-death experience. This might be a slight exaggeration, but for the 45 seconds that my feet could not reach the bottom of the river, my hands were slipping off of the rocks, and the powerful current was sweeping me away, I felt as though drowning was inevitable. Thankfully, we had not only each other’s backs, but we also had two Ecuadorian guides who were trustworthy and knew how to lead us through the tricky, dangerous path.

After approximately 6 miles of jumping over logs, swimming through the murky, brown, Amazonian waters, and avoiding water spiders bigger than our palms, we reached the end of our journey. We climbed up a steep cliff for what seemed like hours, until the sunlight began to peek through.

Aside from all of the obstacles put in our path, we bonded as a group. There is something unique about attempting a dangerous mission and struggling to the finish line as a team. We trusted each other and depended on one another. By the end of our journey, we were all drenched, muddy, exhausted, and bruised. But we were glowing. We were bursting with energetic smiles and had developed a newfound appreciation for each other. I believe that our adventure through the Amazon river helped us bond on an entirely new level. We saw each other at our “worst” but chose to stick together regardless. I know that this unity will only strengthen for the rest of our time in Ecuador.