Day 11
Today was definitely more laid-back after all the adventures from the past few days. We still woke up at our usual time, and right after breakfast, we painted the ceramic pots we made earlier in the trip. Our instructor actually cut a piece of Maddie’s hair so we could use it to make paintbrushes, which was so funny and something I would never think to do. Mine didn’t turn out amazing, but I’m excited to bring it home and use it as decor in my room.
After painting, my group-Emi, Alex, Christian, and I—worked on our final presentation, which was a business plan to expand the BIOS chocolate company. Once we wrapped that up, we had lunch and headed to the town of Misahualli. This place is known for the wild monkeys that just roam around freely. It was crazy how comfortable they were with people, but I definitely kept a safe distance. Emi and I split a chicken quesadilla at a pizza place while the others got slices, and then we walked around and did a little shopping before heading back to the lodge. Once we got back, we had dinner and just had a chill night hanging out in the hammocks and talking.
Day 12
Today was our last full day here and I’m not ready to leave. There wasn’t much scheduled during the day, except for our presentations in the evening. My group spent the morning putting the final touches on our project, and once that was done, we had the rest of the day free to relax. I started packing and it hit me that our time here was coming to an end. It was definitely bittersweet.
At 5:00, we kicked off our presentations. Our group did really well, and it was super interesting to hear what the other groups had been working on. After that, we showed our 60-second recap videos from the trip. It was emotional seeing how much we’d experienced in such a short time. After dinner, we went into the town of Tena for one last outing. Some people got shawarma, others got milkshakes, and we all just enjoyed being together. It was the perfect way to end our time here.
Day 13
Today was all about making our way to the airport, with a few stops along the way. First, we visited the cloud forest where we did a short hike. Everything was super muddy and people kept slipping, but we were laughing the whole time. The views were totally worth it.
Our next stop was a hummingbird reserve. We ate our tuna sandwiches there and then got to hold little tubes of sugar water so the hummingbirds would land on our hands. It felt so weird but magical at the same time. After that, our guide took us to a beautiful man-made waterfall. A few of us hiked all the way to the top. It was steep and kind of intense, but the view made it so worth it.
Later, we stopped at a roadside market with tons of food vendors. I got a plate with chicken kabobs, rice, and lentils, which hit the spot. Our final stop was at a restaurant with a mini tree forest and the cutest alpaca ever. We hung out there for a bit before finally heading to the airport.
I honestly can’t put into words how grateful I am for this whole experience. Being in such a beautiful place with such amazing people has been life-changing. Thanks for following along with my blog. I’m going to miss this place more than I can say.
