Wednesday, May 20th, was a much needed slower day. The night before, we had finally returned from deep in the Amazon with the Waorani tribe. The journey back was long and exhausting, filled with canoe rides and bus rides, but somehow we all made it back in one piece. What I didn’t make it back from unscathed were the bug bites. I completely underestimated how many I had gotten, and the nonstop itching was becoming impossible to ignore.
That morning, Nora and I struggled to pull ourselves out of bed after such an intense few days. We eventually made our way to breakfast with the group before spending the morning preparing the clay bowls we had crafted earlier in the week for painting. We smoothed the edges with stones so the colored clay paint would adhere more evenly. During some downtime afterward, I worked on a new blog post and continued editing the Ecuador promotional video for the competition the following day.
Later in the afternoon, our bowls were finally ready to paint. I decorated one with a flower and the other with a fish, and I was genuinely proud of how they turned out. We left them to dry so they could later be fired properly. That evening, we all gathered for dinner, tacos this time, before heading into Tena for the night. Singing and dancing together created some of the happiest memories of the trip, and it felt special to simply enjoy each other’s company after everything we had experienced together.
The next day, Thursday, May 21st, was our final full day at the lodge. We shared breakfast together one last time before packing our belongings and collecting the bowls we had made. Later, we visited Wayta Chocolate for a chocolate tasting experience. Rain poured steadily throughout our tour of the property, but it only added to the atmosphere. We learned about the fermentation process cacao seeds undergo before becoming chocolate bars, and hearing how much care and precision goes into the process made me appreciate chocolate in an entirely new way.
When we returned to the lodge, we spent time drying off and relaxing after being caught in the rain all morning. During the afternoon, I finalized the promotional video I had been working on for the competition and finally submitted it for judging. I was beyond excited when my video won. I had poured so much effort into it, and while I was incredibly proud of my own work, everyone’s videos were genuinely impressive and reflected how meaningful this experience had been for all of us.
That night, we shared one final dinner together before celebrating the end of the trip. A live band played incredible music while we danced, laughed, and tried cultural drinks served in the bowls we had created ourselves earlier in the week. It was the perfect ending, joyful, emotional, and unforgettable.
Friday, May 22nd, was officially travel day. We woke up early, packed our bags, and waited for our bus, which arrived hours late after getting stuck because of a landslide. Thankfully, our flight was not until midnight that night. The six hour bus ride back to Quito felt long, though we stopped for lunch along the way before finally arriving at the airport around 7 p.m. We grabbed dinner, checked our bags, and made our way through security. The overnight flight felt endless, especially since I barely slept at all.
We had a short layover in Miami, where I grabbed Einstein Bros. for breakfast and said goodbye to the group flying back to Pittsburgh. It was bittersweet realizing our time together was officially ending. Soon after, I boarded my final flight from Miami to Philadelphia, and somehow that one passed by quickly. Before I knew it, I was hugging my mom and trying to tell her every detail of the trip all at once.
Looking back, the pictures truly do not capture what this experience meant to me. I made memories I will carry for the rest of my life and formed friendships with people I now deeply cherish. I would recommend Plus3 Ecuador to anyone willing to listen to me talk about it for hours. Beyond the incredible places we visited, this trip challenged me, pushed me out of my comfort zone, and taught me invaluable skills, especially adaptability. More than anything, it changed the way I see the world. I am leaving Ecuador not just as someone who visited a new country, but as a traveler eager to continue exploring with curiosity, gratitude, and a deeper appreciation for different cultures. I am ready to continue my sightseeing as a traveler, not a tourist.