At our final hotel in Ecuador, Sachi, Sami, and I had a bit of a cockroach problem while staying in Puerto Lopez. It was unexpected but once again, I felt myself being desensitized by all of these bugs that I used to despise. Anyway, we started Wednesday morning with a hike at Machalilla national park…

After a crazy and exhausting adventure deep into the Amazon rainforest, we took it easy for the next few days, relatively of course. Sunday, May 14th, was Mother’s Day so we all made sure to call our moms and catch them up on everything that happened when we had no cell service. We also worked…

Trying to put the last few days into words feels impossible. I learned so much about the world and myself, I just feel privileged to be able to experience it. On Thursday, May 11th, we went deep into the Amazon rainforest, traveling 70 miles by a motorized canoe, which took about 5 or 6 hours….

Tuesday, May 9th, we left Quito in the early morning. It was a sad goodbye, but I was excited to start exploring the rest of the country. Our first stop (of many) was a summit of around 13,000 feet. My lungs were struggling to adjust to the extremely high altitude, but the views made it…

Our second full day in Ecuador, May 8th, was filled with new experiences and new friends. We woke up early to go to a rose farm called “Jet Fresh Flower Grower,” where we were immediately greeted with a sign that said, “University of Pittsburgh,” which made everyone happy. After walking through many rows of roses,…

On May 6, we finally made it to Quito after two flights and a long bus ride. The altitude was already affecting me after the first night, but thankfully it got better after about a day. Despite how tired we were, the whole group decided to go to a restaurant close to the hotel at…