I have never seen as many unique species as I did yesterday during our trip to Isla de la Plata. Our day started with an exciting boat ride from the town of Puerto López to the Plata Island. If you are someone who gets seasick, this boat ride would have been the bane of your…

After leaving Tod’s Lodge, we hopped on the road to the airport for our in-country flight from Quito to Manta. We were about halfway through the 4-hour bus ride when we suddenly came to a halt. This arbitrary stop lasted for a few minutes before we all began to wonder, “what is going on?” Because…

A 2 hour bus ride and 3 hour canoe ride later, we arrived at the Waorani’s tribe remote village in Gomaton, an area in the middle of the Amazon rain forest. When I say remote, I mean completely isolated. There was no service or electricity, and barely any running water. We were greeted by 10…

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…

After our tour at the Bios Chocolate factory, I had eaten enough chocolate for a year! I had also gained useful knowledge about not only Bios but also the Ecuadorian chocolate industry as a whole. Bios is known for its fine-flavored chocolate. Fine-flavored chocolate has secondary flavors that depend on where the plant grows. For…

Our first day in Quito, Ecuador was an exciting, adventure-filled one. We pranced around the cobblestone streets, bought all the things we never knew we needed at outdoor markets, learned about Catholicism and Quito’s chocolate production, and absorbed the best views that Quito had to offer. What resonated with me the most was the Iglesia…