As I stood in the ridiculously long immigration line in the Quito airport, I had time to reflect on our action-packed trip. Everything I learned, accomplished, and experienced in such a short amount of time cannot be explained in words – thus explaining why this “reflection” blog will be a short one. Talking with our…
Tag: Lucas Almena-Lee
Into the Waorani Nation
The past few days we went off-grid into the Waorani Nation: an Indigenous group in Ecuador that is fighting to save the rainforest from the threat of mining and deforestation. To get there, we took a 6-hour canoe ride down the river. I made the mistake of not wearing a shirt and got absolutely beamed…
Jurassic Park
Today was life-changing. I felt like I was in the dinosaur age as we swam through the Napo River; but prior to that, we started with another classic 8 a.m. breakfast. I wasn’t feeling my best, probably due to the lack of sleep and the intense activities from the night before, but the French toast…
I am Tarzan
As I come closer to the end of my second day in the rainforest, I am starting to feel like Tarzan. I woke up to the first real view of the jungle during the day, and I honestly don’t know how to feel, as I am still trying to comprehend what I am seeing. The…
The Next Stop
Day 2 started with another unnecessary early morning breakfast without coffee, but I’m starting to accept that I will not be sleeping. I had my regular South American breakfast, coffee with bread and egg(s). Today’s plan was straight up CHOCOLATE. We had a scenic 2-minute walk into the city plaza where we went to the…
Day 1
Our first day in Quito was full of new experiences and mind-blowing views. We started the day off with a 8am breakfast after missing a whole night of sleep the day prior. It was chill, though; the South American coffee made up for it. Our first visit was a church that we walked into mid-service….
Ready for Ecuador
My name is Lucas Almena-Lee, and I’m super excited to travel to Ecuador in a week. I was born and raised in Shelburne, Vermont, and I’m currently studying Finance and Business Analytics. At Pitt, I’m a part of Panther Equity, Alpha Kappa Psi, and the first ever Pitt Poker Club (coming soon). My favorite pastimes…