Community Service Ecuador & the Galápagos 2015

Here’s our group at the Charles Darwin Research Station!

This post was written by students: Jack and Max. The group traveled to the Islands’ famous Kicker Rock today for the best snorkeling experience of our trip. The first snorkeling group saw hammerhead sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, blacktip reef sharks, and Galápagos sharks. Meanwhile,…

This post was written by students: Niki and Sam. Though our walk to Tortuga Bay beach was a little long, particularly since we were carrying our surf and boogie boards, the journey was totally worth it. For many of us, this marked our first time…

This post was written by students: Brendan and Eric. Today the group split into two groups: surfers and hikers. After consulting with one another, the hikers decided to take a three-hour trek to Sierra Negra. The hike itself was rather easy, and even though it…

This post was written by students: Dominic and Elif. Our first full day in the Galapagos was packed! We started at the tortoise breeding center, where we saw different different kinds of tortoises of all different ages. After lunch, we split into two groups of…

This post features student writing. After an amazing time in Iltaqui, we arrived at a beautiful hacienda near Cotopaxi National Park. We were greeted with much needed hot drinks (it was snowing!) and settled in for the night next to a fire. We spent the…

This post features student writing. Our last day in Iltaqui ended with a goodbye celebration! We all participated in a traditional dance, speeches were given, gifts were exchanged, and a lot of food was eaten. All the girls dressed up in Iltaquian clothing and the…

This post features student writing. We started our day at a wood carving village, where we explored, ate good desserts, and enjoyed checking out various wooden sculptures. It was cool to see the intricate detail put into each piece of wood. Afterward, we ate lunch…

This post features student writing. Today we experienced a traditional spiritual cleanse at the house of a local shaman. We learned about medicinal plants and the rituals the locals perform for special occasions. At the end we were each cleansed, which involved reciting Quechuan phrases,…

This post features student writing. We began our day at the daycare, where we completed the painting project that we started last week. We painted an alpaca, fruit, and more! Once we completed the painting, many of us worked on our independent projects. We made…