Farewell from Ecuador!
June 20, 2024
Hello family and friends of EGP 1A,
It’s hard to believe that our two weeks together have come to an end. We are truly grateful for the time we spent together, and thank you all for sharing your special people with us! These two weeks will stay in our hearts forever!
Since our last update, we have had some serious adventures! We awoke on day 11 to a yummy breakfast of toast, eggs, fruit, and the BEST pineapple juice you’ve ever tasted. We then hopped in the van and headed to the highlands of the island, where we hiked the Sierra Negra Volcano! We were met at the trail with an insane change of scenery. We felt like we were really in the thick of the jungle! We were surrounded by green everywhere. It was magical! We had great trail conversations, and the girls even serenaded the group a few times. The top of the volcano wasn’t like we expected! Apparently, the lava flows from fissures in the ground instead of exploding from a big hole at the top… it was still a crazy feeling standing at the top of a volcano! We sat for a “volcano appreciation moment,” as our guide likes to say! We ate some yummy plantain chips (we’re all obsessed) and sat for a few minutes in silence, in awe at the beauty around us and taking in the opportunity we had. The hike down was just as fun as the hike up! Bailey, Izzie, and Eleanor led the group down the mountain, and their laughter and smiles were infectious! If you’re in need of some good vibes, you know where to go! We were all so hungry after our hike and were met with a delicious lunch! The food here has really been incredible. Always fresh, always YUMMY!! We then enjoyed some much-deserved rest time and played a round of “What Do You Meme?” before heading out to play soccer with the local kids! It was so sweet getting to meet the kids of Isabela Island. They were so kind and so fun to play against! While the kids were basically half the size of our crew, they were a formidable opponent! Izzie took the first stab at being team goalie… she crushed it! Following our soccer match, we went straight to the basketball court where we took on yet another local team. Let’s just say that Team America handled themselves a little bit better this time around. Although the court was a little slippery, we were still able to get up and down the court. After we finished up the basketball game, we got a picture with both of the teams that we faced and were gifted necklaces from the local kids.
After our sports adventure, we headed to a nice beach-side dinner. The vibes were immaculate. Our night ended with a snack party—think chips, Oreos, wafers, chocolate! We found a cute little lizard friend, Jorgito, who hung out with us for a while. Trip befriended the little guy and entertained everyone with lizard facts! We had an awesome Moonup led by our LODs, Sage and Isabel! They helped the group get vulnerable, and we really opened up to each other.
Our last full day of activities was one for the books! We woke up early for our last activity—surfing!!! We jammed out to some music on the way, then our awesome instructor, Davíd, taught us the how-to. The girls went in the water first—they all wore matching rash guards and absolutely killed the waves! Caroline gets an honorable mention—she gave the biggest surfer queen vibes and was crushing every wave that came her way! While the girls enjoyed the waves, the boys had a little dance party on the beach. Vibes were UP! The water felt awesome, and we had the most insane views! There’s nothing like taking a moment to appreciate life when you’re surfing in the Galápagos Islands! After the girls took a spin on the waves, the boys headed out. Trey was gifted the shortboard because of his beach hometown status—he was totally giving surfer dude energy! George also deserves hype for being the one to stay in the water the longest! He was determined and had the best energy! After we got out of the water, we headed to the beach where we listened to music and enjoyed being with each other! As we were about to head to the van to go to lunch, we saw a little sea lion pop his head out of the water! The best goodbye after an awesome few weeks in Ecuador. We then headed to lunch, where we enjoyed one last meal on Isabela Island!
After lunch, we hopped on the ferry to head back to Santa Cruz. Most of the crew slept the whole boat ride, and as soon as we arrived, we started prepping for the banquet! The girls and boys switched wardrobes and had a blast all pretending to be each other! And then to our final banquet dinner… it was a special night! We enjoyed one last (real) meal together and just loved being together. It was a special night, and we really treated ourselves with a nice meal to celebrate our two weeks together. After dinner, we walked around Santa Cruz and shopped for some souvenirs to remember our time by! Some even got gifts for their wonderful families 🙂 After a final walk around town, we headed back for our final Moonup in the Galápagos before flying out the next day. Smitty and Collin, our LODs, had the group reflect on the lessons they learned throughout our time together. To end, we listened to “Linger” by the Cranberries, a special song of the session.
We really want to thank all of you for trusting us with your people. They made the first session truly memorable, and it pains us to see them go! Our group is filled with some of the kindest, funniest people we know, and we are so lucky to have spent the last two weeks together. Give them a big squeeze for us—we will miss seeing their awesome faces every day!
EGP 1A is signing out for the summer. Thank you all for everything! Write, call, FaceTime!
Love, George and Bess
Hola from the Galapagos
June 17, 2024
We have had the best time in the Galapagos! We cannot believe that our time together is coming to a close, so we’re soaking it all in as much as we can!!
Since our last update, we have had so many adventures! The morning of day 8, we packed our bags and hopped in the car to the highlands of the Galapagos! Our guide, Martín, told us that it was a special activity as almost no tourists get to go to the highlands of San Cristobal. The highlands are a truly special place. When we arrived at the farm, we were told that there was a baby calf, who was an hour old, waiting to greet us!! The timing was so special! We got in small groups and got to visit the mama and her brand new baby. Izzie could not stop gushing over how cute she was!! After paying the cows a visit, we got to explore the farm. The first stop was the chicken coop! We saw some baby chicks, and then our guide told us we could try to catch and hold some of the chickens! Everyone was running around trying to get their favorite one. Bailey definitely caught the cutest baby chicken… We then headed to learn about the different fruits that the farm grows. Trip LOVED getting to taste the different fruits!! Our guide then explained to us that the purpose of the farm is to try to produce off of the land in a more sustainable way. He told us how they make gas to use for energy, which then led us to our next activity: collecting cow manure to create sustainable energy! While it may not seem like the most glamorous activity, our crew had a great time. Everyone took turns doing different tasks and their team work really made us proud. After helping out at the farm, we were met with an incredible homemade meal. But first… the spiciest pepper any of us had ever eaten! We were each handed a red pepper, which we were told were spicy, but believe me when I say none of us knew the adventure we were in for! We did the customary cheers: arriba, abajo, al centro…. And then down the hatch! It took a few seconds for the spice to kick in before we were all running around looking for water, sugar to help with the spice, anything! I can’t really describe how funny the scene was, so you definitely need to ask for the video evidence! Caroline seemed to handle the heat much better than her leaders did, who had boiling tears streaming down their faces. While it was a shock to the system in the moment, everyone was quickly belly laughing at the whole situation. It was definitely one of those moments that all of us will look back on and laugh at for the rest of our lives! Then we said goodbye to the highlands of San Cristobal and hopped on a ferry to Santa Cruz. Everyone got some much needed sleep on the boat ride over! That night, we explored our new island (which is the most populated island in the Galapagos!). We ended our night with a nice dinner outside. The weather was beautiful, the conversations were great, and the food was delicious! When we got back to the hotel, we discovered it had a roof top pool! We all spent some time together up there (it had GREAT vibes) and then had a wonderful Moonup. We all talked about the most impactful lessons we have learned in life. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
Our second day in Santa Cruz was one for the books!! We started the day with some banana pancakes before heading to see the giant tortoises!! Our bus ride to the tortoise sanctuary featured lots of singing (ever heard the song Unwritten???!!). I think none of us expected the amount of wild giant tortoises we all saw! And they were HUGE. We arrived at the center, got ready for our walk, and then headed out into the natural habitat. Our guide, Martín, gave us the run down on the lives of the tortoises. Did you know they can live up to 170 years old?! We were all also surprised to hear that they can float! After walking around, posing for some pictures, and learning more, we headed to lunch. It was one of the best meals yet! After that, we headed out to Tortuga Bay for some beach time! We enjoyed a nice walk to the beach where we spotted a marine iguana chilling in the mangroves! When we got there, everyone jumped into the water – it felt AMAZING! Then, the boys set up some foot races on the beach. Sage cooked everyone in the first few races! George got his focus on and came back to win in the last few races! We soaked up our last few sun rays on the beach before packing up. We had a nice little walk back from the beach where Trey and Izzie entertained people with riddles! The next morning, we set sail and made our way to Isabela Island, our third stop in our Galapagos path. Eleanor was so brave and decided to sit in the back of the boat with our guide, where the waves were splashing into the seats! Once we got there, we went straight to the bay for our third, and final, snorkeling session of the trip. No matter how cold the water got, there was no way that Collin was getting out of the bay while we were snorkeling. While most of the group was getting ready to dry off, Collin was still swimming and tracking down 5 eagle rays at once on the sea floor! That evening, we had a beach picnic to close out the amazing day. Smitty and Isabel didn’t miss a lyric while we sat on the beach and watched the sun go down on the beach. From Noah Kahan to Fleetwood Mac, they knew all of the songs while we took in the breathtaking sunset.
As we spend our last few days together, we wanted to extend our gratitude to you for giving us the opportunity to get to know your kids. They had some thank you’s to share as well!
Isabel: Hey guys! Miss y’all so much! Thanks for sending me on an awesome trip. Happy father’s day Dad. Hope you got my card! Love you!
Bailey: Hey mom and dad! Having so much fun on this trip. Thanks for sending me! Happy Father’s Day dad!
Izzie: Thank you guys so much for giving me the opportunity to go on this trip! It has given me a new perspective to look at things! Love y’all! Happy Father’s Day to the best dad ever, love you so so much! See y’all soon! 🙂 <3
Caroline: Thank you so much for the opportunity you gave me to be able to go on this trip and all of the experiences that come with it. Happy Father’s Day! I hope you have the best day ever. Eat a QT pretzel for me 🙂
Smitty: Hey mom & dad! I miss y’all so much and I’m having a blast. Happy Father’s Day dad! I love you.
Eleanor: Miss you mom and dad! This has been awesome and happy Father’s Day! I love you dad you’re the best ever.
George: thank you mom and dad for sending me on this Moondance trip! I’ve had so much fun snorkeling, horseback riding, and hanging out with my new made friends. Happy Father’s Day dad! Love y’all!
Sage: thanks mom and dad for allowing me to go on this trip! I’ve been having a lot of fun and I’m excited to see you guys! Also, happy Father’s Day dad you’re the best dad ever. Love, Sage
Collin: Dear mom and dad, I’m having a lot of fun snorkeling, horseback riding and hanging out in the Galapagos! I miss you all and will see you soon. Happy Father’s Day, I love you a lot dad. You’re the best dad.
Trey: Hey guys, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to come here. It’s been the best two weeks of my life. Tell Biggie and Suggie I say hi. Happy Father’s Day dad, you’re the real OG.
Trip: thank you guys so much for taking me on this trip! I’m having a lot of fun. Happy Father’s Day dad, you’re the best!
Hello from Ecuador
June 14, 2024
Hello family and friends of EGP 1A!!
We have had an absolute BLAST with this group over the past week. Our adventures started in mainland Ecuador, where we first explored a hummingbird sanctuary and some hot springs! We learned that some humming birds flap their wings up to 80 times per second! We sat in the warm springs and bonded, playing name games and getting to know each other! We didn’t want to leave the hot spring – it was like a day at the spa!! George C. enjoyed practicing speaking his Spanish and was KILLING it!! After a great day, the group sat down to enjoy a yummy pizza dinner – the perfect first day with the best group! The next day brought even more adventures. We woke up and hopped on the bus and headed for Cotopaxi National Park. If you haven’t been, put it on your bucket list for sure!! There is no feeling like the one you get when you see the largest active volcano in the world for the first time… and then when you ride horses right next to it. We felt like cowboys, and rocked the ponchos they gave us! It was truly breathtaking, and a real out of body experience. Trey spent the ride snapping some awesome pictures, and kept reminding us of how lucky we all are to be spending these two weeks in Ecuador. We spent the night in Baños, and enjoyed some yummy ice cream.
The next day was truly the adventure of a lifetime! We started our journey to see some waterfalls on a traditional, open aired bus! We blasted music and sang our hearts out while driving past some of the prettiest views. Bailey and Izzie brought the energy, dancing to every song that came on! Then, our bus pulled over next to a canyon, with the prettiest waterfall. We all took a turn riding a cable car across the canyon and over the waterfall. The rest of the day featured some more spectacular views, waterfalls, and even a swing off the edge of the world! That night we had some Salsa Dancing lessons. It was definitely a group favorite! We learned some awesome new moves – be sure to ask everyone to perform when you see them! We started off with some basic moves, but then got to add a little pizazz into our moves as we got better. At the end of the lessons, Smitty and Trip were crowned the salsa king and queen of the night! They looked like naturals. We then enjoyed a wonderful dinner, and some more dancing. We laughed like never before!
The next day brought zip line adventures! We got to zip line across a canyon, then did a little rock climbing over a river to our next zip line! It was an incredible time. We then headed back to Quito and ended the day with a soccer game! Sage was the king of defense, and everyone was scared to go up against him!
We woke up on the morning of Day 6 and hopped on a flight to the Galapagos! We were all stoked to get off the plane to a warm breeze and sunny day! We were welcomed into the Galapagos with delicious lemonade and pizza, before heading out for our first snorkel. As we were walking down the path to the beach, we were stopped by a marine iguana! It was wild seeing an animal that we had all talked so much about being excited to see. And then we arrived at the beach! Sea lions EVERYWHERE! A few of them even posed for us as we took pictures! We have quickly all come to realize that sea lions are our new favorite animal. They are so playful in the water, and will come right up and swim next to you! It was truly the greatest welcome into the Galapagos that we could have gotten! We ended our first night with a wonderful sea-food dinner next to the water. Trey kept the group captivated with his incredible story-telling skills! We ended the night with Moonup by the water, and watched the sea lions go for a night time swim before heading to bed.
The next day brought a hike and then some more snorkeling! We took a boat in the morning to a little spot where we spotted lots of different animals, including lava lizards, more sea lions, and even the blue-footed-booby!! We were all super excited. We then hopped in the water, where we saw our first sea turtle! He was just swimming along, until we saw a playful sea lion come up and swim with him! It was the cutest, coolest thing EVER. Anywhere we went, the sea lions followed. They even blew bubbles in some peoples faces! We took a little break from snorkeling for lunch with an ocean view, where we got sushi and burgers, and freshly squeezed juices! Our next snorkeling spot brought even more turtles and sea lions, a sting ray, and even a puffer fish! After snorkeling, we all went and got got ready for a cooking lesson! The menu was ceviche, bolon, empanadas, and guacamole! Isabel, Caroline, and Collin were in charge of the ceviche and absolutely CRUSHED it! It was a major hit, and their time and energy certainly paid off! Eleanor spear-headed the bolon, a traditional food made of plantains, butter, and cheese, and kept the energy high as we all cooked! After dinner, we went for ice cream, and watched a huge colony of sea lions settle down for the night as we enjoyed our treats! We ended the night with a wonderful Moonup, where we all shared small moments in our lives that have had big impacts. We think that these two weeks might be one of those short times that sticks with us forever.
We are so blessed to be with this group, and can’t believe that we are already halfway through the trip! Thank you for sharing your wonderful people with us!!
We’ll check back in soon!
George and Bess
Safe Arrival in Quito!
June 8, 2024
Hello Ecuador + Galapagos Families!
We heard from our leaders overnight that all of the students arrived safely in Quito and their trip is off to a great start! We are so excited to hear more stories from their adventures over the next few weeks!
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
