Making Great Memories in Ecuador + the Galapagos!
July 14, 2024
Hello EGP 3A families!! We have had the BEST first week. We couldn’t ask for a better group to finish out this summer with. From the mountains of mainland Ecuador, to the beautiful beaches of San Cristobal in the Galapagos, George and I feel blessed to spend our last few weeks in this magical place with this group. Thank you for sharing them with us!!
Our group arrived on night one and immediately hit it off. We spent the whole first night playing card games and devouring pizza. We had our first Moonup where the group shared what brought them on this Moondance trip. We knew from night one that the next two weeks would be unforgettable!!
Our first morning arrived, and we headed out the door for our day of adventures! Our first stop – the hummingbird sanctuary! We listened to some of our favorite songs on the bus ride there, and got pumped up to see some wildlife! The hummingbird sanctuary was SO cool. We got to see so many different types of birds – hummingbirds with long tails, short tails, all the different colors! We got to walk down from the sanctuary to the river after learning about the birds. It was like a whole different world! From the hummingbird sanctuary, we travelled to Papallacta Hot Springs. The pools are heated naturally from the volcano nearby! Picture the perfect weather for a hot pool, surrounded by beautiful green mountains. It was honestly perfect, and the group got to really bond and get to know each other. We all shared our spirit animals with each other while relaxing in the water. Everyone also decided to try the freezing cold plunge – it’s supposed to make the hot spring feel better! We had some brave souls – it was FREEZING! After our hot springs adventure, we treated ourselves to a nice traditional lunch of empanadas, rice, chicken, and fries! YUM! The perfect meal to welcome us into Ecuador! After lunch, we headed back to Hosteria San Carlos where we had some pool time and then competed in a big game of soccer! We assigned everyone a number, one through eleven (for counting off purposes for the next two weeks), and split the teams between evens and odds. Our game was intense… we were head to head for the first little bit, with George as the goalie for team even and Bess as the goalie for team odd. It didn’t take long for team odd to get in the lead…. And then win by a landslide!! The game was so fun – everyone was into it. After our big game, we decided to treat ourselves to a second night of pizza (yum again). We walked to a cute little pizza place and shared food fun and fun stories. Our after dinner entertainment, though, was really one for the books. We got into an hours-long riddle party. We went through almost every riddle under the sun. Andrew and Hunt were especially into the games! He wouldn’t rest until he figured out every single one, and kept asking for more! Black Magic was definitely a favorite, and had the whole group laughing. It was one of the best nights, and it really felt like we were starting to become a little family!
Day 3 was horseback riding in Cotopaxi National Park! I think it’s safe to say that it was a hit. We packed our bags that morning, loaded the bus, and drove to see the tallest active volcano in the world. There’s only one word for that first look at Cotopaxi: breathtaking. There’s snow covering the top, and we even got to see it releasing volcanic gas! Absolutely crazy. Riding was an absolute blast. We bundled up in our ponchos, looking amazing, and traveled into the park on our horses. Drew was especially into it, naming his horse “Big Bessy,” and wouldn’t stop talking about her for days after!! Cotopaxi is one of the most beautiful places we’ve been – volcanos surrounding us, a stream that makes it look like it’s out of a fairy tale, and the most beautiful rolling hills. We all couldn’t stop talking about how much fun we had.
We hopped on the bus after horseback riding to head to Baños, but made a quick stop at everyone’s new favorite spot: SUPER POLLO! Truly a must-have for those traveling to Ecuador. I think it’s safe to say that everyone loved their chicken nuggets and fries. We then hit the road again for our final leg of the road trip to Baños. That post-Super Pollo bus nap hits DIFFERENT!
Night one in Baños was spent at a rooftop restaurant with some good food, and lots of card games. We got super into the game “Spoons” while waiting for our food to come out. Lots of laughs here! But we couldn’t end the night there. We went to get ice cream, but the place we went to had ice cream with cheese! Marin was the ice cream’s biggest fan and kept raving about how good it was!
The morning of day 4, we woke up to a yummy breakfast of waffles, fruit and eggs. We walked outside, expecting our normal bus to take us to the activities of the day, but instead were greeted by a Chiva! The open-aired bus blasted our favorite songs as we headed up the mountain to see some sick views. Our first stop was an insane lookout over the whole town of Baños. We were on top of the world! We then hopped back in the Chiva and headed to the swing off the edge of the world! We enjoyed cheese empanadas and the swing and a little zip line! It was perfect.
We spent the afternoon exploring Baños, getting some souvenirs, and enjoying each other’s company!
That night was SO fun! We headed to Parque Aventura for salsa lessons! We learned all of the steps, and everyone looked like complete naturals. Phillips showed up to the lessons decked out in new sunglasses, a funky hat, and a brand-new jersey. He had a whole new vibe!! We danced our hearts out before our final competition where we crowned the salsa king and salsa queen: Dean and Blythe!! They absolutely crushed salsa dancing and looked like professionals doing their victory salsa! We were then treated to a buffet feast of everything we could ever want!! Meats, veggies, potatoes, plantains, empanadas! We finished our night out with a dance party before heading to bed to get ready for our last day in mainland Ecuador!
We finished out our time on the mainland with Parque Aventura’s zip lining! Our first zip line went straight across the river. We flew across and into a little canyon with the river roaring below! It was surreal. We then traversed across the river again on a little ladder, which led to a climbing section before finishing on one more zip line. Our adrenaline was working overtime! It was crazy!!
We then headed back to Quito to get ready for our flight to the Galápagos Islands! Our night in Quito was filled with more soccer, volleyball, and a great last dinner.
The morning of day 6 was filled with anticipation for the Islands. We were ready for some sun and the beach!! Abby was especially excited, and got the group hype for the next section of our journey together! Our travel day was a breeze with this crew. We braved the early wake-up to head to the airport and before we knew it, we were in San Cristobal, the political capital of the Galápagos Islands! The first step off the plane onto the tarmac brought instant smiles. The sun was out, and the Galapagos were welcoming us!
We celebrated our arrival with a pizza party (arguably the best pizza ever). We then went to pick up our snorkel gear for our first snorkel of the trip! We saw so many sea lions on our walk. They are everywhere!!!
Our first snorkel was AWESOME!! We almost immediately saw a sea turtle. And then, sea lions!! They are so playful. It feels like they want to be best friends with us. We couldn’t get enough of them! One was playing with a buoy and it was so cute!! Evan L. And Claire get props for being the last ones out of the water – they loved being out there and spent the last few minutes making some awesome vlogs, so stay tuned for those!!!
We enjoyed a sunset dinner and chowed down on some fresh sea food. So good!! The vibes were high. This crew knows how to laugh. Everyone then spent the night playing cards and hanging out before getting ready for our next full day!
When we say day 7 might be one of the best days of our lives, we mean it. We woke up early to get ready for our first snorkel and hike. We hopped on a nice boat that took us out to a little island off of San Cristobal! It was full of frigates, blue-footed-boobies, and sea lions! I think it’s safe to say that we all loved the blue-footed-boobies. We saw some of the males competing for the females’ attentions, and it had to have been a highlight! It was like watching a reality show, except with birds that don’t talk. We had some good laughs. We then saw the cutest little sea lions, and lots of little baby birds! And baby iguanas! So many animals, you wouldn’t believe. We then hopped in the water for some snorkeling. What started off with a normal snorkel ended with us swimming with at least five or six sea lions. They were so curious about us, and were playing all around us. They seemed to follow us wherever we went! They were swimming next to lots of fish, sea turtles, and even a sting ray! It was one of the crazier, most fun snorkels EVER!
One of the most special parts of the trip was the boat ride back. The captain of our boat thought that he spotted a humpback whale in front of us, but as we got closer we realized it was a dolphin. And then another one, and another one. Soon, it seemed like there had to be at least a thousand dolphins surrounding our boat. They were jumping, playing, swimming in our boat’s wake. We were all in disbelief. There was a rainbow above, and it was just one of those moments in life that you can’t believe are real. We were all smiling so wide. Our snorkel after lunch was another great one! We saw lots of sea lions again, they just love us!
Dinner was incredible. We headed out after our day of activities to our cooking class! We made some amazing food. Vivian absolutely crushed the ceviche – she was in charge of “cooking” it with the lime and did a fantastic job! We also had cheese empanadas (a big hit), guacamole, and plantains. Evan B. told us he hates bananas and was hesitant to try the plantains because they looked so much like them, but tried it and said they were surprisingly okay!! The group kept cheering him on, so props to Evan for trying them! We had to finish out the night with ice cream, of course! The best end to the best day.
Thank you so much for sharing this group with us! We couldn’t ask for a better group of people to close out the summer with. We can’t believe we are already a week in, and are doing everything we can to make time slow down!!
Adios for now,
George and Bess
Shoutouts:
Vivian – Hey mom and dad!! I am having so much fun! My favorite part of the trip was horseback riding and snorkeling! I miss you guys so much!
Evan L. – Hi mom and dad!! Miss y’all so much but I’m having so much fun with all the activities and new friends. Love y’all!
Marin – Hi!! Having the best time on my trip! I loved the snorkeling and we saw much much! I miss you guys so much. So many new friends!
Blythe – Hey guys! Miss y’all so much and am having so much fun! We saw so many sea lions. Love y’all!
Claire – Hi! Hope y’all are having fun on your trip. I’m having so much fun snorkeling and horseback riding. Miss y’all <3.
Abby – Hey fam! I miss y’all but I’m having the best time! We’ve seen so many sea lions and sea turtles! I love y’all and I will see y’all so soon.
Drew – Hi! I hope y’all are well. I am having a blast. I miss you guys. Love, Drew
Phillips – Hello mom and dad. I miss you guys but I am having a blast. I love sea lions. From, Phillips
Hunt – Hey mom and dad. I saw a massive sea lion. I am having a blast and miss y’all very much. See y’all soon. Love, Hunt.
Evan B. – Hey mom and dad having a great time but miss you guys. Got to play soccer and see sea lions!
Dean – hi mom and dad. I miss you guys but I’m having a great time. Give Marley kisses for me. Love, Dean.
Safe Arrival in Quito!
July 8, 2024
Hello Ecuador + Galapagos Families!
We heard from our leaders last night that all the students have landed safely in Quito and the group is headed to their first activity! The trip is off to a great start and we can’t wait to share more updates from their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next two 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
