The following post features student writing.

Hola! This is Zach and Maya. Yesterday we had an exciting day in Otavalo. On the way there we stopped at the equators—apparently there are multiple verisons of the equator…who knew?

We also visited a Condor Reservation and were able to see a vast variety of birds including a bald eagle.

Later, we went to China Town for some high quality Chinese food. It was a good time and bonding experience.

Today we went to the Otavalo Mercado and negotiated some prices with the locals. We used our Spanish to save money and it’s safe to say we did well.

Then we went on a hike to a waterfall and it was not small. Then we had lunch and ate chicken soup and lentils and rice. Also of note: We have seen an absurd amount of stray dogs. Don’t worry, though, because we have avoided touching them.

We are writing this on our way to our host village, Iltaqui. We are excited to start the next step of our trip. ¡Hasta luego!

– Zach C. & Maya L.