Final Trip (written 10 days before posted)

The last trip was through most of the larger cities in the Andes Mountains. All 150 exchange students came to my city, Guayaquil, and there we had a Rotary event with all the Rotarians who could come from all cities in Ecuador. We all came in with our flags in order of countries, a few exchange students made speeches or little presentations about their experience in Ecuador. 

Lake in National Park Cajas

standing on ancient ruins

The next morning we took off to Cuenca, than Riobamba, Banos, Quito, Ibarra, Cotacachi, and Otavalo. All the cities are in the mountains and beautiful in their own way. At each city we would go to the typical tourist attractions, like the line of the Equator in Quito. We spent a lot of time in the bus traveling, but nobody really minded because it's always fun when your with 150 of your friends.

rainbow over Cotopaxi Volcano

Hanging with llamas after having
a lunch made of them. 

My favorite day was when we were staying in Ibarra, which is a little city 1 hour north of Quito, and we took a day trip to Lake Cuicocha. It looks like a GIANT crater that was made in the mountains that got filled in with water. It was so beautiful, and we got to hike to the top and look down on the lake. The hike was really hard for all the kids who are living in cities on the coast like I am, because of the high altitude change! 

Volcano Cotopaxi

On the last day we went to Otavalo, which is another little town next to Ibarrra, and there is the biggest market i've ever seen. They say that you need at least 5 hours to see everything. All markets in Ecuador receives their goods from Otavalo, and when they arrive, they raise the price, so Otavalo is the place to go to get the cheapest things! On the last day we had to say goodbye to everyone who isn't from our own cities, because people started to leave Ecuador a few days after the trip ended. When everyone was leaving we would take out our flags of Ecuador and everyone would go around signing them, sort of like yearbooks at the end of the year. That day was the day that it hit most of us that the year is actually ending, because we are so used to our life and schedule here, it seems strange that we have to leave it all. 

at the top of
Lake Cuicocha

My friends from Germany
and I standing on the line
that separates the 2
hemispheres