DSC_0377Today was a fun day, literally it was called Fun Day. It was even more fun than Pete and Carson’s fun day. This morning our alarms didn’t go off, so we were abruptly woken up at 6:38 am and needed to get everyone else up at 6:45 am, so that was a super start to our day. The boys decided to not play any pranks on us when we woke them up, so that was a plus. We then sat down to our second to last breakfast and got ready for the really great day ahead. After checking everyone’s backpacks to make sure they had an extra change of clothes, we got on the bus and all took a nice 2 hour long nap. When we heard the word “snack” we all shot up from our slumbers and enjoyed some chochos and tostados (aka beans and corn). As we finished our snack, we looked out the windows to see that we were surrounded by waterfalls. We finally arrived at our destination, a town called Baños, after 2 hours of sitting on the bus. We started our trek through the Amazon towards the waterfall Pailon del Diablo. After changing into the clothes, that later got soaking wet, we hiked a little further to get a closer look at the beautiful waterfall that took our breath away. Everyone decided to go under and get completely soaked, which made the 2 of us very happy and proud. The experience would not have been the same if everyone did not participate. Luckily, we all had a change of clothes and were extremely grateful for them because it was extremely cold.

DSC_0332After our nice, cold shower, we changed into our warm, comfy clothes and walked across a bridge that had the most amazing view of the waterfall that had just drenched us. We took lots of pictures and ate our lunch from a box altogether on top of some rocks that overlooked the waterfall and river below. After lunch, we hiked back and bought some cool souvenirs for us and our family members. Next, we got back on the bus and headed toward Baños. Not the bathroom, but the town that was named for its thermal springs. In Baños, we spent some more of our parents’ money on meaningless trinkets and we also took some pictures with some locals who found us intriguing because we are foreign. After, our adventure in the town of Baños we headed back on the bus for another exciting 2 hour ride to San Valentin, the restaurant we dined at for dinner.

Before we sat down to dinner we had roughly 20 minutes of free time so we again walked around the city of Riobamba. We took it all in because we knew it was the last time we would all be walking around together in the place that turned all of us strangers into a family. The dinner was amazing and everyone ate their entire meal, most likely because it was burgers, quesadillas, pizza, and French fries.

 

This is Danielle by the way: Today we all learned the importance of not taking anything for granted. Yes, we have thought about that every day, but today felt very different because it was our last full day in Ecuador together. It has been nothing less than spectacular creating life-long friendships that will never be broken. This has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It has helped me gain self-confidence and a new sense of self. My perspective on the world and all of the different, yet amazing people in it has completely changed. I now understand that there is a great big world out there and the only way to have my perspectives change about it is to experience it hands on. I have never met such a genuine, kind-hearted, thoughtful, intelligent, and funny group of people in my entire life. I cannot wait to keep in contact with all of them and hear all about their amazing goals and accomplishments because I guarantee that each and everyone of us will be apart of changing the world. Shout out to RB1A you  guys may not always be with me physically, but you will forever be in my heart.

Its Carling now: Today we learned that no matter how uncomfortable situations may seem, if we do things together as a group it won’t be as bad and it will actually be more fun. It was sad for us to all think about how it was our last day on this amazing trip, so we tried to not think about it as much as possible. Throughout this trip I have learned so much about myself and have met some of the most genuine people that I have ever met. The friendships that I have made are ones that will stay with me forever and the memories that we have all created will stay in my heart forever. I have also gained a better appreciation for the world around me and have a larger respect for nature, I am so glad to have met all of these people and had these experiences, these have been the best 2 weeks of my life.DSC_0380