Hey everyone, my name is Callie and I was leader for the day. Today we woke up at 7:15 and walked to Roma Santa for breakfast. Our lovely Isobel made us a delicious meal to help us have energy for our fun day where we hiked in a forest called Polyepis and drove up the beautiful Chimborazo volcano.

Next we loaded onto the bus driven by the amazing Don Victor and headed up to Polylepis, which was a beautiful, yet exhausting to reach, forest. It is one of only two in the world where the polylepis tree grows. We had many people slipping and sliding due to the rain and rocks, but don’t worry none of your children were hurt during this hike! Even though there was fog, lots of wind, rain, and it being colder than a New England winter, I’d say it was a very fun day. The view from the top wasn’t as amazing as we thought it would be due to the fog but we still took some fantastic photos and had a blast.

Then, we got back on the bus drenched in water from the sleet, wind, and rain to make our way over to Chimborazo. We had many kids feeling sick from the altitude and cold, but we all supported and helped out one another. Once we drove up the mountain for a while, we were finally able to get out and look at the spectacular view of the mountain. We took many pictures of Chimborazo and with us in front of it. Being so close to the point of the earth that is closest to the sun was unreal. It was definitely an unforgettable moment with unforgettable people.

After our two exhausting and literally breath taking hikes, we got to take a two hour power nap as we headed back to Roma Santa for lunch with Isobel. Her food was very much needed to help get us ready for our CAP project. We ate incredibly fast since we were an hour and a half behind schedule. Once we got back to the hotel, we scrambled around to get ready and make sure everyone had a role, the sad part was only the boys had time to shower.

Our CAP presentation went perfectly as planned and we got all three ideas approved! Starting on Tuesday we will be renovating a garden, painting a basketball court and soccer field, as well as creating a beautiful and inspirational mural for the children at a local school. Even though we had some disagreements, we all put them aside and thought about the children and how it would help them. We finally got to shower and have some much needed down time after our busy day.

Afterwards we walked over to dinner at Roma Santa where we had pizza! There were many smiles and happy feet as we enjoyed the delicious meal and danced together after it. We all were feeling much better after the naps and showers. Today we learned three very important things: drink water, wear sunscreen, and have fun! We were also taught to be grateful for where we are and what we are doing. Even though we all wanted to change put of our wet clothes, take showers, and be warm, we got to experience something that comes around only once in a life time with people we will never forget. Today I got to have the best day ever with my Global Glimpse family, and I will always keep that memory in my heart.

Good night to all the friends and family reading this. Love Callie 🙂