Hola!

Today was the day we have all been waiting for: Fun Day! We started it off with a 6:30 wake up call and a delicious breakfast provided by the La Primavera kitchen staff (thank you Ivan and Newton). At around 8 we began the two-hour bus ride to Baños, a beautiful city filled with exquisite biodiversity and several cascading waterfalls. Although the ride may have been long, we pumped up with some good music (thanks to Anette’s speaker and downloaded music!) and enjoyed the lovely view of the Ecuadorian mountainside. Thank you to Don Fernando for getting us safely through that thick fog along the way!

Our first stop was a small waterfall on the outskirts of downtown Baños. Most of us seized the opportunity to take pictures in front of the breathtaking backdrop. When we returned to the bus, Jonathan had a long-awaited surprise for us all: Cholas!! As we finished three bags of fresh baked Ecuadorian desserts, Don Fernando drove us to the main destination of the day. All the Glimpsers were given the rare opportunity of walking through a rainforest filled with roaring waterfalls, suspension bridges, and butterflies (Mariposa was one of our Spanish words of the day!). The bridge – although terrifying for some, including me – gave us an incredible view of the valley below. We then had the chance to take pictures directly below the waterfall. I can not say everyone managed to stay dry but, when do we ever have the opportunity to be soaked by fresh water falling from the Ecuadorian mountains?!

After this adventure, we returned to the bus and went back into the heart of Baños to enjoy a lunch provided at Restaurant D’Antonio. Yet another delicious meal to tide us over for more fun activities to come. Once we were all finished with lunch, we visited another smaller waterfall and took a quick walk through the main church in Baños – it was quite a spectacular building. We then had a chance to explore town and buy some souvenirs. Most of you blog readers can look forward to receiving some gifts in the near future! 😉 After our exhausting, but very fun day in Baños, it was time to go back to Riobamba. Lucky for most of us, we had a two-hour bus ride to take a long-awaited nap. Back at La Primavera, we finished the day off with a fantastic meal and nightly meeting. Now the Glimpsers are enjoying a movie and awaiting lights out. What a fun packed day!

With nature being a key component of our adventures today, a theme we focused on was patience. This was inspired by our quote of the day from the one and only Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Adopt the secret of nature: Her secret is patience.” During last night’s nightly meeting we talked about the significance of this quote as being a reminder to live in the moment and take a breather from the rapid speed at which we tend to go through life. With this quote in mind, we made sure to soak up (no pun intended) the beauty of nature and enjoy one of our final days with one another.

As Leader of the Day today, I loved to see all the smiles on each Glimpsers’ face as we experienced yet another day filled with unforgettable opportunities and fun. After all of our hard work with CAP delivery yesterday, it was nice to take a well-deserved break and absorb the gorgeous Ecuadorian mountainside. I think I’m speaking for all of us when I say, this was a day to remember!

All my love,

Liv

Shout out to everyone at home! I miss you all and can not wait to see you!!

All of us standing next to the waterfall! Thank you Hannah for the great pic!!

LDD Liv standing in front of the waterfall, cheesing hard. 🙂

The group walking to the church in Baños. Look at that beautiful building!

A group pic in front of the Baños sign – quick pit stop on the way to lunch.

Our GGLs, Gaby and Anette, taking a quick nap on the way back to La Primavera. Sweet dreams!! (Peep Mi and Kami photobombing in the background).

Family portrait!

The girls posing in front of the waterfall, all smiles.