Hummingbirds!

            Today some of us woke up early to go to the hummingbird sanctuary early, at six. We saw a ton of hummingbirds and two toucans and snapped a lot of pics. We came back for breakfast and then the rest of the group joined us to return to the bird place. After being there twice, I’d say I got a solid 500 pictures of hummingbirds. We split into groups to go find a place for lunch. Callie, Michael, Sarah Jane, Clara and I went to a restaurant that was a little out of our budget, so all we got was rice and milkshakes. Needless to say it was delicious! After a quick photo uploading session we split into groups of three to wander around the town and take pictures. Clara, Madeline and I wandered around the back streets and snapped some quality photos. After our urban photo shoot our leaders surprised us with a chocolate making expedition! I basically live for chocolate, so this was very exciting. We saw how they make the chocolate from cacao beans and got to help make fondue. It was really delicious and I definitely ate more than my share. We literally sprinted back to the hotel to be able to make it to the restaurant in time for dinner. At dinner we were served a whole fish each, which Bailey and I had a superb time dissecting. Cutting the head off and looking for the brains was fun! I discovered that fish eye and fins actually taste pretty good. After dinner we went on a night bug hunt, where we found a “toilet paper” leaf and a couple of spiders and cockroaches, which are surprisingly smaller than Texas cockroaches. 

Butterflies!

This morning Sarah Jane discovered how slippery the floor was while wearing socks. We had a photography lesson and then went to a butterfly sanctuary to take pictures. A truck picked us up and we all rode in the back. The road has a lot of potholes, so it was quite bumpy. We snapped a lot of good butterfly pics and got to hold them on our hands and faces. I stalked the blue morpho butterflies, following them around and trying to get a good picture of their wings. After our butterfly photo shoot we walked across the street to the river to go tubing. We rode in a giant raft consisting of nine inner tubes tied together in freezing cold water and it was so fun! I tried out my waterproof camera for the first time and luckily, it worked! We got back to the hotel and tried out the hot tub, fitting 11 people in it at one time-lets just say it overflowed a little. Tonight we ate at an Italian restaurant and the nine kids ate 38 pieces of pizza, taking advantage of the familiar food. 

Ecuator

Yesterday we left Quito for Mindo. On the way to Mindo we stopped at the Equator, where we took pictures standing in two hemispheres. There were also llamas!!!!!! There was also a bug museum where we saw huge beetles and spiders and other big bugs. We got to hold Hercules beetles and some of us freaked out a little (Sarah Jane literally cried). It was really funny especially when Sarah Jane dropped it and the pictures were priceless. The rest of the drive to Mindo was really pretty as we descended into the cloud forest. Later that day we had our first photo critique by Massimo. He gave us a lot of helpful tips! 

Bienvenidos!

We have arrived in Quito!

After a five-hour flight, we finally got in around 9:30 on Wednesday night and were greeted by our two National Geographic guides, Taylor and Sam. Pizza awaited us back at the hostal, and it was delicious! The next morning the owners of the hotel cooked us eggs, which were really good. Overall the food has been great, except for some difference between the Mexican chorizo that I was used to and Ecuadorian chorizo. Lets just say Bailey and I won't be ordering sausage the rest of the trip. We had orientation in the morning and then went to climb a mountain in the afternoon. A gondola took us up part way, so it sort of felt like we were about to go skiing. Once we got there we hiked up even more, reaching 12,000 feet. I had Kilimanjaro deja vu hiking at such a high altitude and getting out of breath so easily! The views were fantastic and there were a bunch of pretty horses that made for great pictures. That night we went on a night tour of Quito with a very enthusiastic guide who claimed to be the devil. His translator counterpart was a little less into it, and the contrast was funny. This morning I woke up around 4 oclock, no idea why because I was pretty tired. This gave me plenty of time to wait for the sunrise and think about pictures and stuff. A little later we went a two hour drive to the market in Otovalo. The touristy market was full of cool stuff to buy, like an llama sweater! I got one that has llamas all over it, it's kind of weird and I look like a hobo but I love llamas so it's worth it. We also wandered around the local market and got a lot of good shots of produce and cool foods. We tried a couple of berry things that had a weird texture but were really yummy. So far the trip has been a blast!

NGSE Trip!

We're about to leave for Ecuador and the Galapagos!