I wanted to let you all know that tomorrow I will be starting my new volunteer project with an organization in Quito that works with underprivileged youth. I'm really excited about it and I will have some pics up from the school and of the kids as soon as can. Here is an excerpt from their website that tells what the org does. If you guys feel so inclined you can make a tiny donation of their website and support the project that I will be working of for the next 3 months.
Foundation Ñeque y más Ñeque benefits children and adolescents at risk in the El Comité del Pueblo neighborhood of Quito, Ecuador, South America.
The word ñeque originates from the Quichua word ñiqquiy ormuscle. A person with ñeque is one who is strong and courageous, one who perseveres through difficult times. And this is the objective of Foundation Ñeque y más Ñeque, to strengthen the resolve and resilience of the children who participate in the program so that they may successfully overcome the difficult situations they face every day.
I know it’s been a while, but I thought that I would take the time to update you all on what’s been happening since the last blog post.
Last weekend I went to the nearby town of Mindo for the weekend. It’s only like a two hour bus ride and you guys will NEVER guess how much the bus tickets cost. They were only $2.50 you can’t even take a taxi a few blocks in NYC for that, let alone a 2 hour bus ride!
Once we got there, we asked a few locals where the best place to stay on a budget was and they recommended La Casa de Cecelia. We checked it out and it was super cheap, only $6 a night! The owners were really friendly, it was a nice place with hot water and we each got our own room.
Saturday morning we got started around 9am with breakfast at the hostel and then we went into town to purchase our tickets for the days activities. We decided to go hiking to see the numerous waterfalls in the area with was only $5 and it included a ride over the canyon in a basket on a wire, it was really awesome and I got some great pictures (see below). The hike took about 5 hours but it was really fun and we even got to go swimming at the last waterfall, it was super cold but awesome!
Next we went zip-lining down the mountain from where were hiking. They had 13 lines that you could zip down for $13! If we did the same adventure it would cost like more that $80 per person! It was AWESOME and we even got our own private guides for the tour. They had a variety of lines from fast to slow. The best part is that we were zipping from one mountain to the other through the canyon and it was absolutely beautiful. It was really had to take pictures while I was out there, but I did manage to snap a video that I’ll post on here as well.
Overall, It was a great weekend with great friends and best of all it wasn’t too expensive! There are plenty of other activities that you can do in Mindo such as repelling down the waterfalls, take exotic bird tours, ride ATVs, butterfly exibits and the wild frog concert. I would definitely like to go back there before I head home.
I’m starting my volunteer project this week so you guys will get to see some pictures from the school that I’ll be working at when I get time to update the blog again. That’s all for now,
