8
Location: Amazon to Quito
It was the final morning of pulling your tired eyelids apart at 5:45 in the humid Amazon environment. Us Lifeworkers quickly packed our bags and checked for any lost belongings before eating our last meal at the Ecolodge. Yogurt and granola; simple, yet memorable. We boarded the boat and tears dripped down my rosy cheeks as I waved to Maricio, my guide throughout the five days. The boat slowly floated away from the land. I think that we were all sad to leave: all the snails found, all the friends made, now just held within our memories and possibly some cheeky photographs. The best thing is though, is that we have all become close and our bonds continue to grow stronger and stronger, and for some reason, we feel like we have known each other for months whereas it has only been just eight days.
On two different boats and for 3 hours we made our way back to Coca, a small Amazonian town. This is where we said goodbye to our dear friend Hector the Protector. He was a brilliant host and gave us care and respect as his guests in the Amazon. We then boarded the small plane back to Quito, a mere 45 minutes plane ride, and most of us were able to sit next to each other luckily. Once we had arrived back at the hostel, we were given a rare treat from the instructors — our phones. Mira’s eyes gleamed in pleasure as she unpacked her life-companion that she hadn’t seen in a week. All of us were able to contact our parents, but the question is: did we? Only you know if you talked to him or her I hope. Luckily for us, we could relax for the rest of the day, playing competitive games of basketball, kicking around a football (soccer ball, sorry, I’m British) and even tossing a frisbee to each other. This was our most relaxed day so far which I think was very rejuvenating for the whole crew. Finally, most of us went to bed quite early for the next exciting day ahead of us. Overall I think that this day was not the most exciting but surely very helpful for our tired minds and sore muscles. Sorry for the long wait for this wonderful blog post; I know you enjoyed it.