10
Location: Galapagos to Quito
Today we made our way from the Galapagos back to Quito. We took the time this morning to reflect on the last ten days that we have spent together. It’s hard to come on these trips with expectations because you never really know what it’s going to be like. Looking back, the Galapagos was everything we wanted it to be, and so much more. Even from the very first day, when we casually saw sea lions laying on the dock to the giant tortoises in the Darwin Center, the wildlife we saw fulfilled our hopes and visions.
It was really hard to envision what the service projects would be like before coming on the trip. Collectively, our favorite service project was the removal of invasive species. We all went into this particular service project thinking we would be pulling weeds. However, we ended up having to de-root invasive tree species (some six feet tall!). Other days, we split up into groups. While one group painted desks at a local high school, the other cleaned the turtle enclosures at The Darwin Center. Throughout these projects, I think that we can all say that even after only a few small projects, we felt ourselves making a big and noticeable difference in the local community.
After safely arriving back in Quito, we started packing for the Amazon and the Andes. We were all pretty tired and couldn’t wait to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we start our adventure to the Amazon Rainforest. For most of us, this was a place that we have dreamed of going since we were children. We can hardly wait!