Gap year & Travel News

The team with their Andean family

How can the first 3 weeks have passed so quickly! It’s hard to believe the Team’s first phase in the Andes is finished. As for the work they got done in Chilcabamba, the guys had a really good (and tough) first two weeks of digging holes and mixing cement….which has made for good bonding! They worked on three different projects with the community over the two weeks, which mixed it up a bit.

How low can you go?

Firstly they helped a local crew dig some enormous holes at the school for the new toilet block, which was completely finished in the time that they were there so the kids will be super happy with this group! The little kids at the nursery are also very happy with the group because once they were done at the school they worked with a crew on completing the toilet block there. It was started by previous Leap groups but it was these lucky guys that got to finish it off. They also spent masses of time playing with the kids – so the children are feeling happy!

Team Leader Sofie

Kids on the slide in Chlicabamba

The rest of the time there they worked with a group from the community who are trying to complete the Community House (at the moment it is just a frame). The volunteers dug out trenches around the building for foundations, laid stones and mixed concrete. According to Sophie, the centre is looking really good already. The community are now really excited to finish the stone walls and construct a garden.

Working on the garden

The guys did such a good job that they finished work a day early and got the last day off to relax. Alfonso took them on a long work through the neighbouring Andean towns and then all of the community came out to thank them at a special presentation where each of the volunteers was given a bag that the women in the community had made. The community president gave them a speech of thankyou and told them that due to their hard work, the community had reached a level where they could now ask the government for a bit of extra help (you need to have done a certain amount of work on your own before you can get government assistance), which will really go along way to helping them complete their community centre!

Thanks to all the Leap groups that have been there and contributed to projects at Chilcapamba!!

Trekking to an Andean waterfall on the weekend

Hanging around on the (actual!) Equator.

This weekend the guys have a free day on Saturday so they are staying an extra day in Otavalo then heading back to Quito in the afternoon. On Sunday we are all going to Mitad del Mundo and then on Monday we are going to the Guayasamín museum in the morning and they have a Spanish class and salsa class in the afternoon. On Tuesday we head off to the Rainforest phase in Búa…phew!

More updates coming soon : )