Gap year & Travel News

Hi everyone in chilly England…just to warm you up we thought we’d let you know it’s a sunny 27 degrees here in Ecuador! Sofie the team leader has been in touch to say that the team are getting on well in Caimito, their final phase (how has it passed so quickly!?) and they  seem to [...]

The Leap’s partner in Ecuador is Yanapuma, an NGO (Non-Government Organisation) based in Quito. Yanapuma Foundation is an Ecuadorian and UK registered charity working together with local and international partners to bring about lasting change for the people of Ecuador. Here’s a glimpse at their 2009 Annual Report by the lovely Andy Kirby, Executive Director: [...]

It’s newsletter time again! Our Ecuador hosts, the amazing Yanapuma Foundation are a grass-roots NGO (Non Government Organisation) with some fantastic projects to support. Catch up with the events of the last two months at Yanapuma Foundation and Spanish School here. To join the Ecuador team and directly support Yanapuma in 2010 click here.

Hola all from sunny Otavalo! We´re living it up this weekend blowing cash on indigenous wear. There are alpaca sweaters, hats, gloves, carpets, gourds, and nic-nacs galore. Needless to say, my Christmas shopping is taken care of. Our first week in Chilcapamba was my best week in Ecuador. All of the kids are super great; [...]

Surprise! We have internet that´s only a 20 miute walk from our pueblo. We´ve officially made it and are settled into Chicapamba. It´s awesome here. I never thought that it would, but rain makes me super happy here; it´s so much like home!! We´re high up in the Andes living the life, though. We´re building [...]

It´s amazing what sleeping in and a hot shower can do to one person, but I am feeling the effects. It was the first warm shower I have had in three weeks and it was amazing. Not only that, but the average group member showered four times in the last three weeks. Gross. No complaints [...]

Last night, while cutting a rug in Atacames, an Ecuadorian lady said, “¡Estas el bailador mejor de los gringos!” Translation: “Hot damn, Alan, you have some sweet dance moves.” Needless to say I was flattered. Not even dejected by the fact that she called me a gringo (not a bad thing in Ecuador) , I [...]

So, it´s been a while… As of the last post, we´ve sweated a lot, tanned a ton, and had some fun weekend activaties. I shall expand: We caught the overnight bus from Quito to Atacames at about 11:30 and arrived at the coast a little before 7-ish. The night was extremely hot, noisy, and the [...]

Hello all, firstly i would like to appologize for the lack of capitals in this post. the computer that i am at in mindo does not seem to understand the advanced concept of proper punctuation. however, i must add that this the only bad news i have to share. We are currently on a weekend [...]

Hola todos, It´s been a while since my last update, and I know you all must be biting your nails to hear about the first week of my Ecuador journey! Well, I´m having the time of my life. I´ve meet dozens of amazing, inspiring, and genuine people. I´ve been out late singing “Living La Vida [...]